By: Jerry Afriyie-Paemka

Date: 14-10-11

The league is underway and it was a slow start for the Porcupines who drew 1-1 away to Tema Youth in their season’s opener at the Tema stadium last Sunday.

After forcing a bitter 3-1 pill down the throat of bitter rivals Hearts of Oak in Accra in a Super Two charity duel a week earlier, naturally expectations were that the Porcupines have their tails up and will sweep new entrant Tema Youth aside without breaking sweat.

However as the saying goes, ‘football is no logic’ and the Porcupines settled for a draw at Tema. The Porcupines were average on the day and maybe unlucky not to have carried the day. Perhaps Kotoko can take inspiration from perennial German Bundesliga favourites Bayern Munich, who got off to a slow start, losing 0-1 at home to Borussia Monchengladbach in the season’s opener but went on to record six straight victories before drawing 0-0 with Hoffenheim in their last game.

 After the opening day shocker, Bayern went ahead to show their pedigree by stamping their authority on the Bundesliga. So for Kotoko, nothing is lost but rather there is everything to gain.

Starting from this Sunday, Kotoko will play three successive games against Ashantigold, Bechem United and Heart of Lions at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi and if the Porcupines are to be penciled down as serious contenders for the title; this should be nine points in the bag. There is no two ways about it and believe it, if the Porcupines should win all three matches, they will be perched comfortably at the top of the log by the close of week four matches.

Nobody should get it wrong; none of the three games will come cheap. In fact every one of the three games will be very tough and will require that the Porcupines give their hundred per cent to win each of the games. That will not be easy at all for the players and their coaches but it has never been easy for any generation of Kotoko players, the standard has always been to be the best and it is not for nothing that Asante Kotoko is fondly known as the soccer university of Africa.

The famous red shirt of Kotoko in time past was the reference point for soccer excellence in Africa and supporters cannot wait to see their darling club at the very top of Africa football again. That is why this season is very important for the club because it is expected that the team will make steady progress from where they left off last season.

Now it should be one game at a time starting from Sunday’s clash against Ashantigold. Player for player Kotoko stand tall among the sixteen premiership clubs and with seriousness and focus, there is no way Kotoko will not bag excess of 75 points to be crowned champions for the 22^nd time. The composition of the playing body and technical staff is good. The way the team is playing is encouraging but we need to be water tight at the back and stop giving away cheap penalties. Indeed the difference between a draw and a win is one goal and therefore we cannot afford to assume “Santa Clause” status when in actual fact we are in need of the goodies that we are giving away.

The midfield when playing at optimum level is a delight to watch but the problem is that sometimes they switch off and allow the opponent to take control before they wake up again, sometimes by which time the damage has already been done. We need a leader in the middle of the pitch to provide inspiration and direction. If we want to be the best, the midfield will have to be the engine of the team and they will have no choice but to work overtime just like the best midfield trio in the world which comprises Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets, Xavi and Iniesta. They don’t stop working hard and that is why strikers like Messi, Villa and Pedro never stop scoring because supplies don’t cease.

Our strikers are sharp and superb but against Tema Youth last Sunday, they became passengers at some point mainly because supplies dried up and were forced to sometime fall back to fight for the ball. But that should not be the case. The team cannot afford to take their feet off the accelerator, not even when they are 4-0 up. That is what fans expect to see of the team popularly known as the Porcupine Warriors. That is my candid opinion.

The Black Stars made assurance doubly sure by making nonsense of all the pre-match talk of a tough battle against Sudan in Khartoum last Saturday with an emphatic 2-0 win to top Group I of the CAN 2012 qualifiers. Two quick goals from Asamoah Gyan and skipper John Mensah in the first half was all that the Stars needed and the rest of the game was almost reduced to a walk in the park for Stars. It was a professional performance by Coach Plavi’s boys and they deserve tonnes of commendation. However the much talked about Ghana-Nigeria friendly in London was disappointing. Both teams failed to glitter and sold out a dry goalless draw game at the Watford stadium.

Now that the CAN 2012 qualifiers are over, soccer fans now expect the GFA to organize friendlies involving some of the countries that have qualified for Equatorial Guinea-Gabon 2012 in Africa. The weather is gradually approaching winter in Europe and CAN 2012 will be played in hot humid weather condition so the GFA should spend money to invite countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Zambia, Botswana etc.,  who have qualified for the tournament for friendlies. That is the best way to prepare for the competition. We should not always wait for agents to propose friendlies against countries in Europe, Middle East, Far East etc., which sometimes does not serve any purpose but for the money.

The whole country is saying this is the best opportunity for Ghana to rule Africa for the 5^th time and therefore all stakeholders particularly the GFA, coaches and players should be seen to be serious and don’t take things for granted. After all, the other name for the Africa Cup of Nations is “the tournament of surprises”. The fact that Cameroun, Nigeria and Egypt are not going to be at the party does not make Ghana automatic champions. Organisation and preparation will always be the key to success.  

Cheers!