‘MADE IN GHANA’, THE REAL LUXURY BLEND, ORIGINAL AND THE BEST, THE REAL DANGEROUS ELEVEN !!!

Dearest Ghanaian maniac chieftains, all ye unrepentant Fabulous addicts, naximum respect to all of you who have no problem whatsoever in seeing eye to eye with my 'opinionations' .You know me from the time I jostled coach Arday, 'hooking the front of his shirt' in the Weekly Spectator, for daring to omit Asamoah Gyan from the Ghana/Congo D.R world cup qualifier in Kumasi in 2005.We drew, an hazardous goaless drawn game. Then Dujkovic took Gyan to Kinshasa in the next foray, and guess who scores the first goal wthin 12 minutes, Gyan of course! The argument was that the youth had saved our souls with an 89th minute equalizer in Uganda in the previous match and that common courtesy and gratitude was forgotten and that Asamoah was 'the man' In todays Ghana, who is the top striker? Before it blossomed into reality Rasta knew it from the bud,from the marrow, from the soul, from Jah Big Lord Himself. But in the same breath I praised Coach Arday for trusting Dong Bortey our version of David Beckam who when push comes to shove will forever confound multitudes with spectacular freekicks, teasing diagonals and beautiful gliders. Bortey took over the show on a day when even Essien was abysmal to say the least, Bortey was even denied a penalty, and his performance gave Dr Nyaho Tamakloe, then G.F.A Chairman more 'wind in his sail' as he made a strong case for the locally based 'dangerous dubs'. As for that Bortey boy he is a real 'big match' player.

So it goes that I don't try to diagnose whole teams, they have coaches, but when I analyse your team I can polish up the coaches product by instantly knowing who's missing. Nigeria/Denmark, within 10 minutes I see that with Babangida in this mix with Okocha and co Nigeria would be free. The long and short of it is that Babangida is brought on in the 80 th minute an within 5 minutes scores Nigeria's consolation in a 4-1 drubbing. Italy/ France in France'98, I need Roberto Baggio so badly (for my personal entertainment) but the coach favours Del Piero, who though a 'young Palermo dangerous upstart', lacked the cunning subtlety, venom and football conquerors' spirit which everyone knew of Robert, as Don Roberto won the '93 world best player which I really thought Abedi our Pele should have won. No 'nkosuo' progress for Italy as time wore on, not a single threat to France and then Baggio substitutes Del Piero and within 3 minutes he's missed the post by 2 inches with an audacious overhead placement of innate intricacy and if he'd started that game the French wouldn't have won the '98 world cup, I say so as the Chief Maniac and Emperor of Utopia, I who learnt all the keys and strings, all the rythms and heartbeats of the game by watching Ibrahim Sunday just doing what he liked with the ball with pull backs and dribbles, going forward coming backwards,dribbling whosoever darteth at him from whatsoever angle and then the look up and survey like he's coming to toss then he pulls it back again and now he has hung unto the ball far too long and then a fast incisor pass and Abukari is going to score. Sunday showed me how to play soccer as a complete master and that soccer wasn't about raving busy for nothing unnecessary exertions and veteran commentator Joe Lartey evclaims “boy oooh boy'!! Watching Ahmed Polo was the clincher, we had as Polo himself says 'Maradona before Maradona', when I tell you I still play with the kids you think I am not their master? So, no counterfeit player can pass through my counterfeit detecting machine undetected. Ask Coach Bash how in 2008 he ' dogged' Stephen Oduro for 17 league games and yet his team couldn't prosper in Africa and it took Oduro to save us time and again and I'd telll him in these very pages,”please make sure you field Oduro ,Jordan and Nii Adjei at the same time,' and whenever he resisted it by leaving out Oduro there was no 'nkosuo' and Oduro would come and save and was that not the downfall of coach Bash who won the league and got sacked because his grueling omissions of Oduro didm't inspire confidence with management, yes I was here week in week out telling him Oduro is a must.The day he started Oduro we beat some North Africans 4-1. Just last Monday at Monday Stars at KariKari Park, Dansoman a youth shouts at me “Stephen Oduro” and I reply”more than Inniesta”. Oh they remember.

Which brings me to my next point that some coach can 'dog' a player like Oduro was for 17 league matches yet that player could be better than the coaches choices. We shouldm't let the 'devill' trick us'koraa'. Look how Goalie Kingston doesn't even make the Wigan bench, does that stop him from being our number 1. Muntari not getting first team selection does not diminish the fact that he can pop some blockbuster shots time and again.'Ei Hearts first jersey self be wild then somebody no dey get Inter first shirt too ibe case?' That was the trick the devil deceived Doya and the G.FA. with and if you are not very clever you throw away the baby with the bathwater.It all started with those selfish individuals who because they had foisted certain underpar players on the coach had to come up with a law barring peoples favorite Baba Armando from the team with these words “when was the last time Armando played a match” Ghanaians were saying, football defies logic, and we know Armando is skilled hence Maradona's name Armando being bestowed on him and personal training as well as Black Star training should see the man doing all the 'lap' like anyone else. Meanwhile as they were telling us this Goalie Kingston too didn't have a club yet look how fantastic he was in Germany. The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath and then we see that we've been dribbled by the devil and used a bogus law to constrict ourselves..Ghanaians knew that their collective intelligence had been toyed with fully with bogus 'articles and clauses'.

Last week my attention was drawm to an article in the Graphic Sports by Christopher Opoku entitled 'A Diagnoses of the Black Stars' where he is calling for the 'Armado law to be carried out to the letter and most Ghanaians share that view but I would like to plead with all to let this matter rest, Armando was cheated of a great destiny, but as it was a bogus law then so is it a bogus law now because Kingston makes a mockery of this law. Mr Opoku makes a case for local players which was in order and I would want to put in a word for Kotoko's stalwart defender Ofosu Appiah'Escobar' and Karimu Alhassan of Hearts. Trust me the next huge fella after John Mensah is Ofosu Appiah, good in the air good ball control, good free kicks and long dispersals to the wings that turn defence into attack. Karimu Alhassan is a very good passer of the ball with good ball control and full vim.But I had a problem with him telling us to 'watch Kumorjie and Kwame Quansah and Prince Boabeng' and it is obnious Mr Opoku hasn't seen that we can win the world cup koraa, for he leaves Quincy Owusu Abeyie out of his diagnoses and how can I trust this doctor?When he talks about the strikers I am very disappointed for he lists their exploits and then lines up some guys who'll take us to perdition straightways, no doubt abot it,Gyan 13 goals.Amoah 9 Yaw Antwi 3 ,Agogo 7, Prince Tagoe ,none whatsoever and Eric Bekoe 13. He talks about how Bekoe should be given a chance to justify himself, and then when he lines up his preference the list goes like this, Gyan ,Amoah, Tagoe and one of either Agogo or Bekoe. Bekoe last? If Asamoah Gyan get's hurt believe me our next 'shotta' is Eric Bekoe.Very deceptive selection. These are necessary weapons we mustn't toy with, Quincy, Dede Ayew, Anthony Annan, Agyemang Badu,Sulley Muntari and as for Kevin Prince Boateng I have to trust the G.F.A. fully for they brought Quincy whom today we are so in love with. I hear Tony Bahhoe put in a word for Quincy, bravo for that. Mr Opoku also asked for Adiyiah to be discounted because he is not playing.But training with Milan will certainly keep him fit and I insist we shouldn't kill our superior talents because some coach doesn't give him a first shirt.If we have let go of the Armando matter Appiah can come and play 15 minutes and let us not get straight jacketed by some laws.Lastly, does one mistake mean Harrison Afful is useless?These are my strikers Gyan,Gekoe, Adiyiah and see if magic shall not go on for when there is no Gyan we should have Bekoe right on time.Got to run. Peace.