George Amoako And His Double Standard Attitude Won't Help Asante Kotoko

What has really changed in Kotoko's setup that all of a sudden, George Amoako is championing that they should be allowed to participate in Caf inter-club competitions this season?

Barely eight weeks ago, the Porcupine Warriors' chief in an interview rubbished concerns raised by a section of the club's supporters to officially write to the Normalisation Committee that they are ready to represent Ghana on the continent.

Amoako quickly rubbished such suggestions, insisting that they don't have a 'solid' team and any attempts to play in such competitions will lead to huge debts.

"We aren't ready for Africa [inter-club competitions]. This isn't a [good] team to represent us. You have to prepare your team very well and if we don't take care, we will incur a lot of losses at the end of the day," Amoako told reporters.

"Ask those clubs who recently participated in such competitions to calculate their debts for you to know. You don't just wake up and participate in such competitions.

"We have to prepare very well by raising a solid team so that when we partake in such competitions, everyone will see that we're ready for action. If you're able to reach money zone (Group stage), you can reduce your expenses with the money you'll get. However, if you're eliminated from the competition by the first, second or third round, it will take you three years to recover from the huge debts you'll incur. It is solely about finances," he added.

However, Amoako, together with other top-ranking members of the club, are today fingering the Normalisation Committee as the barrier between them and their supposed blessings, so one will ask, what has really changed?

For starters, Ghana failed to meet Caf's October 15 deadline for submitting of clubs to participate in the 2018-19 campaign and it boils down to the fact that, nobody in one way or the other showed interest at a point.

Even at the meeting with clubs' leadership's in Accra, not a single member including Kotoko's representative -- George Amoako -- opposed the decision that Ghanaian clubs must stay away from the competitions in order to prepare for the future due to the Anas' exposè.

This, clearly shows that Kotoko, all this while, were not having a laid down plan to participate in the competition and only took this option at the eleventh hour without further consultations.

Meanwhile, former coach Steve Polack, who led the club to its latest participation in the Caf Confederation Cup during the 2017-18 season believes they are not ready since players lack competitive actions.

“I know Kotoko have signed new players and some have also left after my departure. They may be thinking that these are signs of readiness to participate in Caf inter-club competitions but I disagree," Polack told Kumasi FM.

"At the moment Kotoko are not playing competitive games or higher-profile friendlies with foreign clubs every week in and out after week so they are not adequately prepared.

“I believe they must take a second look at their decision because you can't only use friendly games to prepare for such competitions that demand a lot of work,” he added.

If defeating Hearts and Ashanti Gold in friendlies mean they are ready, the Normalisation Committee should do something about it if there is a chance but they should not come back complaining about lack of finances because they have insisted that 'money no bi problem'. They should not take 14 players to a game at a point too like Aduana did against Raja Casablanca in Morocco.

To whom much is given, much is expected from .....