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My Passion, Your Pleasure !!!

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Terence Wood
Terence Wood is an ardent Arsenal fan, football Writer & Contributor for @VAVELcom @VoicingFootball @ByFarBlog @punditfeed http://arsenaldailynews.com and an occasional radio and T.V pundit. Twitter:@Terence__Wood

God's Blessing ,My Passion,Your Pleasure

COACH AKWASI APPIAH’S REBOUND .....



They say not all managerial reunions have fairy tale endings.Perhaps, there is some veracity in this assertion if you ask Jose Mourinho (@ Chelsea) or Kenny Dalglish  (@ Liverpool). two classic examples of managers who had achieved tremendously in their debut spells with their respective clubs but had their 2nd stints ending acrimoniously.


Another failed attempt to win a 5th African Nations Cup, certainly drew the curtains on a rather uninspiring 2 year stint of AVRAM GRANT as Head Coach of the black stars.Neither available in the country to watch any local games nor surfing the globe to find players fit to play for the Black Stars,His appointment, tenure and subsequent departure had its fair bit of controversy. The search for a new coach to manage the Black Stars was officially on the horizon. According to the GFA about 95 applicants (household names, relatively unknowns and novices) from all tactical walks of life were keen on the top job. Every job recruitment is based on the qualities and specifics the interviewer is seeking; thus this was no different with the shortlist pruned to 3 candidates; Akwasi Appiah (The returnee), Willy Sagnol (Former Bayern Munich and French Footballer) and Hugo Broos (Cameroun’s AFCON 2017 Winning coach).Per their respective CVs Hugo Broos,seemed the plausible candidate for the job. However, in a classic case of Déjà vu, James Kwesi Appiah was reappointed as coach of the senior national team, the Black Stars. The usual rhetoric’s followed …… “The decision to re-appoint Him was taken by the Executive Committee of the GFA on Tuesday, after approving the report of the six-man coaching search committee”. Blah blah blah.
 



Akwasi Appiah’s Second Coming & Expectations

The fiasco of Brazil 2014 (World Cup) eventually triggered Coach Akwasi Appiah to leave his post by mutual consent.This was preceded by a stint with Al Khartoum fc in Sudan. His achievements? A fifth place finish,Coach of the Year award and leading the team to the CAF Confederation Cup qualifying stage albeit missing out on the group stage (money zone). 
  
The arrival of a new coach begets much expectation and simultaneously contrasting views. The re-appointment of a former gaffer isn't any different. By assembling a magnificent back room staff of ex Black Star players reminiscent of O.J Simpson's high-profile defense, often referred to as the "Dream Team", Coach Akwasi Appiah’s inclusion of Stephen Appiah and Richard Kingson as Team Coordinator and Goalkeepers Trainer respectively is laudable.

Also, experiences gathered whiles managing a club side in Sudan (Al Khartoum) on a weekly basis will hopefully improve and broaden his man management and tactical mindset. In the interim, Expectations of the coach Include;

Instilling discipline and wielding total managerial control of the team both on and off the pitch (with the help of his backroom staff), can be a springboard to achieving unprecedented success for the country. The aftermath of the 2014 world cup fiasco, which caused the suspension of Kelvin Prince Boateng after it was alleged he hurled verbal abuses and insults at the Coach, revealed palpable cracks of indiscipline. Asamoah Gyan’s customized captains arm saga which was needless, embarrassing and avoidable, raised question marks about who really is in charge of the team.

Instituting an effective scouting system to hunt for new players locally, internationally and at the youth levels to enhance competition for places and improve the quality players assembled to play for the Black Stars. For Instance, Samuel Sarfo’ s  sudden rise from a police officer a year ago to a professional player now called up to the Black Stars (vs Ethiopia) shows there is an abundance of talent in Ghana.

Winning the AFCON 2019 tournament in Cameroon thus eventually ending our nation’s cup drought is the ultimate target, anything short of lifting the trophy would be considered a failure. Considering the fact that qualifying for the 2018 world cup in Russia, barring an unexpected capitulation by group leaders Egypt is a foregone conclusion.



Only “Father” time and “Mother” performances will justify The GFA 's reappointment of Akwasi Appiah. Which would in turn stake a claim for Ghanaian Coaches to always occupy the National Team Managerial/Coaching role.

Till then let’s support our own, sit back and enjoy the James Akwasi Appiah show.

                                                                                                
terencewood14@gmail.com
Twitter: @Terence__Wood

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