Soccer News of Tuesday, 10 March 2015
Source: footy-ghana.com
Former Ghana midfielder Laryea Kingson has taken a swipe at coaches working in Ghanaian domestic football, noting that they are not doing enough for the players.
Laryea told Kumasi-based Angel FM that the standard of the local game has gone down because coaches have shown that they are not of good quality.
He indicated that the players are not getting the right coaching from the coaches, noting that most of the coaches are unable to turn games in their favour through lack of tactical expertise.
“We have talented players. I have watched Great Olympics and Hearts Of Oak matches this season, and I realized that we are poor tactically. If you have a good coach he can even train average players to become good. As a coach you need to have your own philosophy.
“You should be able to guide the players to play the way you want them to play on the pitch when they are having the ball or when they are without the ball. I remember coach Dossena taught me how to position myself on the pitch when I have the ball and when I do not have it, so I was able to adapt myself well to every tactics he taught us.’’
He also told Angel FM that the poor performance of the players would prevent agents from showing interest in the Ghana league.
“It is not making the league interesting. We should have coaches who are up to the task. There is no tactical play. A team can score a goal and you would see that their back four are still at their goal area. So foreign agents do not enjoy our local game. So I believe that when we work on the coaching issues, it will help us.’’
The former Ghana winger bemoaned remuneration levels paid to players at the end of the month, noting that the public would continue to disrespect the players because they are unable to afford basic needs.
“The sponsorship in the league is very small so it is the wish of every player to play abroad. When the player sees that the foreign deal is a little bit better than what he is receiving, he will go for that money. The standard of their salaries is very bad. During our days at Hearts, we were receiving better salaries as well as our brothers who were at Kotoko. People respected us because we were able to cater for ourselves. The Premier Leagues’ players are suffering. Their salaries are very poor.’’
Laryea called on clubs to pay monthly wages of at least GH¢1000 to each player to motivate them and keep them for longer periods.
“A premier league player must earn at least GH¢1000 a month. I can tell you that all the local players want to travel abroad. Their minds are not on the local league. Economically Ghana is better than Congo, so why should a player move from here to play in that league? If you would recall those Kotoko players who left for Mazembe were on form. So what could have informed their decision? Clearly, Kotoko fans were not happy with their departure but you cannot begrudge the players.’’