Soccer News of Thursday, 13 October 2016
Source: GNA
2016-10-13
J.E Sarpong
Former coach of Ebusua Dwarfs J.E Sarpong has questioned the criteria used by Coach Avram Grant in selecting players for the national team and cited the inactivity of most players at club level as a great source of worry.
The Former Liberty Professionals and Ebusua Dwarfs coach slammed the Stars coach for giving call-ups to players who do not feature regularly at their various clubs, labelling them as “bench warmers”.
The Black Stars have not won any of their last three games in all competitions and that has prompted a large section of the public to question the quality of players currently in the national team.
And after the Black Stars delivered another dull performance in their opening world cup qualifier against Uganda in Tamale on Friday, the team has come under criticisms from pundits and fans alike.
Sarpong wondered why the Israeli tactician would invite players and refuse to give them the chance to play and why the coach consistently hand call-ups to players who he feels are inactive at club level.
“What is the use of inviting over 20 players when you would not give them the chance to play? So where are the players he is scouting because it is still the same old players that play each match. And most of these players are bench warmers at their various European clubs. Just look at the likes of Vidal, he is a regular player for club and then his country. For our players how many of them are regular?
“Apart from Baba Rahman and Asamoah Gyan – who is also not fully fit – most of them are not regular at club level and that is where my worry is.” He lamented
Sarpong went on to issue a rallying call on the technical handlers of the Black Stars to give local players the chance to feature for the national team, citing the Ugandan team, which was made up many home grown talents as a reference point.
“The Ugandan team was made up of mostly local players from the Ugandan league. And there was cohesion in their play. Just look at a player like Joseph Ochaya; he is a former Kotoko player. Look at how he performed in that game. Things are gradually getting out of hand and if we don’t take care, the national team will be heading for a slump.”
Meanwhile, the veteran coach, who was sacked by Ebusua Dwarfs mid-way through last season hinted that, he will get back to active coaching in the top-flight next season.