Veteran sports analyst, Moses Foh Amoaning, has called the bluff of Black Stars management committee member, Wilfred Osei Palmer, to resign over the appointment of James Kwesi Appiah as the next Black Stars head coach.
The reappointment of Kwasi Appiah by the 6-man select committee was met with incessant calls by Wilfred Palmer to reject his appointment, describing the former Black Stars coach as ‘incompetent’ to lead the team again.
Palmer had been clear in his contention that the Black Stars need a more astute coach in the current Black Stars setup than Kwesi Appiah who led the team to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil and the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea.
Foh Amoaning believes his current stay at the helm of administration at the GFA may create some tension between the two gentlemen who will be working closely together if Kwesi Appiah is confirmed hence it will be prudent for Palmer to resign honourably.
“Palmer should resign because of the comments he made about Kwesi Appiah. How can you work with someone you have called incompetent? If I were Palmer, I will resign immediately. He virtually ran Kwesi Appiah down in the media and as the vice chairman of the Black Stars Management Committee; it will not foster a good relationship between the two.”
Though he was very confident Kwesi Appiah will succeed in his return to the Black Stars job, the former GBA boss argued that the timing of his appointment will be of no significance in overturning an already impaired team.
He cautioned Kwesi Appiah to be tactful in his negotiations with the GFA which he trusts may be tied with the responsibility of qualifying the team to the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the 2019 AFCON to be hosted defending champions, Cameroon.
The immediate task for Appiah , who led Al Khartoum SC in winning several trophies, is to help the Black Stars qualify for a fourth World Cup, beginning with a tricky visit to Uganda in next match of group qualifies matches.
“Kwesi Appiah’s imminent return as Black Stars head coach looks like a poisoned chalice, especially since the Black Stars are almost out of the qualifying race for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and Avram Grant didn’t leave the team in good shape.
Moses Foh Amoaning, who has been a proponent of local coaches for the Black Stars, however, clamoured for support for the former Black Stars left-back whom he described as the right coach for the national team at the moment.
“I know that Ghanaians will offer their unflinching support to the Kwesi Appiah because it’s a clarion call from them and they have no option than to help him succeed. Ghana needs is limping and I think the best decision we can make now is to support him in the best possible way,” he appealed.
Kwesi Appiah played for Kotoko between 1983 and 1993 and for the Black Stars between 1987 and 1992. In 2007, he was named assistant coach to Claude Le Roy shortly before Milovan Rajevac was also appointed as his next boss.
Appiah made history by becoming the first Black African coach to qualify Ghana to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals, he received technical training from English clubs Manchester City, and Liverpool.
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