Posted by Charles Taylor’s name has recently been in the news for good and bad reasons. The 2000 CAF Champions league winner with Hearts of Oak has been critical with some of his assertions, but it is his most revert assertion that caught my eye.
Charles Taylor in an interview on Monday with Asempa FM unleashed a scathing attack on local coaches. He described them as “liars, cowards, indecisive and timorous”. He went on to say that Ghanaian coaches cringe, are bootlickers and will forever remain in the shadows of foreign or white coaches.
Charles Taylor’s comments and choice of words may be critical and disparaging, but it holds a little truth in it. Most Ghanaian coaches are cowards and indecisive, and I won’t need a 3rd person to tell me that. I have personally seen coaches display their indecisiveness and cowardice.
Having made the VIP section and the lower VIP section my place of seating anytime I go to the stadium. It is much easier for me to see what goes on on the bench of the two clubs in action on the day.
In a game between Legon Cities and Great Olympics, manager of Olympics Annor Walker had readied a player for a substitution, just when the player was about to enter the frame. The fans started to howl and bawl to show their disproval of the substitution. The manager told the player to go back to his seat, the substitution never transpired. A clear manifestation of cowardice.
Again in a game between Hearts of Oak and Ebusua Dwarfs, I watched the team manager of Hearts of Oak Sabban Quaye instruct head coach Edward Nii Odoom to make a substitution. Another manifestation of the indesiveness and impressionability Charles Taylor spoke of.
All these shouldn’t be something new to an enthusiast of Ghana football. Local coaches in this country don’t even have power on the team, neither do they have power on the club. Most decisions are taken by administrators of the club, and it is so unfortunate that they (coaches) in most cases suffer the consequences of the poor decisions taken by the club administrators.
As Kwesi Appiah might have said “only coaches with balls can manage the Black Star”. The statement doesn’t only relate to the Black Stars, having “balls” is a trait every manager who wants to succeed must possess.
Indeed some of the words used by Charles Taylor might be derogatory, but he’s not far from the truth. There’s a little bit of truth in his assertions. It is time local coaches stand up for themselves. It is time they become decisive and courageous.