AFCON 2013 LOOK-AHEAD – GHANA

by Kweku Zurek (@arsonv on twitter, soccergh.blogspot.com)

When the 29th edition of the African Cup of Nations tournament fixed for 19 January to 10 February in South Africa begins the Black Stars of Ghana will be expected to end their 31year trophy drought.

 In this piece I take a look into how the squad will be wittled down and how they will line up for their first game after their training tour in Abu Dhabi. First off, Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah faces the task of dropping 3 players from his provisional 26man squad. The three players to face the axe will be Rashid Sumaila of current Ghana Glo Premier League champions;  Asante Kotoko, midfielder  Rabiu Mohammed who plies his trade at Evian in the French Ligue 1 and the Ghana Glo Premier League leading scorer Yahaya Mohammed(Amidaus Professionals).  These three Players will be dropped basically because of a lack of international experience. This will leave the former Black Stars captain Kwesi Appiah with a battle-ready 23 which will include;

 Goalkeepers: Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset, Norway), Fatau Dauda (AshantiGold, Ghana), Daniel Adjei (Liberty Professionals, Ghana)
Defenders: John Paintsil (Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Israel), Harrison Afful (Esperance, Tunisia), Mubarak Wakaso (Espanyol, Spain), Richard Kissi Boateng (Berekum Chelsea, Ghana), John Boye (Rennes, France), Jonathan Mensah (Evian, France), Isaac Vorsah (Red Bull Salzburg, Austria), Jerry Akaminko (Eskisehirspor, Turkey), Awal Mohammed (Maritzburg United, South Africa).
Midfielders: Andre Ayew (Marseille, France), Christian Atsu (FC Porto, Portugal), Anthony Annan (Osasuna, Spain), Derek Boateng (Dnipro, Ukraine), Solomon Asante (Berekum Chelsea, Ghana), Emmanuel Agyemang Badu (Udinese, Italy), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus, Italy), Albert Adomah (Bristol City, England).
Forwards: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain, UAE), Emmanuel Clottey (Esperance, Tunisia), Richmond Boakye Yiadom (Sassoulo, Italy).

Ghana will start the competition in Group B alongside DR Congo, Mali and Niger. Now comes the question of which system and players to field, in the past i.e. since the 2008 AFCON tournament the Black  Stars have lined up with a 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 system with the current captain Asamoah Gyan leading the line and Kwadwo Asamoah playing in the hole behind him. Indeed these two systems have served the Stars well with a second place AFCON finish in Angola and a Luis Suarez save barring their progression to the semi-finals at the 2010 World Cup.

I think its time for a change that will get the best out of the current squad and also bring some much needed  unpredictability. I propose a switch to 3-5-2, something along the  lines of Conte’s Juventus.

Goalkeeper- Adam Kwarasey, there is no contest when it comes to the goal-keeping position as Kwarasey stands heads and shoulders above his fellow team-mates. the Stromsgodset shot-stopper is a starter at his clubside  and is the only goalie in the squad who plies his trade in Europe. He experienced a baptism of fire in his first Nations Cup in Gabon so should be in good stead for this tournament. The number two will be Daniel Adjei of Liberty Professionals by virtue of his international experience.

 The 3 centre backs in the system will be ;

Centre-back - Isaac Vorsah, dominant in the air from both defensive and offensive situations, but has the tendency to be outpaced by very quick forwards.

Right centre-back - John Boye ,  a complete ball-playing centre-back who came to the fore during the last  AFCON in Gabon. A regular at Rennes but is sometimes a little over-eager at times in a tackle.

Left centre-back - Jerry Akaminko, has fought his way into the current Black-Stars set-up and will be eager to cement his spot after learning his trade in the Turkish league.

 This trio have the needed balance of aerial dominance, pace and the ability to read the game. When up against a very pacy attack Akaminko can make way for the much quicker Jonathan Mensah.

Up next is the 5 in midfield, arguably the most essential roles in this system are the two wing backs who must possess the required pace, both defensive and offensive awareness and stamina. In modern football the full backs are expected to initiate attacks as well as be solid in defence.

Left-wing back- Kwadwo Asamoah, the former Udinese man has excelled in this role at his new Juventus but still has a lot of work to do in order to convince his critics at home who accuse him of not excelling anytime he dons the national colours. Kwadwo has grabbed assists and goals in the Serie A from this position so it is a perfect-fit.

Right-wing back- Harrison Afful,the African champions league winner is very quick and also has an eye for goal but if he gets over-run he has a capable replacement in the veteran John Painstil(Pantsil).  The former West-Ham full-back is enjoying a revival of sorts at Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Central-midfielder- Derek Boateng, the Dnipro enforcer has been dropped to the reserved squad at club level but has the ability to play as the deep lying defensive midfielder in a trio. He also has a decent passing range and a healthy shot.

Right-central midfielder- Emmanuel Agyemang Badu,the all action box to box midfielder has been plagued by injuries this year but is one of those players who always excel for the nation. Badu is not afraid to tackle and also enjoys hitting the net from range. An excellent substitute for Badu will be the much more defensive minded Anthony Annan.

Left-central midfielder-: Andre Ayew, of  the three central midfielders he will shoulder much of the offensive responsibility. Andre’s brother Jordan did not receive a call-up albeit controversially but if the Marseille man is well managed he will provide a steady stream of goals and assists.

Second striker/Trequartista- Christian Atsu, this teenage prodigy is referred to by Ghanaian fans as the Ghanaian Messi, even though that may be a stretch(he hasn’t even scored 15 goals in a calendar year) he is a special talent. Blessed with great skill and close control Atsu will rip defenses apart on any stage, he will serve as a link between midfield and attack. At F.C. Porto he normally has a place on their substitutes bench but in a Ghana strip he is magnificent and also a bit of an unknown quantity.

Target-man/Centre Forward- Asamoah Gyan, the  most indispensable member and captain of the squad. Gyan takes a lot of abuse and flack from fans but he is the most consistent striker in the country and he seems to be the only one capable of playing as a lone striker. A fit Gyan can lead Ghana to success. He also has deputies in Richmond Boakye Yiadom of Sassuolo and CAF Champions League top-scorer Emmanuel Clottey.

Kwesi Appiah also has two quick, pacy impact subs on the bench in the persons of Solomon Asante (Berekum Chelsea, Ghana) and Albert Adomah (Bristol City, England).

With this team the African Cup of Nations will hopefully be making its home Accra,Ghana for the next two years.

AFCON 2013 LOOK-AHEAD – GHANA

by Kweku Zurek (@arsonv on twitter, soccergh.blogspot.com)

When the 29th edition of the African Cup of Nations tournament fixed for 19 January to 10 February in South Africa begins the Black Stars of Ghana will be expected to end their 31year trophy drought.

 In this piece I take a look into how the squad will be wittled down and how they will line up for their first game after their training tour in Abu Dhabi. First off, Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah faces the task of dropping 3 players from his provisional 26man squad. The three players to face the axe will be Rashid Sumaila of current Ghana Glo Premier League champions;  Asante Kotoko, midfielder  Rabiu Mohammed who plies his trade at Evian in the French Ligue 1 and the Ghana Glo Premier League leading scorer Yahaya Mohammed(Amidaus Professionals).  These three Players will be dropped basically because of a lack of international experience. This will leave the former Black Stars captain Kwesi Appiah with a battle-ready 23 which will include;

 Goalkeepers: Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset, Norway), Fatau Dauda (AshantiGold, Ghana), Daniel Adjei (Liberty Professionals, Ghana)
Defenders: John Paintsil (Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Israel), Harrison Afful (Esperance, Tunisia), Mubarak Wakaso (Espanyol, Spain), Richard Kissi Boateng (Berekum Chelsea, Ghana), John Boye (Rennes, France), Jonathan Mensah (Evian, France), Isaac Vorsah (Red Bull Salzburg, Austria), Jerry Akaminko (Eskisehirspor, Turkey), Awal Mohammed (Maritzburg United, South Africa).
Midfielders: Andre Ayew (Marseille, France), Christian Atsu (FC Porto, Portugal), Anthony Annan (Osasuna, Spain), Derek Boateng (Dnipro, Ukraine), Solomon Asante (Berekum Chelsea, Ghana), Emmanuel Agyemang Badu (Udinese, Italy), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus, Italy), Albert Adomah (Bristol City, England).
Forwards: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain, UAE), Emmanuel Clottey (Esperance, Tunisia), Richmond Boakye Yiadom (Sassoulo, Italy).

Ghana will start the competition in Group B alongside DR Congo, Mali and Niger. Now comes the question of which system and players to field, in the past i.e. since the 2008 AFCON tournament the Black  Stars have lined up with a 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1 system with the current captain Asamoah Gyan leading the line and Kwadwo Asamoah playing in the hole behind him. Indeed these two systems have served the Stars well with a second place AFCON finish in Angola and a Luis Suarez save barring their progression to the semi-finals at the 2010 World Cup.

I think its time for a change that will get the best out of the current squad and also bring some much needed  unpredictability. I propose a switch to 3-5-2, something along the  lines of Conte’s Juventus.

Goalkeeper- Adam Kwarasey, there is no contest when it comes to the goal-keeping position as Kwarasey stands heads and shoulders above his fellow team-mates. the Stromsgodset shot-stopper is a starter at his clubside  and is the only goalie in the squad who plies his trade in Europe. He experienced a baptism of fire in his first Nations Cup in Gabon so should be in good stead for this tournament. The number two will be Daniel Adjei of Liberty Professionals by virtue of his international experience.

 The 3 centre backs in the system will be ;

Centre-back - Isaac Vorsah, dominant in the air from both defensive and offensive situations, but has the tendency to be outpaced by very quick forwards.

Right centre-back - John Boye ,  a complete ball-playing centre-back who came to the fore during the last  AFCON in Gabon. A regular at Rennes but is sometimes a little over-eager at times in a tackle.

Left centre-back - Jerry Akaminko, has fought his way into the current Black-Stars set-up and will be eager to cement his spot after learning his trade in the Turkish league.

 This trio have the needed balance of aerial dominance, pace and the ability to read the game. When up against a very pacy attack Akaminko can make way for the much quicker Jonathan Mensah.

Up next is the 5 in midfield, arguably the most essential roles in this system are the two wing backs who must possess the required pace, both defensive and offensive awareness and stamina. In modern football the full backs are expected to initiate attacks as well as be solid in defence.

Left-wing back- Kwadwo Asamoah, the former Udinese man has excelled in this role at his new Juventus but still has a lot of work to do in order to convince his critics at home who accuse him of not excelling anytime he dons the national colours. Kwadwo has grabbed assists and goals in the Serie A from this position so it is a perfect-fit.

Right-wing back- Harrison Afful,the African champions league winner is very quick and also has an eye for goal but if he gets over-run he has a capable replacement in the veteran John Painstil(Pantsil).  The former West-Ham full-back is enjoying a revival of sorts at Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Central-midfielder- Derek Boateng, the Dnipro enforcer has been dropped to the reserved squad at club level but has the ability to play as the deep lying defensive midfielder in a trio. He also has a decent passing range and a healthy shot.

Right-central midfielder- Emmanuel Agyemang Badu,the all action box to box midfielder has been plagued by injuries this year but is one of those players who always excel for the nation. Badu is not afraid to tackle and also enjoys hitting the net from range. An excellent substitute for Badu will be the much more defensive minded Anthony Annan.

Left-central midfielder-: Andre Ayew, of  the three central midfielders he will shoulder much of the offensive responsibility. Andre’s brother Jordan did not receive a call-up albeit controversially but if the Marseille man is well managed he will provide a steady stream of goals and assists.

Second striker/Trequartista- Christian Atsu, this teenage prodigy is referred to by Ghanaian fans as the Ghanaian Messi, even though that may be a stretch(he hasn’t even scored 15 goals in a calendar year) he is a special talent. Blessed with great skill and close control Atsu will rip defenses apart on any stage, he will serve as a link between midfield and attack. At F.C. Porto he normally has a place on their substitutes bench but in a Ghana strip he is magnificent and also a bit of an unknown quantity.

Target-man/Centre Forward- Asamoah Gyan, the  most indispensable member and captain of the squad. Gyan takes a lot of abuse and flack from fans but he is the most consistent striker in the country and he seems to be the only one capable of playing as a lone striker. A fit Gyan can lead Ghana to success. He also has deputies in Richmond Boakye Yiadom of Sassuolo and CAF Champions League top-scorer Emmanuel Clottey.

Kwesi Appiah also has two quick, pacy impact subs on the bench in the persons of Solomon Asante (Berekum Chelsea, Ghana) and Albert Adomah (Bristol City, England).

With this team the African Cup of Nations will hopefully be making its home Accra,Ghana for the next two years.

Identify any Two internal communication methods for Public Relations Practice and discuss how they can be used to improve upon communication at the Ghana Institute of Journalism

Internal Communications methods in public relations practice is the tool and means(channel) by which public relations practitioners communicate with an organizations public. Internal publics refer to groups within an organization, in this case they are; the students, lectures, drivers, labourers e.t.c.  The two(2) internal communications methods that can improve communication at the Ghana Institute of Journalism are;

·         NOTICE BOARDS

·         IN-HOUSE JOURNALS

A notice board is a surface used for the posting of public messages which provide information. To improve communication at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, 6 notice boards will be introduced and located at central and prominent locations where people naturally gather or pass by on the campus i.e. around the academic affairs block, the entrance to the library, the staff common room, the reception, the cafeteria and also around the photocopy shop.

The various notice boards will be placed at an optimum height which will allow people above four(4) feet to read off without having to squat or strain to get the message. The notice board will be made of clear glass-panes and also have polished wood edges, a lock with a mini roof to protect it from the weather and vandals. Adequate lighting will be provided to make the notice board readable at night, this is because most students bypass boards without reading in the day because they may be rushing to class or be slightly busy but at the close of day with adequate lighting the board will be read by most students on their way home and the message will be put across. The choice of words used on the notices to be placed on the board would be clear, concise and straight to the point. The notices would be devoid of jargons and technical terms which tend to distort the message or confuse the reader. The notice board will also be made colourful and attractive by the use of vibrant coloured paper on which the notices will be printed.

The boards will also serve different purposes; the one around the academic affairs department will be used specifically for posting academic information such as exam results, school vacation and re-opening details, tuition details e.t.c.

The notice board located in the staff(lecturers) common room will be used specifically for sending messages to and between lecturers. The rest of the notice boards will be used for communicating to and between students; make students aware of upcoming events or developments in the school.

These notice boards will help improve communication by exposing the various publics to messages and also becoming meeting places or a central focus for the schools’ internal publics.

A major drawback of using notice boards is that not everyone can post messages on the boards, so to compliment the usage of notice boards an In House Journal will be introduced. An in-house journal is a magazine published for the publics of an organization to give them news about the organization and keep them informed.

A 40-page monthly in house journal will be introduced. This journal will be produced by and also receive input from the internal publics of the school. The editorial board will be comprised of students, lecturers and management. This will get all the internal publics in the school interested and involved with the magazine.

The journal will compliment the notice board by enhancing two-way communication; the magazine aside providing the platform for all the internal publics to submit articles, there will also be a section that will solicit questions and answers, enquiries, views, opinions and articles from students and teachers.  The journal will also use the schools database to publish the birthdays, achievements, and pictures of their internal publics. Other staff(accounts section, drivers, cleaners) will also be profiled in the magazine.   This will make the magazine more attractive because it will have       a connection to the various internal publics. Also messages about new developments, class schedules, appointments, up-coming programmes and bereavements will be presented in this Journal. With the Ghana Institute of Journalism being a journalism training school there will be no shortage of articles to spice up the magazines.

The funding for the in house journal will be factored into the tuition fee of the students which will ensure that all students will receive a copy of the magazine.

If these two methods are put in place the communication amongst the internal publics of the Ghana Institute of Journalism will be improved and the organization will achieve its goals.

ASAMOAH AND THE OLD LADY by Kweku Zurek

Kwadwo Asamoah finally swapped the black and white stripes of Udinese for that of  Juventus in a deal that would see The Bianconeri pay a reported 9 million euros for 50% of the players registration. Asamoah signed a 5 year deal that would see him line up alongside one of the best midfielders in Europe Andrea Pirlo.

 The 23 year old Ghanaian international would become the second Ghanaian to line up for the 28 time Italian champions following in the footsteps of compatriot Stephen Appiah. At Juve, Kwadwo would not expect to start every game because he will be competing for starting berths with a trio nicknamed, MVP.  MVP comprises of Italian national team midfield starter Marchisio, the Chilean workaholic, Vidal and midfield genius Pirlo.

 One thing the Ghanaian playmaker has going for him is his versatility, he is able to shine in a variety of midfield roles; he can be deployed as a regista(deep lying playmaker), a trequartista where he performs to devastating effect for the Blackstars, in a wide left position or on the right where he can cut in and score the occasional goal with his left foot. Last season in a team that contains Antonio di Natale, he ended the campaign as the most fouled player for The Zebras. The player is aware of the challenges ahead ; ‘  “It’s an important step for me,” he told reporters at the club’s pre-season base in Val d’Aosta. “I’m playing for a top team and I’ll give my all to help out my team-mates. I had a great experience with Udinese and, after a few struggles in the first year, I managed to settle in and became an important player. But I’ll have to do even more now I’m at Juventus.” Having marked his Blackstars debut with a goal away in Mali,  Kwadwo is no stranger to pressure. It is rumoured that he gave away the number 10 shirt of the Blackstars due to pressure.

 The only certainty about his move to Juventus other than his paycheck is that all Ghanaian football fans would be praying for his success and looking forward to his displays in the the Uefa Champions League.