Comments on: 10-Men Black Stars of Ghana Defeat Nigerian Super Eagles (African Cup of Nations Quarter-Finals)

By: NORBERT

NORBERT — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 15:01:56 +0000

I STILL BELIEF IN SUPEREAGLES OF TODAY NOMATTER OUR POOR PERFORMANCE IN THE LAST NATION CUP EDITION .ALL WE NEED DO IS TO FULLY CONCETRATE AND FORGET THE PAST.AND LOOK FOR A BETTER COUCHING CREW.WE ARE STILL THE BEST

By: Marco Pantanella

Marco Pantanella — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:00:15 +0000

Oh by the way Will, you cited Gilardino and Iaquinta but they aren’t regular starters in the Azzurri (unlike Gyan and Agogo are for Ghana).

A more appropriate comparison would be with Toni, but I don’t think you’d be ready to debate Luca’s goalscoring productivity these past years, would you? :p

By: Marco Pantanella

Marco Pantanella — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:42:04 +0000

Ahah that’s not what I call backing me up Will, but point taken I’ve been too harsh on Agogo & Gyan perhaps, and I guess what I wrote was more a provocative comment than anything else.

My point on Ghanaian strikers in general remains however. They certainly weren’t the Black Stars’ strongest point in the 2006 World Cup, and they still aren’t now. What makes Ghana a strong team in my opinion is their teamwork and the individual skills of their midfielders, but what do I know?

By: will

will — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:09:19 +0000

Marco your comments were harsh and I can see why people were offended. People tend to forget that Gyan is 22. He was basically an U23 striker promoted early to the Black Stars because of beefs with the more senior strikers. With 16 goals in 28 caps he has done well.

I don’t know the stats on Agogo but from memory he has something like 10 caps and 8 goals? These stats are much better than players like Gilardino or Iaquinta. Admitted Gyan isn’t as deadly as Drogba or Eto’o but then again nobody in the world is better than those 2. Most importantly Gyan and Agogo both provide some much needed physical presence upfront considering Ghana is leightweight team compared to our fellow Africans. Even I was shocked to see Agogo being dwarfed by the Nigerian defenders.

The fanatics in Ghana who boo Gyan, are all really pissed that their favourite local legends didn’t get called up.. Joe Tex, Armando etc..

By: Hugo Steckelmacher

Hugo Steckelmacher — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:13:46 +0000

Sorry, I meant that some pardon Rooney’s lack of goals, and others argue that he is simply not doing enough as a striker and should therefore be dropped. I am in the former camp.

By: Hugo Steckelmacher

Hugo Steckelmacher — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:11:05 +0000

Ghanaba – if you look at such websites as Red Rants, you will find this very debate regarding striking productivity illuminated through the lens of Rooney fans and detractors. Some argue that Rooney’s link-up play and assist rate (down on last year, I think) makes up for his current goal drought, whilst others believe that his team efforts more than compensate the paucity of balls put into the net.

For my money, Gyan is not a traditional number 9 and should be commended for his ball skills, even if he could stand to improve his finishing a tad.

Sorry for putting words in your mouth, Marco – I didn’t find the point clear. But no, you shouldn’t have to apologise for your opinion, since it is football-based and a reasonable one at that.

By: GHANABA

GHANABA — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 08:48:01 +0000

I GET YOUR POINT MAYBE I WAS TOO PASSIONATE DUE TO ENCOUNTERS I HAVE HAD DISCUSSING THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE.I TEND TO DISAGREE WITH PEOPLE WHO SAY THIS BLACKSTARS ARE WASTEFUL IN FRONT OF GOAL.YOU MIGHT SAY THEY RELY ON THEIR MIDFIELDERS BUT ARE YOU ALSO VIEWING IT FROM THE POINT THAT THEY CREATE CHANCES FOR THE MIDFIELDERS WHO ARE ALSO GOOD GOAL POACHERS.WHEN YOU FOLLOW OUR WORLD CUP QUALIFICATION WHICH PEOPLE UNDERPLAYED INITIALLY THE TEAM WAS AN ALL SCORING TEAM
AND ASAMOAH GYAN WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT SCORERS ESPECCIALLY IN THE GAME AGAINST THE CONGO AT THEIR OWN BACKYARD WHERE HE PLAYED ALONE UPFRONT.COMPARE HIM TO ANY AFRICAN STRIKER OF TODAY AT THAT AGE IF THEY HAD SUCH HUGE RESPONSIBLITIES OF CARRYING THE WHOLE NATIONAL TEAM’S STRIKING ROLE.EVEN ETO HAD THE MBOMA’S TO LEARN AND PARTNER SO THE PRESSURE WAS LESS.FOR ME IF A PLAYER HAS APPEARED IN ABT 28 MATCHES AND HAS ABT 16 GOALS FOR HIS NATIONAL TEAM IT DOES REALLY MAKE HIM A GOOD STIKER MAYBE NOT GREAT YET.AND THAT IS WHY I REALLY DISAGREE WITH YOU.YOUR FRIENDS YOU CLAIM ARE GHANAIANS TELL THEM TO GET ON THIS SITE AND I’LL DEBATE.I HAVE REALLY WON THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS BCOS I BELEIEVED IN THIS TEAM FROM DAY ONE AND I PLACED MY BET ON THEM WITH MA COLLEAGUES(GHANAIANS) WHO THOUGHT WE COULD NOT REACH ANYWHERE.AS FOR BBC AND THE OTHER FOREIGN I TAKE THEIR ANALYSIS WITH A PINCH OF SALT.

FOD FOR THOUGHT:WHO IS THE LEADING GOALSCORER IN MAN UTD.DOES THAT MAKE TEVEZ AND ROONEY IMPOTENT STRIKERS?

By: Marco Pantanella

Marco Pantanella — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 05:10:39 +0000

Actually Hugo, what I was suggesting is that their goalscoring potential leaves a lot to be desired. That has been a problem of Ghanaian strikers for ages, and mentioning it is by no way insulting, it's simply a statement of fact. I have plenty of Ghanaian friends here who will tell you the same. In fact (although that is really going to extremes), Asamoah Gyan has even received death treaths during the competition because of missed scoring chances. You can find websites documenting the story pretty much everywhere (here are some: BBC and TheOffside.com). Mind you, I'm not saying that Gyan and Agogo are bad players. They're actually quite skilled, and Gyan has been doing fairly well at Udinese this year. But when it comes to putting the ball in the net, this Ghana team has traditionally always relied on midfielders to do the job.

By: Hugo Steckelmacher

Hugo Steckelmacher — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:51:18 +0000

Ghanaba – you need to calm down. Marco’s remark was by no means despective, he was merely suggesting that Gyan is not an orthdox striker, but more a forward player. No-one is questioning his credentials as a footballer.

By: GHANABA

GHANABA — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 14:13:24 +0000

With one man down, Claude Le Roy decided to take one of his strikers (if we may call them that) off, and put on a right midfielder. -WHAT DO U MEAN BY “IF WE MAY CALL THEM THAT”.BETWEEN THEM GHANA HAS GOT THREE GOALS SO IT IS VERY MYOPIC INFANTILE AND INSULTING TO PASS SUCH A REMARK.LEARN TO USE THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE APPROPRIATELY.