Ghana: Michael Essien should be sacked from Black Star Team? ‘Sack Essien from Stars’ – Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe
By Own Correspondent ,from Ghana- In an interview with a reliable ,a local newspaper –Daily Graphic,One-time chairman of the Ghana Football Association, Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, says “Ghana will be better off without the bad influence of Michael Essien”. He has therefore, called for the player’s expulsion from the national team following his latest demand to be excused from national team games.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said much as that decision appears tough, it has become necessary to set a good example to other players “in order that we are not held to ransom at a crucial time”.
In an interview with Graphic Sports yesterday, the firebrand football administrator always remembered for his no-nonsense style said “no one is indispensable in any field of endeavour, including football.
Michael Essien
“We must be courageous to call the bluff of those who seek to hold us to ransom. Essien, in particular, has shown little commitment to the cause of the Black Stars, and it is high time we forgot about him.
“After all, it is when someone leaves that new talents emerge, as it happened in the case of Mohammed Polo when he bounced onto the scene as a small boy in the 1970s,” he recalled.
Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe’s views come in the wake of the Chelsea player’s request that he be excused from international duty for the time being after returning from an injury-induced long layoff that forced him to miss the World Cup in South Africa last year.
Dr Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe
While acknowledging the quality of Essien, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe said the midfielder’s commitment at Chelsea during midweek when he played an influential part in their 2-1 victory over Manchester United had hardly been replicated in the Black Stars’ jersey.
In a related development according to Kickoff,Ghana coach Goran Stevanovic has gone ahead with a planned meeting with Michael Essien even after the player insisted he will not be returning to the Black Stars for the upcoming game in March.
Understands the Serbian met with the Ghana midfielder in London on Monday to try and talk him back into a Stars return before taking his seat at Stanford Bridge for the premier league game against Manchester United.
Stevanovic had announced recently that he has Essien’s word on a return for games against Congo and England but the player strongly denied that and insisted that while he will return it will not be for those two games.
But Stevanovic is convinced he can force a change of heart and mind from the midfield powerhouse especially after he watched the midfielder turn in a fine display against Manchester United. Knowing very well that Ghana t gave him exposure at Under-17 in 1999 that has ultimately yielded career in Europe. If he is unwilling to reciprocate the gesture, or believes he has finished paying his due, let’s leave him alone says Dr. Tamakloe concluded.
