Two days after the match in Kampala, I am thinking about the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the fact that we will not be there.

Does it hurt? Yes. As a fan, it is always fun seeing your country at the biggest gathering in world football and as a journalist, it would have been a great experience.

But all that is now a dream. A dream that can only come to life if we see that we have been given an opportunity to reset the system and go at it again.

But have our eyes been opened to this fact? Some of us have seen this but others need a little time to see the writing on the wall.

That group seems to believe that the first thing we need to do is to protest against South African referee Daniel Bennett will work. We can file our case to CAF because it is our right. We feel aggrieved and we must let the continent’s governing body know this.

We were denied a good goal by a bad decision on the day.

However, that will have to give way to the glaring truth. We have fallen off a few steps and we need to get back there. But then, part of the work has been started and I feel that that we need to quickly see and understand the times.

The Black Stars have one more match in the World Cup qualifiers and the rest of the 2019 AFCON qualifiers.

These matches, I believe, are the perfect platforms to test up and coming players. We should be grateful for the competitive settings in which Kwesi Appiah and his new charges find themselves.

There is no better way to gauge a player’s emotional readiness and technical ability than in a match that has great value. How do know if Kwesi Appiah is learning when he cannot show his abilities in a crucial qualifier leading to a tournament?

I do not believe that we should target winning the 2019 AFCON. I feel we may not be fully ready for it but we need to get there to measure the evolution of this new crop and then, go full throttle for the 2019 AFCON tournament.

However, all this is premised on one simple thing: the understanding that missing the 2018 World Cup tournament is a good thing.

As for finding a new philosophy and implementing many other things in the Dzamefe Commission Report, it has become clear that the people in power have decided not to bother their heads over these.

They choose to believe in fixing the national team. That is very good because I am for it too but then, our long-term success lies in finding the proverbial plain field and building a new football structure from the ground up.

We will not be the first to do it.Others have done it and it has worked. We can take the lessons and apply them to our own context. That should not be too hard, should it?

Congrats to Egypt and Nigeria for booking their tickets for the 2018 World Cup. Nigeria are going back to the tournament after going to Brazil.

But Egypt are finally back among the big boys after 27 years. 27 years of heartbreak and waiting. 27 years of seeing others go while they watch the games at home.

This group of players was put together in the chaos of political crisis and they found unity and purpose to make it to Russia.

It is pleasing that one of the continent’s brightest players, Mohammed Salah, will get his turn at the World Cup. We wish them well.

We cannot say same for Argentina who are in all sorts of problems. They face Ecuador on Tuesday and they are 6th on the log with 25 points.

Here is the breakdown of Argentina’s fate as explained by the Mirror website:

“…a draw (between Ecuador and Argentina) will be good enough for Messi’s side if Colombia beat Peru and Paraguay fail to win (at home, against last-placed Venezuela). A single point could also see them move above Chile and Colombia… as long as both those teams lose by a two-goal margin. 

There is a way Argentina could even end up in fifth place and a play-off spot with a DEFEAT. If Paraguay fail to win and Colombia beat Peru, a defeat in Quito won’t matter.”

That is how complicated things are for Argentina.

By Wednesday morning, we will know if Lionel Messi will be in Russia or not. Football is a crazy game, I tell you.

That’s it for this week.

Hit me up on Twitter @nathan_quao

The post QUAO’s Monday Moanings: Protest? How about reset, Ghana? appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The player went to the United States in January and has scored three times in 19 matches for Sporting Kansas City.

He says that scoring comes naturally to him but he has to put in more work to help the team be successful this season.

“I am going to work hard for the club this season because we have to achieve something. I was Goal King in Ghana and so, scoring is easy for me. A look at my goals show how effortlessly I score them.

But I will score more goals. I need to keep going and so, the fans should expect something special from me and I will surprise every body.”

Blessing and his team mates play against New England Revolution in their next league match on Sunday.

They are currently 4th on 41 points in the Western Conference; three points off leaders Vancouver Whitecaps.

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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Latif Blessing aiming for big things with Sporting Kansas City appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

This season, the ribbons on the Premier League trophy belong to Chelsea and their journey has some brilliant points of wisdom people can note of and use.

Find a rallying point

When the season started, Chelsea wanted to right the wrongs of the previous season and it was very obvious from the things the players and the new coach, Antonio Conte said.

They had to prove to themselves that they were good enough to challenge for the biggest prize in English football but they needed to be on the same page. That is very important if you want your entity to go far. Management and staff need to understand what the goal is and they all need to push in that direction.

Leaders Must Have Plans That Work

Leaders Must Have Plans That Work Getting people to go with you on a venture or a new strategy will require that you have a plan and that plan must work. I agree that sometimes, what you have on your hands is just a concept.

However, if your circumstances are very similar, then transposing that idea is not far from wrong. Conte had worked with a 3-4-3 that had given him success at Sienna, Juventus and the Italian national team and he got the players to believe in it. Once it was accepted by the players, they utilized it very well and they were rewarded with the league title.

Adversity can be good; embrace it and learn from it 

My previous point focused on Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 and how he got the players to understand it for their success. Well, the change in direction came after a chastening 3-0 loss to Arsenal in September.

Then, questions were asked by critics and Chelsea needed to respond. They found a response but they did so when they were at their lowest point. That period first leveled them and then it galvanized the unit for them to find a common point of unity for their forward march. During a tough period, find the positives and use the sombre times to reflect, reset, and respond.

Find the right men for the job and always make room for contingencies 

Antonio Conte set about his finding the tools for his 3-4-3 to work very quickly when he got the Chelsea job by signing N’Golo Kante, David Luiz and Marcos Alonso. The three signings were needed to handle the toughest part of the 3-4-3 formation: defensive protection and wing play.

Getting Kante meant that his team had enough defensive security and it could play with a lot of attacking flair and ease which would aid Eden Hazard as he frankly disliked the duties of tracking back and leading attacks in Jose Mourinho’s era.

Conte then kept Victor Moses at the club (from going on another loan spell) and managed to get Pedro going once again. Hazard could do as he pleased to his opponents and ultimately, he powered Chelsea to the title. Conte even had the luxury of Cesc Fabregas, Willian and Michy Batschuayi on his bench. When one is seeking success in business, getting the right people is very important but more importantly, as Conte has shown, sometimes, you will need some people to hold the structure steady while others can do their magic. All hands need to be on plough, yes, but if someone must hold it more often for the expert sower to do his bit for the entity benefits, why not?

Take advantage of your competitors’ struggles to win
People say that Chelsea succeeded because they did not have demands from the Champions League or that Manchester United were not in good shape or Manchester City had their own problems.

Chelsea did not have to bother themselves with all these observations. They had a plan and if, their competitors were tripping over themselves, that was not their burden.

When competition fails, you need to strike quickly. In warfare, there is no time for mercy. Fleet Admiral William Halsey often told to his troops to”hit hard, hit fast, hit often.” Chelsea must have read those notes carefully because they did these three things in super-efficient fashion.

My MD says a major lesson he learned from working with Coca Cola was to leave nothing for competition to feed on. That is exactly what Chelsea did and they got the prize.

Have a backup plan

Perhaps, this was biggest drawback of Chelsea’s success. Conte lives and dies by his 3-4-3 formation and he will hoist it on his team until they get it right. It is a very good trait to have because teams went to copy the formation for their own use. But then, Chelsea failed to find a plan B and it bothered them sometimes.

Their defeats to Tottenham and Manchester United were all based on the fact that the opposition studied the Blues inside out and once the 3-4-3 was countered, they were sitting ducks.

Always think of and for competition. Ask yourself if you will have a response if your plan or strategy is countered and neutralized. If the answer is no, then start thinking about a counter plan because in business, rivals will jump on a good thing and you must be prepared to outwit them again and again if you will dominate in your space.

It has been a wonderful Premier League season for everyone who followed it from the beginning and it can only get better next season.

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By: Nathan Quao/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Nathan Quao writes: 6 lessons from Chelsea’s successful EPL season appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

More of the same from Asante Kotoko
Last week, I wrote about Kotoko’s decision to fire Zdravko Logarusic and I concluded that all parties involved were to blame. They had to bounce back from the incident and they gave Godwin Ablordey the opportunity to lead the team albeit on an interim basis. But that did not happen.

Of course, Wa was always going to be a tough place to go but All Stars had not found their form this season and Kotoko could and should have found inspiration from what they had gone through in the last few weeks to get at least a point. They even missed a penalty in the second half.

Credit to Richard Ofori for the save but Kotoko need to get better in matches before it gets too late in the day. They are now 7 points behind WAFA who look like they are hell-bent on winning their home games and in the Ghana Premier League, that is very valuable for a title push.

The Sogakope-based team are displaying a lot of maturity in their matches especially on the road and the more they keep at it, they will put pressure on the chasing pack although I believe Aduana can give them a good chase. Mourinho brilliant, Herrera superb Every now and again, a team in the middle of a challenging season will find either a good result or a good result but on Sunday, Manchester United reached into their minds and souls to pull out a very good result and top-class performance.

The match, of course, was live on Citi 97.3 FM and my colleagues and I were at the AM and PM Sports Bar and the crowd was amazing.

On the pitch, Manchester United were in similar state. The decision to start with Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford left a lot of people (including me) bewildered. I was really afraid of a mauling at the hands of Chelsea and seeing the two young men in attack further sank my spirits.

But Mourinho understood the scenario and as the game wore on, I got it too. Lingard and Rashford worked well and Rashford on his own, caused problems for David Luiz and Gary Cahill in the Chelsea defence with his pace.

Quick legs won the day over experienced minds. But the lesson on the day was taught by Mourinho through Ander Herrera.

The Spaniard did one of the best man-marking jobs I have seen in a while and he kept Eden Hazard quiet. He followed the Belgian all day and it was the first question for Herrera in the mixed zone interview the BBC’s Match Of The Day: “Ander, I am surprised not to see Eden Hazard standing near you because you were not far from him all day.”

Mourinho deserves all the praise because he understood the Chelsea team and he was ready for them. The players need huge commendation too because they stuck to their roles and they were intelligent and diligent on the day.

Man United, of course, need to improve in the league and they need to to move upwards but they need to enjoy this win. I know I am enjoying it really well.

Playoff time is here and it is already very heated. Portland held the Golden State Warriors until the fourth quarter when Draymond Green’s defence was the offence the Dubs needed to pull away from Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum to win Game 1. Portland will make this tough for the Warriors and even if the Warriors make it through, the Western Conference is now so tough that winning the conference is not guaranteed.

The task is made tougher by the Houston Rockets who were great against the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a meeting of the two candidates for MVP- James Harden and Russell Westbrook- and the Beard emerged tops via a 118-87 win for the Rockets.

I said it a few weeks ago that Westbrook was carrying the Thunder and he did not have a good support cast to help him.

It showed on the stat sheet. Westbrook had 22 points, Andre Roberson had 18 while for the Rockets, Harden recorded 37 points and Patrick Beverley had 21 points. Simple maths shows an 18-point difference and it favoured the Rockets.

I believe this will show in the rest of the series. The Cavs are in a war against the Pacers while the Clippers need to find some more from their bench if they will go past the Jazz.

The Spurs looked good against the Grizzlies while the Bucks seemed to have rattled the Raptors. Hopefully, the Warriors should be in a good place when I return to this column next week. Have a great week, sports fans.

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By: Nathan Quao

The post QUAO’s Monday Moanings: Problems persist for Kotoko, Mourinho masterclass appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Lugarusic ‘guillotined’ by Kotoko

After playing 11 matches in the Ghana Premier League and placing second place on the league table, Asante Kotoko decided it was time for the ‘union’ with Croat coach Zdravko Lugarusic to come to an end.

I was stunned but at the same time, I was not surprised at all. The Porcupine Warriors enjoy reprising roles as a team which loves chaos. It may sound harsh and uncharitable but if these things have happened consistently over the last three seasons, one can safely say that it is part of the team’s character.

The latest episode played out in very similar fashion to the ones from years gone by.

Fan unhappiness, training disruptions, a bad match and the plug is pulled.

Of course, fans have every right to ask for good results and good performances. They pay to watch the team and so, they need to be satisfied, but what happened to supporting the coach and the people who have trusted with your team?

Do they not deserve to be given time to diagnose the problems and then proceed to find a cure?

Masud Dramani, David Duncan, and Michael Osei were jettisoned because the fans were unhappy and now, Lugarusic is the latest name to that ‘roll of honour’.

So who is to blame? Everyone.

The fans are guilty of not being patient with the coach who was employed just before the league season started.

The results were not good but instead of looking for daggers to draw at the coach, it was perhaps time to pause and ask if the team was really that good and whether the rest of the league had improved.

The management is culpable for not letting fans know that there was no need to have very lofty expectations. The gaffer had just been brought in and he and the players would have to find chemistry. Some will say eleven games are enough to get a coach to see where his team is headed but sometimes, teams need longer periods to gel.

Maybe Lugarusic was to be given some more time to chart his path.

Lugarusic himself set up this divorce and he has paid the ultimate price.

I wonder why he did not often set the team to play on the front foot in their matches. How were they ever going to win games when the unit had 7 defenders starting?

In football, teams make their own luck and the Porcupine Warriors had every right to go and win matches. They had a very experienced forward in Yakubu Mohammed and so, there was the need to play to his strengths.

He could have guided the team to play well even when the results were absent and with time, the chips would have fallen for them but he chose to do things differently and he is now jobless.

It is all gone now and the team will have to find a new substantive head coach and maybe go on this roller coaster again.

War of London for Premier League glory

After following the weekend’s Premier League coverage (which was live on Citi 97.3 FM), I was really impressed with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.

The teams have a championship winning vibes about them and they showed it in their respective matches.

Spurs made their own luck against Watford and they were brilliant at it. They did not show any sign of weaknesses in Harry Kane’s absence (he was on the bench after returning from an ankle injury). Dele Alli was very good on the day and in fact, for a large part of the season but my takeaway was Son Heung Min’s display.

His running was good but his hunger for goals is very remarkable. He got two goals and he was visibly disappointed when he had to exit the game without adding more goals.

For me, that is a huge feature for a player to have. It only means that he will demand a lot more from his team and that is what Spurs need if they will run Chelsea to the very end of the season.

Chelsea were lovely in their 3-1 win at Bournemouth but unlike Spurs, who took time to get their goals, the Blues went for the kill very early. By 20 minutes, they were two goals up and that match was essentially done.

Chelsea look very ready to win the league and every time I see Eden Hazard, I see a player and by extension, a team which is eager to capture the title to appease themselves, their fans, and tell Jose Mourinho that they can do without him.

I think Chelsea will win the league (of course if my dear Manchester United beats them on April 16, I will be happy) and nothing changes my mind.

They have too much going their way for them to lose their heads.

Record Breaker, History maker Westbrook

Finally, the record is gone and we now have a new triple double king in the NBA. Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook now sits on top of the tree as the best triple double machine in a single NBA season.

Was it in doubt? Nope. The target was too close to ignore and it was very clear that Westbrook was going for the feat. I said a few weeks ago that his obsession for the title was a way of making himself important as his team really could not find other top performers every night.

Whether the Thunder won or lost, it was Westbrook who got the headlines and he has now achieved greatness. Just to cap it off, he got his 50th point from a game-winning three point effort.

Super stuff from the man and he deserved to be commended.

Away from Westbrook, I see that the Cleveland Cavaliers did a great choke job against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday. They led by 26 points at a point and they ended up losing 126-125 in overtime.

Incredible stuff but of course, the playoffs are a very different story and we will see a stronger Cavs team.

I just hope the Golden State Warriors can go on to win the title.

Notable mentions to Sergio Garcia for winning the 2017 Masters in Augusta, USA. After 74 attempts at winning a major tournament, the Spaniard finally has one and he has a green jacket and USD 1.98 million to go with it.

Great example of perseverance.

That’s it for this week, folks.

Hit me up on Twitter @nathan_quao

The post QUAO’s Monday Moanings: Kotoko pulls trigger on Luga, EPL cat and mouse, Triple double Westbrook appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Refuse collection companies in Accra have stopped collecting refuse generated by residents for the last month.

The companies say they are currently struggling because government has not paid them for work done for two years.

However, the Ministry of Local Government has denied owing these companies saying their contracts were signed with various local assemblies, thus they should demand their monies from them.

But Mr. Kyei Baffour in an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show said, even though the Ministry is right about the contracts, it is government’s inability to release funds allocated to assemblies that is hindering payment to service providers.

He described this as ‘’major challenge to decentralisation.’’

‘’As we speak the fourth quarter for the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) in 2013 is still pending; first and second quarters for 2014 are also pending,’’ he said.

He revealed that parliament has however, approved the formula for the distribution of the fund in 2014. Mr. Kyei Baffour explained on the Citi Breakfast Show that for an assembly to be in arrears for three quarters means development is stalled.

He also revealed that since 2011 the assemblies have not received any payment for the district development (which is fund from donor partners).

‘’…not a pesewa of the district development fund has been released to assemblies; meanwhile these are donor generated resources,’’ he said.

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and other Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies have complained of the lack of resources to pay contractors and other persons they owe.

The AMA is currently unable to pay private land fills site operators.

Mr Kyei Baffour said the AMA and other assemblies cannot meet their obligations when government is not releasing monies meant to support them.

He said the constitution mandates that ‘’not less than five percent of the total revenues of Ghana shall be set aside for distribution to MMDAs for development’’.

He noted that government does not have an option than to honour it.

He also stated that government has also made deductions from the amounts paid to the assemblies for fumigations. ‘’Government deducted money for fumigation; I can assure you no fumigations was done and huge sums of money have been deducted for more than three years.’’

Mr Kyei Baffour also accused government for making all sorts of deductions from the funds of the district assemblies. ‘’A lot of things are happening and nobody is talking and it is affecting the totality of development across the country.’’

He bemoaned the situation where the ministry of local government has failed to let the public know that the central government is not fulfilling its obligations to the assemblies.

By: Evans Effah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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