Hindsight: GPL returns with adroit Kotoko, heartless Hearts and rubbish broadcasting

Is Ouattara any good?

New season, same old listless Hearts of Oak. If there was anything different about Saunday’s 0-1 loss to Basake Holy Stars, it was in the line up.

Hearts coach Abubakar Ouattara started seven new players in Sunday’s league opener. There were six more on the bench as the Phobians named 13 new players in the 18-man squad.
For an experienced coach, it was surprising to see him make a decision that essentially risked cohesiveness and experience. In the end, Hearts looked disjointed for the most part.

While the selection issues were worrying, the structure of the team and his deployment of the players were just as bad. Hamza Issa – Hearts top scorer from last season with 13 goals, was mostly deployed in the wide areas. It took just two minutes for Hearts to be punished for it. Abdulai Gazale’s Holy Stars took advantage of the space he vacated on the left side leaving the full back exposed. Hearts continued to leak down the right side but for Benjamin Asare’s agility, Hearts would have conceded a few more.

One of Hearts of Oak’s new recruits Ransford Mensah, signed from Danbort FC, shields the ball in this tussle

It was not just Hamza. Afriyie Boateng, who started up front, spent more time outside the box and playing with his back to goal than he ever did. Between Hamza and Afriyie, they scored 23 goals in the league last season. Yet, in one move, Outtara did not only render Hearts toothless upfront, but also left his full backs exposed and it ultimately cost Hearts.

Overall, it was a performance that leaves more questions about Ouattara’s impact in the eight months he has coached the team. For a significant number of the match-going fans, patience is running thin. They made that clear when they booed Ouattara and his team on their way out of the stadium.

These were not knee jerk reactions. The fans know a good team when they see one and for a long time, Ouattara’s team has not looked the part. Today marks exactly seven months since his appointment was announced. In that time, Ouattara has recorded seven wins, three draws and eight losses. He has lost more matches than he has won. Hearts have conceded 20 goals and have only scored two more in under Ouattara. Make of this what you will.

Adroit Kotoko

Kotoko’s spirit-lifting win over Karela was in many ways expected. Unlike last season, Kotoko wrapped up their transfer business quite early. By the end of July, the rancor about dismissals and “unexciting” signings had died. This meant Ogum had six weeks of uninterrupted pre-season to get a tune out of his new players. Whatever he did, it worked on match day one.

Ogum went against the grain by fielding seven new players. One of them; Albert Amoah who was signed from great Olympics last month, produced the winner with a fine effort.

Former Great Olympics forward Albert Amoah is mobbed by teammates after scoring the match winner

The entire back line – Mohammed Camara, Esmat Abdelhamid, Samba O’Neil, Joseph Ablorh, and Lord Amoah. Of the five, only right-back Lord Amoah has relevant experience of playing in the Ghana Premier League. Yet, they looked well-knit for long spells.

For a goalkeeper who is now learning the Ghanaian language, Camara’s command of the rear guard and his organization skills were admirable. His man of the match performance will make it difficult to drop him for Frederick Asare, when he returns from the Black Stars camp.

There is still a great deal of work to be done. But opening days are all about wins and Ogum and the Porcupine Warriors delivered.

Broadcast issues.

StarTimes are currently locked in negotiations with the Ghana Football Association and the 18 Premier League clubs. However, these conversations do not include an extension of their broadcast rights contract. Rather, StarTimes is negotiating the payment terms and in some cases, the amounts to be paid from the now-expired contract.

While all of that is going on, Metro TV, AFA Sports, and Net 2 TV are among the selected channels that broadcast the opening fixtures.

To say the production was bad would be an understatement. It all started with the Dreams FC versus Samartex FC match. At one point, there were two different commentaries running on the same game and in the same feed; Twi and English commentary.

On Sunday, viewers were subjected to a rather strenuous retinoscopy. It was almost impossible to see the ball, let alone follow the flow of the game. There were no replays for most of the matches shown on television.

It is not a terrible idea to make the league accessible. StarTimes provided the widest coverage in the league’s history, and such gains cannot be lost. So by all means, make the league accessible. However, the quality of the content’s production and broadcasting cannot be compromised. That must improve before Friday’s fixture between giant-killing Holy Stars and Dreams FC.