Otto Addo

When your team goes on a winless run of five consecutive matches, it is hard to imagine anything a coach can do to top that.

Unless you are Otto Addo; a train-wreck of a communicator without a semblance of self-awareness and an exaggerated sense of self-worth.

He said, “I trained under Sammer, I was trained under Klopp, and I was assistant to Edin Terzic, who was Dortmund's Head Coach.

“They are also critical of some things, but this has much more value if I speak to Jurgen Klopp and he says this or that than somebody from anywhere saying bla bla this is bad,” Otto Addo retorted.

In some respects, this was to be expected.

Black Stars coach, Otto Addo

I mean, the Ghana Football Association (GFA) went against it's announced criteria to hand him the job when all he had to his name were two apprenticeships; at Dortmund and with the Black Stars in 2022.

He must be special. He probably thinks he is. So special that even when he superintends of Ghana's worst performance in qualifiers in TWENTY YEARS, there is no consequence to it.

He must be special. He probably thinks he is so special that even when he superintends Ghana's worst performance in qualifiers in TWENTY YEARS, there is no consequence. So special that when he produces such rubbish football and haphazard handling of the captaincy, no one has the right to criticise him.

But enough of what Otto Addo thinks of himself.

After all, it is easy for the butterfly to think of himself as a bird.

This is Otto's rookie year in a substantive job. So blunders are to be expected.

Otto's blunders are coming from a place of comfort, a sense of security.
He is safe in the knowledge that his job is not in jeopardy. Otherwise, he would have spoken with a certain humility ostensibly to canvass for support.

But Otto knows the GFA has an inexplicable affinity for incompetence and an even more remarkable tolerance for arrogance.

If in doubt, you only need to look at those who hired him.

Kassim Ocansey
Nations F.C are top of the league after Sunday's 2-0 win over Asante Kotoko in Obuasi.

The result was expected for two reasons; Asante Kotoko are rubbish at the moment.
Nation's F.C are a well-knitted team. The man responsible for the latter is Kassim Ocansey.

The unassuming but incredibly brilliant Kassim Ocansey

When he took charge of the team in July, Ocansey set out to rebuild the team. Sixteen players left. Including striker Asamoah Boateng Afriyie and center back Michael Awuah Mensah (to Hearts), Emmanuel Sarkodie, and Amidou Diarra.

Eleven new players were signed. Yusif Alhassan Chibsah joined from Aduana. Raymond Oko Grippman left relegated Accra Great Olympics to join Ocansey at Nations, as did Samuel Osei-Kuffuor.
Of course, there's the precocious young talent, Faisal Charwetey, who has been tearing up defenses since then.

The scale of their recruitment was the perfect excuse to say the team was going through a transition. As we so love to say in Ghana. It would have been true.

Yet, Ocansey has made no excuses.

He has built a team that plays an expansive attacking brand of football. But do not the highlight reels fool you. They are not a wrecking ball at all times. When need be, Nations can slow things down and suck the life out of a game with smart passing.

Against Kotoko, Nations were so good no one remembered that they were without ther best player, Razak Simpson - who was the best player for the Black Stars on his debut on Friday, against Angola.

Razak Simpson has been excellent. Just as Oko Grippman. And Faisal Charwetey - the league's top scorer with eight goals. And Nafiu Suleman - who scored the first goal on Sunday.
And Sadiq Alhassan.

Razak Simpson has 100 league appearances to his name

But the true star of this team; the irreplaceable cog in this unit, is the brains behind the operation. Kassim Ocansey "Mingle". He is the reason Nations have not conceded a goal in their last four matches but have won every match, scoring nine goals in the process.

No hype. No fuss. Just results and remarkably brilliant football.

Ocansey's brilliance is not just limited to this season. Before leaving Bechem United, he guided them to a third-place finish before finishing as runners-up in the FA Cup in 2022. He may not have a league title to his name, but in terms of maintaining a high standard, Kassim Ocansey stands alone.

Benjamin Asare

When Hearts made their move for Benjamin Asare, they were fiercely resisted by Great Olympics. To many, this was another case of Oluboi Commodore, - Chief Executive Officer of Olympics, being unnecessarily onerous.

To be fair, Commodore and Olympics have done this so many times it is the default explanation for any drawn out negotiations with the club.

Hearts captain, Benjamin Asare

But this was different. This was about losing the best goalkeeper in the league and they wanted the best value for Asare. Eleven games into the season, Asare has left no doubt about his quality.

He has kept seven clean sheets and made a million saves to keep the Phobians afloat. But Asare's brilliance is not just about the numbers.

It is the reflexes and the brilliance in one-on-one situations.

It is the command he exerts seconds before the cross is floated by opponents.

It is the fixation with determining where each piece in his defensive set-up is.

To defenders, Asare can be incredibly annoying given his constant shouting. But that consistency of such communication is why the Phobians have the best defense in the league.

Before Asare, Hearts were used to goalkeepers who cower at the sight of a cross. Last season, Ayi especially took his error prone game to heights never seen before, giving away goals like Santa Claus. Except these mistakes happened many months before and after Christmas.

All that has changed with Asare.

There is an aura of invincibility he brings to the team. A feeling that you can take your best shot and Asare will not blink. His exploits are particularly important because Hearts are not a high-scoring team.

The Phobians have scored just eight goals. That is less than an average of a goal per match. That would have to improve if they are to do better than their current fourth place on the league table.

But that is also what makes Asare and the defensive structure the most important aspect of this Hearts team.

Hearts centre backs, Michael Awuah Mensah and Samuel Amofa in action against Vision FC

Last term, Hearts conceded 31 goals in 24 league matches and finished the season with a goal difference of four. The season before that, the Phobians conceded 37 goals in 34 league matches, ending the season with a goal difference of -5.

In the season Hearts won the league, Samuel Boadu's team conceded 24 goals. If the current trend is to be believed, the Phobians are projected to concede sixteen goals by the end of the season. That would be eight goals fewer than Boadu's miserly Hearts did.