“Wo kum apem a, apem beba” is a Twi phrase which means “if you kill a thousand, thousands will emerge."
However, record Ghana Premier League holders Asante Kotoko have been a far cry from and a pale shadow of its historical reputation this season - with 10 matches played under University of Cape Coast lecturer Dr. Prosper Narteh Ogum.
Despite making signings which the club’s following and some pundits of the game describe as “galacticos”, Kotoko have struggled to live up to their giant status on the green turf. Kotoko, owned by the Ashanti kingdom, has never been about just three points but a club that has produced national stars like Ibrahim Sunday and Karim Abdul Razak who rose to win Africa’s Best Player award in 1971 and 1978 respectively. Sunday was equally the first Ghanaian and African player to appear in the German Bundesliga with Werder Bremen in 1975, a rare achievement at the time.
Kotoko slumped to a third consecutive defeat on Sunday at Bechem United
The club prides itself in their ex-stars who have risen to become very good coaches - Maxwell Konadu at South Africa’s Black Leopards, Frimpong Manso with Ghana Premier side Bibiani Gold Stars plus several others dotted around the country. Kotoko’s most well known coaching export is James Kwesi Appiah who prior to moving to his current job with the Sudan national team guided Ghana’s Black Stars to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The Porcupine Warriors, as their nickname is, have recently lost the piercing power of their spines - wobbling in the domestic top flight with inconsistent results. A jerky start to the season saw them lose 2-1 at Medeama before rallying to beat new boys, Vision FC 2-1 at home. They went on to collect five points out of a possible nine in their last three matches then on - a 1-0 victory at Karela plus 1-1 draws against entrants, Young Apostles and former champions Berekum Chelsea.
There was something positive for the fans to chew on when the renascent looking side won three consecutive games - all 1-0 victories against FA Cup holders Nsoatreman, Accra Lions and league champions Samartex. After a 1–1 draw at Basake Holy Stars, Kotoko has lost three straight matches, falling 2-1 at Legon Cities before succumbing to by 1-0 at home to Heart of Lions and a further 1-0 week 10 defeat at Bechem United.
The defeat at Bechem United left coach Prosper Narteh Ogum calling for patience:
“We just have to be purposeful in front of goal, if we had been purposeful in front of goal, this unfortunate defeat wouldn’t have happened. “But then it has happened because you can’t get some of these chances and miss them... more scoring drills need to be done at training and to make sure that the players convert in matches. This is not the result that they [fans] are expecting but then I want to ask them that they should still be patient with us, we will bounce back strongly, we will make them happy,” he said.
Kotoko coach Prosper Narteh Ogum is under increasing pressure. Promises of improvement from a disappointing 6th place finish last season have so far been unfulfilled.
Not withstanding their recent poor run, Kotoko sit 6th on 15 pints same as rivals Hearts of Oak after 10 games into the season. Their week 11 journey looks mountainous as they play close rivals, Nations fc who sit second on the league table with 19 points, four ahead of Kotoko. There is pressure mounting on coach Ogum whose second spell at the club has not began on a good note.
Another defeat at Nations FC could spell more doom for the former WAFA trainer but which coach will best fit the two time African champions with the Porcupines needing the sharpness of its quill back on its back? Will there be a clarion call for the fans to be patient with the head coach who won them the league in 2021 or is it time to look abroad for a big name trainer?
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