Chris Hughton did not get an overwhelming support after the Ghana Football Association announced his official appointment as the head coach of the Black Stars in March, 2023.
He had been the Technical Advisor for the senior national team in some matches of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and the global tournament itself in Qatar where Ghana exited from the group stage.
His five-game unbeaten start to the job did little to dispel those doubts surrounding his competence, but the mortifying back-to-back defeats to Mexico and the United States of America have not only handed his detractors the chance to vent on how antiquated and unsuited he is but also brought out the knives as well.
Criticisms seem deserved
Almost any Ghanaian, or even a casual football fan, can easily see that the performance of the Black Stars has taken a nosedive in the last five years. Hughton, whom the FA brought in to salvage the situation, has not markedly improved it, if any at all.
The team was unbeaten in five matches under his stewardship but not a single performance in that stretch of good omen satisfied Ghanaians. It took a 90+6 minutes for Antoine Semenyo to score and help Ghana beat 118th FIFA ranked Angola in Kumasi in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The second leg in Luanda saw Ghana come from behind to pick up a point through Osman Bukari after Lucas Joao had opened the scoring. An uneventful goalless draw against Madagascar away was followed by a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Central African Republic at the Baba Yara Stadium.
While the win was certainly welcomed, it must be said that the team’s performance left much to be desired. Hughton steered his team to a more satisfying 3-1 victory against Liberia in an international friendly—the sole match with the most consoling outcome. However, skeptics argue that it was against an unfancied side that failed to qualify for next year’s Afcon.
Under Hughton, Ghana managed to score only one first-half goal in the first five matches played, and had one shot on target after 180 minutes of action in the losses to Mexico and the United States of America in the international friendlies. The players might have been going contrary to what was taught at training but the head that wears the crown bears the weight. He received plaudits for a good start and rightly so, he must take the flak after two poor results.
Results
Ghana 1-0 Angola
Angola 1-1 Ghana
Madagascar 0-0 Ghana
Ghana 2-1 Central African Republic
Ghana 3-1 Liberia
Mexico 2-0 Ghana
USA 4-0 Ghana
“When Chris Hughton got the job, we were all excited because he had been with the team for a while. Continuity was good, but now I am getting a bit disappointed with how things have gone,” former Ghana International, Augustine Arhinful expressed concern about the form of the Black Stars to Happy FM.
Can Hughton turn things around?
There might be mitigating factors for the recent atrocious performance, including experimentation with new tactics and systems rather than a sole focus on winning, as well as injuries to reliable players, namely Mohammed Salisu, Daniel Amartey, and Alexander Djiku. It was the first time the three were absent at the back, and the defense crumbled.
The Irish-born tactician was unhappy with the defensive frailties against Mexico and certainly for the USA defeat, conceding it was a “huge disappointment.”
When the question was asked about his ability to change the fortunes of the team, he replied: “Yes, I do. The result today is something that is hugely disappointing. We have two games in November and my responsibility as coach is to turn these bad defeats and bad performances into better ones where we can win both games.”
Overall though, it is also fair to say the output of the playing body is not utterly surprising and was a challenge even before Hughton’s hiring. Serbian gaffer Milovan Rajevac, Dortmund trainer Otto Addo and now Hughton have all endured not so inspiring performances.
Surely, Hughton needs time to put things right but time is a valuable commodity that does not last in the football ecosystem, and Hughton, who has been in the field for over two decades, should be acutely aware of that.
He certainly has the quality and able deputies to turn things around, and that can mainly happen by instilling authority and drawing lines in the sand. Any player who is on a different page is excusable.
Ghana has two crucial matches against Madagascar and Comoros coming up in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The heat is already on Hughton to deliver, and anything other than a convincing win might as well be the final nail in his coffin.
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