Kumasi Asante Kotoko held a crisis meeting at the club’s secretariat on Monday in a bid to find a remedy to the dwindling fortunes of the club.
The meeting was summoned at the insistence of Board Chairman Lawyer Paul Adu-Gyamfi who felt there was the need to deliberate on why the club has only picked up 2 points in their opening 4 premier league games this season.
Footy-GHANA.com brings you a summary of what transpired at the one-hour emergency meeting at the Kotoko Secretariat in Kumasi.
Who was present at the meeting?
The meeting started around 2pm and lasted for close to an hour. The Board Chairman led the meeting. Also present were a few other board members. Management members including General Manager Opoku Nti, Operations Manager George Kennedy, his deputy Ali Maradona and PRO Kwaku Ahenkorah were also present. David Duncan and his assistant Michael Osei represented the technical team. Captain Amos Frimpong, Stephen Oduro, Eric Donkor and Obed Owusu represented the playing body while National Circles Chairman Kwaku Amponsah (Chairman K5), also a board member, represented the supporters.
What did the players say?
The meeting centered around, first, understanding what the problem is with the playing body. The players admitted there was a bit of pressure on them because of the lack of results from their first game against WAFA. This, they claim, has led to them being anxious every time they step out to play. And with every defeat or draw comes extra pressure. The players, we understand, also raised issues about the tactics of coach David Duncan, with some of the players claiming the build up play is too slow and the coach makes them pass the ball around for far too long. The players were also believed to have made certain demands (not financial), that they believe if done for the players, could go a long way to enhancing their confidence.
What did Duncan say?
Coach Duncan had the chance to respond to some of the issues and indicated it was something they were working on in training everyday. He also indicated that the transitional play and shooting of the team needed to improve and promised to work extra hard to arrest the situation. Duncan also blamed injuries to key players at the beginning of the season for the poor start. He particularly lamented the absence of Jackson Owusu, who is out injured long term. He however indicated that with the return to fitness of strikers Kwame Boateng and Dauda Mohammed, they will begin to see improvements from his team soon.
Did Duncan’s future come up?
Yes and No. Contrary to rife media reports that Duncan had been given three games to save his job, the gaffer’s future was never discussed. That doesn’t mean it didn’t come up. A management member is believed to have moved for the topic of Duncan’s sacking to be considered but the idea was shot down and was never looked at again. The said management member wasn’t so happy after that. One thing is certain however; Kotoko’s board want results to change, and now too. They have declared the game against Hasaacas on Friday a must-win and that was made clear to the coach. Whatever happens from now on, David Duncan’s future is sure to be top of the agenda if a next crisis meeting is called.
