Former Black Stars and U-20 forward, Adu Tutu Skelley says the current players in the Black Stars lack the quality to feature in the squad for the Black Stars of the late 90s and early 2000s and even the National Under 20 squad at 1999 FIFA U-20 tournament.
Speaking on Monday Night Football on Starr 103.5 FM, he explicitly indicated that none of the current Black Stars players could have featured for the U-20 team of his era nor the Black Stars team in the early 2000s.
The former player has attributed the poor performance of the team in recent years to a lack of quality in the team.
“Partey exhibits brilliance and can be phenomenal sometimes but at the last AFCON he was a big flop” he said.
“Kamaldeen Sulemana and Fatawu occasionally show glimpses of skillfullness and immense talent but the end product is always a problem for the duo” he added.
He revealed that in his stint with the Black Stars and the Black Satellites, only competent players who featured regularly with their clubs were called up to the national team.
Tutu Skelley then took the opportunity to lambast the technical handlers of the team for inviting players who were constantly on the bench for their various clubs but were given the opportunity to don the national jersey.
Tutu Skelley was a super sub for the Black Satellites in the 1999 U-20 World Cup, scoring a goal in the tournament which was staged in Nigeria.
Aziz Ansah, George Quaye, Abdul Rahman Issah, Awuley Quaye , Peter Ofori Quaye , George Blay , Sammy Adjei, Stephen Appiah and Laryea Kingston are some of the players Tutu Skelley shared the dressing room with.
“Look at our current goalkeeper, he is not good enough, he cannot be compared to Sammy Adjei”, Tutu Skelley opined.
He also questioned the efficiency of the full backs labelling them as “weak”.
When quizzed on the remedies for the lack of quality, he suggested that the technical team must “cast their nets wide” by involving scouts who will painstakingly monitor players who are playing consistently and not “big name players” who do not feature regularly at their clubs.
He added that the ones who are in top form at club level should be fielded and not benched as has always been the case.
Source: Ghana/Starrfm.com.gh/103.5FM/Eugene Ofori Sottie
