Resign
Now, Jericho
Yanqueh S. Borsay, former Secretary-General of the Liberia Football
Association (LFA)
By. Julu M. Johnson Jr.
It has become glaring that Frank Jericho Nagbe deserves to be
removed after poorly performing during his stint as head coach of
the Liberia national football team, Lone Star. The team concluded
its participation in the 2008 African Nations Cup qualifiers with a
4-0 loss at the hands of the Bees of Rwanda in Kigali at the
weekend.
From the personal judgment of Yanqueh S. Borsay, former
Secretary-General of the Liberia Football Association (LFA), Jericho
“must resign.” It was during Mr. Borsay’s tenure that the Lone Star
tactician was appointed to replace Kadala Kromah following periods
of strong objection from the Ministry of Youth and Sports,
particularly the then Minister, Cllr. Wheatonia Y. Dixon-Barnes. Her
choice was former Lone Star Coach Wilfred Tijani Lardner, who led
Liberia to her first Nations Cup finals in 1996, held in South
Africa, the eventual winner.
According to Mr. Borsay, the Lone Star coach did not justify the
confidence reposed in him by the President of Liberia, Madam Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf.
Says Mr. Borsay: “The President did well in giving finances and left
her busy schedules to encourage players, yet she did not see good
results all because Jericho failed to listen to anybody.”
The former LFA Secretary-General then urged Jericho to turn
“everything” over to the LFA in order to give way to a person that
would do better in making the dream of President Sirleaf a reality,
which is by qualifying the Lone Star for the 2010 World Cup in South
Africa.
“Jericho could not actually control his own team because decisions
mostly made were not by him, but others,” Mr. Borsay declared.
He frowned on the failure of the Lone Star coach to recall youthful
goalkeeper Melvin King following the player’s return from Cote
d’Ivoire having had a stint with Sewe Sports. Prior to going abroad,
King used to be the second goalkeeper of the national team.
Mr. Borsay added, “He promised not to use Sunday Seah in goal
because he saw Louis Crayton as his best goalkeeper. We later
noticed that Crayton was not his best again as Seah was placed in
the goal without real justification.”
A foreign coach has then been suggested by Mr. Borsay for the Lone
Star. “I always say a foreign coach because he would be respected by
the players and officials. Let us follow the examples of other
African countries by hiring a foreign coach for our national team.”
He warned officials to allow coaches to carry out their
responsibilities once they are appointed to take charge of the
national team. “There have been a whole lot of interferences,” noted
Mr. Borsay.
Mr. Borsay indicated that the focus of the next coach of the Lone
Star should be the formation of a home-based national team and that
those to be selected be paid salaries and stipends.
As for the country’s overseas players, he wants a data base created
for them and that constant contact with the players become the order
of the day.
Liberia had earlier beaten the Bees of Rwanda 3-2 in Monrovia (the
only victory in the entire qualifiers), but three experienced
players in Kelvin Sebwe, Oliver Makor and Louis Crayton that
contributed to that success were later to be sidelined by Jericho
under the guise of building a new team for the 2010 World Cup.
Regrettably, the alternative to players of the famous George Weah’s
“Eleven” was a bunch of Indonesia-based players, who could not
change things for the better.
Despite public outcry, the coach failed to rescind his decision to
recall Frank Jean Seator on the national team. The highly-traveled
former Mighty Barrolle striker scored his only goal for the Lone
Star more than five years ago and that was in a match with the Ghana
Black Stars in Accra, when the Lone Star went on to win 3-1.
Subsequent performances by Seator ended in near misses. Even though
Liberia was already eliminated ahead of the team’s last match,
Seator was among those recalled from abroad to make the journey to
Kigali.
Although not being among the most splendid of the current breed of
local talents, Frank Nagbe Jr., the son of the Lone Star head coach,
was constantly selected for national team matches amidst criticism
from the public.
Following the end of the 2008 Nations Cup qualifying stage, the LFA
and the Sports Ministry faced with the challenge of either retaining
or ejecting Jericho following his poor results.
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