Attitude Problem - Kojo Reveals That Grandpa Missed Trip to Harare in Demand of US$300

     Assistant Coach and Jr Team head Coach thomas Kojo leading the team During training

Written by Danesius Marteh
danesius.marteh@frontpageafricaonline.com

Thomas Kojo, assistant national team coach, has hit back at Francis Grandpa Doe and those who supported his false advocacy after he was dropped for the game with Zimbabwe on September 4.

Doe told UNMIL Radio’s Sports Extra program on August 29 that his request to sign a new contract with Zamalek in Egypt before joining the team in Harare on September 2 was turned down by the technical staff.

His assertion forced James Salinsa Debbah and Josiah N. Johnson, alias JNJ, to entreat the Liberia Football Association (LFA) and technical staff to rethink their decision.

Debbah and JNJ were on UNMIL Radio and Truth FM appealing to the FA for coming down too hard on a player, who rescued the nation against Cape Verde Island at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex on June 5.

The Facebook page of the LFA was inundated with appeals from Liberians for the LFA to reconsider its decision with Garjay Innis referencing Per Mertesacker, who was excused from the German camp, to sign for Arsenal.

Henry Flomo, communications director of the LFA, later revealed on the same page that Grandpa Doe hasn’t trained with team since the 0-0 international friendly draw with Niger at the SKD on August 14.

With the team having lost 0-3 and all hopes for the Nations Cup finals dashed, fans put the defeat squarely on the absence of danger man Doe. But coach Kojo has told Doe to be a good player on and off the pitch by revealing what transpired behind the scene.

“After we played the game with Niger, there was a problem with money issue but we started training. We called Grandpa Doe for like one or two times and Kelvin [Sebwe] spoke to him to come to training. But Grandpa started insisting that he will not come to training until he gets his money [for the Niger match].

“According to the LFA, I think they said the money was US$300 and so Grandpa still away from the training. One day Kelvin and I were coming to training and we spoke to Grandpa. Kelvin called him and later I spoke to him; so we asked him to come to the training so we can see how best we talk. But we wanted him to start training.

“But Grandpa insisted that he will not come to the training until he gets his money from the Niger game and the allowance for the game in Zimbabwe. He came to the practice ground one day for just five minutes and left. In the last minute, it was on Sunday and we left on Monday, and Grandpa spoke to the coach and told the coach that he was going to sign a new contract in Egypt.

“So he will only be in Zimbabwe on the 3rd [of September] and which we were playing on the 4th [of September]. So the coach said that because Grandpa wasn’t training at the time in Monrovia; it isn’t possible for him to go to Egypt, come on the 3rd and be into the team. That is why the head coach decided to take him out of the team,” Kojo explained on September 9 at LFA. The former Lone Star right back played-down fans’ suggestion that Grandpa’s presence would have affected the match’s outcome.

“Well, it is the normal thing; Grandpa Doe is a good football player. We have seen him, of late, played for the national team. Yes, if he would have been there, maybe, he would have added a little vap (sp) to the team. But it doesn’t mean [that] if he was there, that means Liberia was going to win. Yes, we missed him in a sense but it didn’t guarantee that if Grandpa was there, Liberia was going to win,” he replied.

Coach Kojo was also critical about Grandpa’s attitude and the stance taken by Debbah and JNJ.

“You know when there is a situation; I think people should be able to give the public the truth about what actually happened. I don’t think Grandpa was sincere enough to explain to the public the real situation. And somebody like James Debbah or Josiah Johnson, I think whenever somebody comes to you and explain certain situation; you need to investigate but not to just go on national radio and just [talked about something you know nothing about.]

“First of all Josiah Johnson and James Debbah should have come to the FA to find out what was actually happening. Then they can get the true picture but not only to listening to Grandpa Doe’s story and then go on national radio and start talking. It is wrong; it is a wrong thing. We need to change our attitude. If anybody gets a problem, people should investigate before going on national radio to make comments about the coaches or the FA,” Kojo warned.