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When David Afful and Frederick Kesse (now at Modern Sport Egypt), lit up the African Games, there was a bittersweet feeling to it. It was refreshing to see local talents excel in the national team. Yet, their impending exits also meant another reboot for the Accra Lions project.
As expected, they have moved on to pastures anew, along with Daniel Awuni (on loan at Sarpsborg, Norway), Dominic Amponsah, Issah Hussein ( Al Jazira, UAE), and Yahaya Mohammed.
In all, twenty-three players have left the squad since July. That is the equivalent of an entire first team.
National pride: Frederick Kessie, Daniel Afful and David Oduro won gold for Ghana at the 13th African Games in March
The biggest of them was David Oduro, a world-class talent who signed for FC Barcelona's second team in the summer. There is also the magnificent Shawkan Mohammed, who left the club for Club Africain in Tunisia, in the final week of August.
Anywhere else, that would be a recipe for disaster. At Accra Lions, however, the business module thrives on finding talented young players who can proliferate and have high resale value.
What has kept them running for the past nine years, has been a conveyor belt that ensures that the talent flows in as frequently as they move out.
Typically, they would wrap up their deals early - which is not complicated considering they often sign from clubs with whom they share a good business relationship; like Koowa Naso.
This season, however, even those ''straightforward deals took forever to wrap up.
George Paaku joined Accra Lions from Koowa Naso in September
As recent as September, Lions were still making additions to the team. On August 31 and September 1, Salman Faris Tahiru, a winger, and George Paaku, an attacking midfielder, joined from Koowa Naso.
That takes the total number of first-team signings since July to thirteen. That is ten fewer than they have lost.
In keeping with tradition, Lions have tried to rely on the talent within their ranks and allow the team to grow organically, instead of a summer splurge.
But that has come at a cost.
After twelve matches, Lions have only managed nine points, fewer than an average of a point per game. They have also scored only seven goals all season.
Sunday's loss to Bechem United was the eighth successive match without a win.
By any metric, those are relegation numbers. Yet, there is still hope of redemption.
The coaching is still just as good. The patterns of play and the synchronized movements to stretch opponents and create space are still there. The structure that hands creative responsibility to teenagers, encouraging them to play off the cuff is still in place.
Shawkan Mohammed joined Club Africaine
What they do not have, is the personality Dominic Nsobila showed in his debut season. Or the street-smartness of Rauf Salifu in his rookie league season.
Yet, do not bet against them just yet. It is impossible to play as well as they do and repeatedly walk away with nothing.
At some point, performances will catch up with results.
Source: Victor Atsu Tamakloe
