Dan Owusu, a former Ghanaian footballer, has criticized the current crop of Ghana Premier League strikers, labeling them as “indeed very weak.”
Expressing concern over the low goal-scoring rate, Owusu finds it “worrisome” that the leading top scorer has only managed to net 12 goals with just five games remaining in the season.
“In recent times, the strikers are unable to score goals as expected. A striker scoring 12 goals after 34 games in the GPL is worrisome and that shows our strikers are indeed very weak,” Owusu remarked in an interview with Kessben FM.
Drawing from his experience as a three-time Ghana Premier League top scorer, Owusu believes that goal-scoring is a skill that requires both learning and practice. He observes that current strikers lack composure in the penalty box, often rushing their shots instead of strategizing.
“Goal scoring is learnt. Anything that you want to do you have to learn and when you do you will surely know. The strikers we have now have no composure when they get into the 18-yard box because they are always in a hurry to score,” he elaborated.
Owusu stressed the impact of legendary figures like Gerd Muller and Rev. Osei Kofi on his own career, emphasizing the importance of timing and decision-making in front of goal.
“As a striker, it isn’t necessary to be shooting all the time when you are on a 1v1 with the goalkeeper. You should know when to shoot and when to curl or place the ball. Shooting the ball all the time won’t score. It takes braveness and a strong mentality to score goals.”
Reflecting on past seasons, Owusu noted that the most recent demonstration of strong goal-scoring prowess was seen two seasons ago, with players like Yaw Annor and Franck Etouga leading the charts with impressive goal tallies.
As for the current season, Stephen Amankona and Hamzah Issah top the scoring charts with 12 goals each, while Steven Desse Mukwala closely follows with 11 goals.
