Keshi clashed with Togo star striker Emmanuel Adebayor (now an Arsenal player). A new manager will be appointed soon and I guess looking at bright side, Togo can’t get any worse. On th good side, they have some European based players, who actually play in proper leagues, get 3 hots & a cot etc. They also have a ton of athletic talent and there is little pressure on them.

Togo are in Group D in the World Cup Finals along with France, South Korea and Switzerland. If they can come out firing against Korea and get a win, plus draw with Switzerland, there is a slight chance of making the next round. If I was the new coach, I’d be picking tall guys for the game against Korea. Hammer them at every set piece, crash the boards, just get that ball on target. Play counter attack aginst the Swiss and just try for a result agianst France.

Togo coach Stephan Keshi is on the proveribal hot seat, at least in the media. Following his team’s 2-0 loss to Cameroon today reporters asked Keshi if he will resign now that his team has been ousted from the CAN. His response: “Will I resign? That is a question for the federation and not me. Losing games sometimes can be the making of a team’s character and this I am sure will be the case with this side.”

The question of resignation is as ridiculous as it is predictable. No one had a problem with Keshi while he was leading Togo through its magical qualifying run. So it is absurd to think that the man should be tossed to the curb after a pair of poor performances.

The biggest problem Keshi faces is his relationship with his superstar striker Emmanuel Adebayor. If anything, Togo’s Football Federation should come out with a strong statement backing Keshi and condemning the petulant Adebayor. Then the two should be forced to sit in a windowless room until they are able to work out their differences.

Togo put out a much better performance then it did in its opening loss to Congo, but still did not show the form that helped it to capture a spot in the World Cup. But with turmoil swarming the team, first over payments and then over star striker Emmanuel Adebayor’s refusal to start, this CAN can be classified as a disaster for Togo and its coach Stephan Keshi.

Togo will take on Angola later this week and can only play the roll of spoiler as Angola needs a win to stay alive.

Match report

What is Emmanuel Adebayor’s punishment?

He gets to start for Togo on Wednesday against Cameroon. Does this guy get second chances or what?

First he was bounced from his club team Monaco for his repeated failure to show up for practice. His punishment was to be sent to Arsenal. And now he gets another shot with a Togo team that can’t afford to play without his talent but that might just be undermined by his selfishness.

Coach Stephan Keshi is in a tough position. With a loss against Congo and the daunting task of having to play Cameroon and Angola, his team could easily bow out of the African Nations Cup without a point. This could put Keshi on the hot seat since Togo’s CAN expectations are quite high after qualifying for the World Cup.

But playing Adebayor at this point only will weaken Keshi’s authority with the rest of the team. If a player does not want to represent his country in one of the biggest tournaments in the world, he should be sent home.

Even if Adebayor scores tomorrow the damage has been done for Togo. Hawks’ fans can only hope that the petulant superstar striker gets his head screwed on straight before Germany this summer.

“He can go,” said Abalo. “He didn’t just betray his team, he betrayed the Togolese people. Everyone was mad at him for what he did on Saturday.”

Abalo is absolutely correct and if Stephen Keshi had any courage he would send the soon-to-be Arsenal striker home for the rest of the tournament. But instead, Keshi has called his petulant star a “cry baby” but also is quick to cover his arse by saying, “He is still part of the squad. Will he play another match? That’s up to him and how he does in training.”