Heads are, proverbially, rolling in Ghana, as a consequence of a 2014 Fifa World Cup campaign gone horribly, distastefully sour.

Barely 48 hours after the country's exit from the Mundial was confirmed courtesy a limp 2-1 loss to Portugal in Brasilia, some of the men at the centre of the messy storm that plagued the team's camp had already been pushed off the cliff.



On Saturday morning, news filtered in that Elvis Afriyie-Ankrah and Joseph Yammin - Minister of Sports and deputy respectively while Ghana's adventures in Brazil lasted - had been moved from their respective posts.

Perhaps, though, the ax should swing much lower.

For the intended purge and subsequent restoration process to be efficient and thorough, the team itself should be chopped and changed, its supposed disruptive elements flushed out with ruthless urgency.

Already, two of those have been banished (although Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah insists it could only temporary should those players mend their ways soon enough) yet if the fall-out from the tournament is anything to go by, quite a few others - misguided, selfish and ill-mannered as the emerging reports have portrayed them - should join Sulley Muntari and Kevin-Prince Boateng in walking the plank, with the remainder, now distinct from the chaff, forming the core of a new Black Stars; one in which a spirit of respect and selflessness prevails.

For the record, such a thing has happened before.

Precedent(s)

Four years ago in South Africa, France had encountered circumstances identical to Ghana's. Theirs was indeed worse; a full-blown mutiny that proved a messy sideshow to the whole 2010 World Cup experience. Striker Nicolas Anelka, like Muntari and Boateng, had been dismissed for alleged insubordination, leaving the team distraught and incapable of producing any meaningful displays. High-profile as his case was, however, the former Arsenal man wasn't the only troublemaker then France coach Raymond Domenech had to deal with at the time. There were a few more and, after a reasonably ill-fated expedition, these were fished out and dealt with.
Temporarily expelled, that is.

In lieu of these - notably Patrice Evra, Franck Ribéry, Jérémy Toulalan and, of course, Anelka [who had since retired, anyway] - the FFF (French football's governing body) handed opportunities to the likes of Mathieu Debuchy, Yohan Cabaye, Blaise Matuidi, Mamadou Sakho, Moussa Sissoko, and Karim Benzema.

With that, a rebuilding project - stocked with a fresher, hungrier and infinitely more committed generation of French footballers - commenced, the rewards of which Les Bleus continue to reap at the ongoing Mundial.

On the local front, giants Accra Hearts of Oak underwent a similar transformation ahead of the 1987/1988 Ghanaian league season. The Dr.Nyaho Tamakloe-led management placed several (all?) of the Phobians' experienced yet perceivedly unproductive players on transfer and, in their place, raised a bunch of youngsters that would collectively become known as the famous 'Musical Youth'. Even those who initially expressed dissent against the idea of Dr.Nyaho-Tamakloe ringing the changes to usher in a new era soon found it quite refreshing and worthwhile.

Should Ghana decide against such a course, however, it certainly wouldn't be for want of available talent. For starters, members of the sterling Black Satellites class that distinguished themselves at last year's U20 World Cup -the likes of Clifford Aboagye, Eric Ofori Antwi, Baba Rahman, Frank Acheampong, Kennedy Ashia, and Ebenezer Assifuah- could be a formidable nucleus. (And, if it is any consolation, that squad beat the youth sides of, among others, the USA and Portugal at that tournament).

Then there are also the lesser known but very quality foreign-based Black Stars wannabes queuing up for the opportunity to defend the nation's colours at the highest level. The required steel and experience would be sourced from the remnant of the current Stars' set-up after the recommended overhaul.

Give or take a handful of the best on the domestic scene, and Ghana should have a fairly solid team capable of taking on the world anyday.

A team that wouldn't hold the country to ransom when it matters most and make it a subject of international ridicule.

A team that won't use the country's resources as personalized goldmines and act like a bunch of spoilt brats when, for some reason, those ridiculously high financial needs aren't yet met.

A team whose players would be less inclined to disrespect the coach (or any figure of authority, for that matter) simply because they earn more on a weekly basis. A team that Ghanaians can look at with pride and exclaim "...ah, this is ours!"

Fresh start, anyone?