Crucify him! Crucify him! Crucify Jordan!
For the past 48 hours, fans like you and myself have been calling for the head of Jordan Ayew for his performance against Panama. Ghana won, we thank God, so his mistakes are being overlooked by the history books. But in the court of public opinion, Jordan is guilty.
In all of this, the DJ should play me that famous song: “Nnipa y3 cobra.”
COBRA ankasa.
Ghanaians have a terrible disease: we will always forget what you have done for them the moment you wear the Black Stars jersey.
If you doubt me, go and ask Asamoah Gyan about that fateful night in Johannesburg when he missed a single penalty, wiping away years of golden service in the eyes of many. One moment of failure and the hero becomes the villain. The same fans who sang his name in 2010 were the loudest calling for his exile just four years later.
This is not just about one player it is the Ghanaian fan DNA.
Why this article?
It is to show everyone that when it comes to the Black Stars, we are all hypocrites.
The Case of the “Snail Jordan”
Let’s start with Jordan Ayew.
To the naked eye, his performance against Panama was like a painful, semi-translated, third-rate telenovela. Watching him on the pitch, I likened him to a snail moving across sharp objects he can’t go back, and it is too painful as he moves forward.
He looks heavy.
He looks frustrating.
He misses simple chances, holds the ball too long, and at times looks like he is playing in slow motion while the game races past him.
Yes, Jordan has been underperforming in recent games. His touch has been heavy, his finishing blunt, and his movement sluggish. There is no denying it ; he has dropped below the explosive level we once saw from him.
At 34, the legs don’t snap forward like they used to. The burst of speed that made him a nightmare for defenders in his prime has faded. Too often he takes one touch too many, chooses the wrong option, or fails to convert half-chances that top strikers bury without thinking.
These are facts, not hate.
The frustration of fans is sometimes justified because we expect more from a player of his experience wearing the Black Stars jersey.
But football is no longer just played with our emotional eyes; it is played with numbers.
Look at his stats from that very game:
- Minutes Played: 87
- Chances Created: 3
- Aerial Duels Won: 8 (the highest among all Ghanaian players on the pitch)
- Tactical Duty: Serving as Carlos Queiroz’s ultimate target man, shielding the ball with his back to goal while the midfield struggled to breathe.
You may not like him, and you may hate how he plays, but the data does not lie.
He did the dirty, unglamorous work that allows others to shine winning flick-ons, occupying centre-backs, creating space for runners, and pressing when others jogged.
Yet the moment he was substituted out and Ghana finally scored, the narrative was sealed:
“See? We scored because the snail left!”
We completely ignore that this “snail” is sitting on 33 international goals (behind only Gyan), was our 2020 Player of the Year, and has dragged us through 24 World Cup qualifiers with 10 goals and 8 assists.
We forget the times he showed up when others went missing the vital strikes in tough away games, the leadership when the team was sinking, and the countless occasions he put his body on the line for the badge.
One bad game and the knives are out.
One moment of struggle and we ready the crucifixion drums.
How many players on the current squad can boast such a consistent record over a decade?
How many have carried the team through qualification campaigns when bigger names disappeared?
Jordan may not be the flashy dribbler or clinical finisher we crave, but he has been one of the most reliable warriors in a generation that has delivered more pain than glory since 2010.
The Blackstars Matchday Masquerade
This brings me to my second proof of our collective fickleness: the matchday itself.
For months leading up to the World Cup, the national anthem on the streets of Accra was:
“I am done with the Black Stars. They will just give me high blood pressure. I won’t even watch.”
Radio stations were flooded with angry callers swearing never to waste another minute on this team.
Social media timelines were filled with long essays about how the Black Stars are finished, how the players are overpaid mercenaries, and how the coaches don’t know what they are doing.
But on the day of the Panama game?
The hypocrisy was loud.
Walk through any market, board any trotro, or step into any office ; four out of every five people were clad in the Black Stars jersey.
The very people who swore a covenant of indifference were suddenly shouting, praying, dancing, and wearing national colours like soldiers ready for war.
Aunties who claimed they wouldn’t watch were glued to the screen, screaming at the referee.( even my very own Mama Lina who swore never to watch a Black stars game)
Taxi drivers who cursed the team in the morning were blasting Kofi Kinaata’s Black stars in the afternoon.
We are a nation of 90-minute patriots and 24-hour critics.
We spit venom like cobras at players like Jordan Ayew, ignoring the heavy lifting they do, only to put on the jersey and claim the victory as ours when the final whistle blows.
We jump from “Jordan is finished!” to “We are winning the World Cup!” faster than a Kwame Nkrumah Circle trotro.
This is not limited to Jordan alone.
Remember how we treated André Ayew, Asamoah Gyan . Baba Rahman or even Razak Brimah and the late greats?
We elevate them to gods after a good performance, then tear them down like cheap Chinese jerseys the moment they slip.
Our love is loud but dangerously conditional.
We are fickle.
We are hypocrites.
But worst of all?
We will do it all over again in the next game.
Next Stop: Three Lions or More Venom?
Right now, we are all smiling because of the three points.
The entire nation is buzzing.
WhatsApp statuses are green, red and yellow.
But let us be honest with ourselves.
Next up in Group L is England.
The Three Lions come with world-class talent, Premier League rhythm, and tactical discipline that far exceeds Panama.
If Jordan Ayew starts against them and misplaces a single pass in the first five minutes, the jerseys will be ripped off, the “Cobra” playlist will be turned up to maximum volume, the memes will flood WhatsApp groups like wildfire, and we will demand his crucifixion all over again ; louder, angrier, and with fresh hashtags trending within minutes.
Imagine the headlines:
“Jordan the Snail Slows Down Black Stars Again!”
Imagine the radio discussions calling for his immediate retirement.
Yet if Ghana manages an upset or even a respectable draw, the same fans will praise him as a hero who “did the dirty work” against world stars like Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
🎥 🇬🇭 “Zigi, where were you taking the ball to?” — Jordan Ayew
“When I score at the World Cup, none of you will sleep.” — Jonas Adjetey
Good vibes in the Black Stars camp ahead of their second World Cup clash against England.#CitiSports pic.twitter.com/ZOZEVVTeNP
— Citi Sports (@CitiSportsGHA) June 19, 2026
This cycle has repeated for decades from the 2006 and 2010 generations to the current one.
We demand miracles but offer zero patience.
We want passion from the players but show none in return when they need our support the most.
The Deeper Truth
At the heart of it all, this toxic fandom comes from deep love mixed with unbearable frustration.
The Black Stars represent more than football to us.
They represent hope.
They represent pride.
They represent national identity.
When they fail, it feels like Ghana itself is failing.
That pressure turns ordinary fans into venom-spitting cobras.
But true support means understanding context.
It means appreciating the unseen work.
It means staying loyal even when the performance is ugly.
Until we learn this, we will continue this dramatic dance of love and hate every matchday.
We are fickle.
We are hypocrites.
But worst of all?
We love this toxic team too much to ever stop.
And deep down, that’s why we’ll all be back jerseys on, voices loud no matter what happens against England.
“We must be physical and tactically disciplined against England and Croatia, or we risk being overwhelmed defensively.” — Fuseini Donkor, Deputy Director-General, National Service Authority
He stressed the need for greater physical intensity and tactical organisation as Ghana… pic.twitter.com/TvvQq4OBCI
— ChannelOne TV (@Channel1TVGHA) June 18, 2026
