We all know Andre Ayew has been on the wane for some time now.
That much is obvious to anyone, even his biggest fans (and I consider myself one), a fact seemingly confirmed by his 2021 move to Qatari side Al-Sadd. Heading north of age 30, and especially for a player whose identity has always been intensity, perhaps it is no great surprise that Ayew’s legs look gone.
And yet, Ayew isn’t quite spent.
He retains an appreciable measure of the stuff that made him such a force; of what Ayew still has to offer, it’s his nerves — that ability to stay composed, to step up to take control of situations and make a difference where margins are narrow — that have stayed sharpest.
That attribute — call him Mr. Clutch — especially boosted the case that could be made for his inclusion in the Ghana squad named for the 2022 Fifa World Cup. There, he scored the country’s first goal, levelling Cristiano Ronaldo’s opener for Portugal in a thrilling opening game, a poacher’s finish.
Two games later, when Ghana faced Uruguay in a duel that the entire planet had reason to pause and watch, Ayew had the privilege — and the pressure — to get Ghana off to a strong start, with the potential of also adding to his own career count of three World Cup goals.
That chance came in the form of a 21st-minute spot-kick that presented Ghana’s best chance yet to breach the backline of an opponent the sheer weight of history demanded they defeat.
Ayew, captain of the Black Stars and the man designated to take penalties for the team, took position and took aim, drawing confidence from his almost impeccable record from 12 yards.
The run-up, as is typical of Ayew, was no spectacle. The resulting strike, however, proved far too tame, almost lacking in conviction, to the delight of Sergio Rochet, the Uruguayan goalkeeper who made an easy save at the other end.
For the remainder of the game, Ayew cut a crestfallen figure, and it wasn’t perhaps so surprising he was hooked at half-time.
His failure to score, as well as Ghana’s defeat and subsequent elimination by the end of that decisive game, was a crushing blow, but Ayew had to quickly shrug the personal and collective disappointment off to make an almost-immediate return to club football.
What nobody saw coming, though, was that move back to England, having just turned a ripe old 33 years.
Joining Premier League returnees Nottingham Forest on loan — reuniting Ayew with trainer Steve Cooper, under whose management he spent two memorable yet ultimately futile years at Swansea City — offered perhaps one more chance to be in the limelight; 25 goal contributions in 39 games during his Gulf adventures helped roll out the red carpet.
Ayew was never going to waltz his way into the Forest starting XI, however. It always felt like he’d start off from the periphery, possibly not enjoying much more than a bit-part role during his stint at the City Ground.
He has, thus far, had just one start for the Tricky Trees, in the 2-1 home loss to Newcastle United on the most recent matchday, but Ayew’s most significant contribution came a game prior, when Cooper and his charges travelled to the capital to face Tottenham Hotspur.
Ayew came on at half-time as a substitute for Belgian midfielder Orel Mangala, with Forest already two goals down. As 90 minutes trickled into added time, Spurs leading 3-1, when the visitors were awarded a penalty for a foul on Emmanuel Dennis. In the absence of Forest’s regular penalty-takers — Taiwo Awoniyi (out injured) and Brennan Johnson (subbed off) — Ayew was the natural stand-in.
The penalty, even on hostile territory, was as low-risk as they came; Ayew surely must have felt far less pressure than he did against Uruguay. The outcome, however, was identical: a shot so poor and so feeble that Spurs’ goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, smothered and gathered with little trouble.
Scoring that penalty wouldn’t have seen Ayew secure Forest’s first win in five games, only ensuring a less chastening defeat, so the ensuing miss wasn’t so costly. Still, considering he’s now missed two penalties in rapid succession, having only failed to convert three of his preceding 28 attempts, it begs the question: has Ayew, as well as his legs, now lost his nerves, too?
There just isn’t enough evidence based on which to answer that question in the affirmative, to be fair, but future tests — starting with his first post-World Cup international assignment, in Ghana’s upcoming Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers versus Angola — should reveal more conclusively whether Ayew’s shoulders are still broad enough to bear ultimate responsibility as impressively as he has done throughout his career.
Enn Y. Frimpong — Ink & Kicks
