It is ironical that the tiny noisy section of Ghanaian football fans who said they were fed up with the duopoly of Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak are happy that the two stalwarts are back to winning form this season.

It is an undisputable fact that these elite two clubs are the crowd pullers and you can’t say you are promoting the game with empty stands at the stadiums.

When Aduana Stars won the League in their first attempt two seasons ago followed by close neighbours Berekum Chelsea, one loud mouthed self styled veteran football administrator laughably proclaimed that Kotoko and Hearts have ceased to matter in Ghana football.

I suspect he might have temporarily lost his sense of football history. This assertion has been proved wrong judging from the brilliant performance of the two giants who remain unbeaten in the five week old league and are attracting the biggest crowds.

Last Sunday, Kotoko filled every available space at the Berekum Golden City park where they were held to a fighting 1-1 draw by the local Arsenal whilst Hearts pulled quite a huge attendance at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra where they beat New Edubiase 2-0 to top the table with 12 points.

Kotoko are second with 10 points and there is every indication that the coming weeks will provide a lot of thrills.

Hearts, celebrating their centenary, will face Mysterious Dwarfs in a midweek encounter at Cape Coast whilst Kotoko will be home to Accra Mighty Jets.

These are two exciting fixtures that will serve as prelude to the annual top clash between the two giants in Accra on Nov 20. Both teams would have done a lot of home work during the short break in the league for international matches and a classic encounter similar to Manchester United v Liverpool or Real Madrid v Barcelona will be unfolded.

The huge patronage being currently enjoyed by the Ghana league clearly debunks the notion that lack of interest in the past was due to the huge influence of the English league.

My theory that the league gets exciting when Kotoko and Hearts get their acts together still holds good.

Let’s not make any odious comparisons between the Ghana league and the English Premiership where every venue is jam-packed on match days. Ghanaian fans are acutely selective.

Can you imagine the Baba Yara Stadium getting a full house for a Kotoko match soon after King Faisal had whipped Kotoko 6-1 like Manchester City did to United quite recently?

No way, but in England, Old Trafford was full to watch United face Sunderland.

It’s quite a different environment in Ghana. Let’s therefore be happy the sleeping giants who make the league tick are awake and have raised their standards to make the game enjoyable.

The reference to the 6-1 whitewashing of United by City reminds me of an observation a good friend of mine made after watching United’s subsequent matches after the “Old Trafford Tsunami”.

He is convinced City has broken the nerves of United and it will take them a long time to recover. I think so too but I trust Sir Alex will continue with the “one goal project” and maintain the pace till the home stretch after Xmas.

The slogan is’ United forever’. Surely “Alexander the Great” would like to end his exit from Old Trafford on a good note.

Twenty five years at the helm of affairs in such a high health risk assignment is no joke and Sir Alex must really have a steely heart indeed. His trade mark chewing gum is quite a good promo for the product.

Cheers everybody and keep loving sports.