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So it�s done. Kwasi Appiah has dropped Olympique Marseille midfielder Andre Ayew from his final squad for this month�s AFCON finals in South Africa. Others choose to concentrate on the controversy and the conspiracies around the decision of Kwasi Appiah to exclude the influential forward but I choose to look at the team and the impact of the decision as the challenge for a fifth triumph looms on the horizon. There can be no faulting the decision of Akwasi Appiah based on the logic of his explanation and one would have to be mischievous to buy into the stories of vendettas and politics and what not. There was a date to be met and the player was given every opportunity to meet that date. He MUST live with the result of his decisions. Let there be no doubt about the influence of Andre with regards to the play of the Black Stars over the past three years and his absence in my opinion represents a loss of quality within the team. Public perception tilts towards a treatment of privilege for Andre but I disagree. His reputation has been won by the sweat of his brow and his performances for both Marseille and the Black Stars over the past four years. Kwasi Appiah has now lost two potential goalscorers in Yahya Mohammed and Andre Ayew, leaving him with only three fit strikers namely Asamoah Gyan, Emmanuel Clottey and Sassuolo hotshot Richmond Boakye Yiadom. Kwasi Appiah has favoured a 4-2-3-1 formation during his tenure and looking at options left I doubt if there will be a change at the AFCON meaning that whoever gets the nod upfront will need to possess a combination of composure, fitness and instinct. Asamoah Gyan in his pre Al Ain days was perfect for the role as was seen during the AFCON in Angola and also the World Cup in South Africa. His recent tepid performances have only served as a reminder of how good he used to be and will carry a lot more pressure going into this AFCON as goal scorer and captain. The hopes of the Black Stars rest on him showing up in the best physical condition and I hope he makes use of the pre-tournament camping in his backyard. Emmanuel Clottey�s form is harder to gauge now after his explosive early season form with Chelsea in the Champions league and Boakye Yiadom is the one who might have to help reduce the goal scoring slack for Asamoah Gyan. The on loan Sassuolo striker has scored goals but has struggled to impose himself as a reliable source of goals anytime he has been given the chance. Case in point being the recent friendlies with China and Liberia. Akwesi Appiah�s bold move also puts the team�s midfield under the microscope. A once reliable source of goals in times past, the goals from midfield have dried up and the absence of a genuine goal scoring threat from midfield in Andre means the likes of Christian Atsu and Kwadwo Asamoah in particular must step up. No player is better than a national team but a national team without its best players is also not an ideal situation. My respect for Akwesi Appiah has tripled three fold for the decisiveness of his action but i am also realistic enough to know that his job has not become any easier. Andre Ayew gained from the omissions of stars in 2010 and somebody in the current team must utilize the opportunity his absence presents to make the dream of NUMBER FIVE a reality.