WISH I could tell you I’d love to be first to rush to Russell Latapy and say welcome back, wish you well.
One out of two is not too bad because I do wish him well.
Actually, I wish all players well in this climate that is Trinidad and Tobago football, but because of this climate that is TnT football I can’t welcome them.
Russell would know of what I speak: He has had a string of manipulative ins and outs without doing any of the manipulating himself while taking quite a public tongue-lashing for it.
If one were to fault him it would be for playing along -- I don’t know, maybe for self-preservation -- instead of exposing the true culprit for the puppet master that culprit truly is.
He has even allowed the announcement about his return to be milked by those still yearning self-worth in spite of all the riches.
And the man most influential in turning his heart after his most recent of TnT embarrassments regarding the assistant coach’s job, not too long ago had good cause for self-imposed exile, too.
Yes, the two have been played like a fiddle throughout the years and sent away looking like dirt in the public’s eye in spite of 20 years of unstinting service dating back to when they were 10 and 12-year-olds.
They are not the only ones.
I know of a player based in Portugal and another in a Middle East hot spot who were threatened with ostracism from the national team if they spoke to me as reporter, at a time when the fashion of the day was to advertise players as if they were available in order to draw the crowd.
Hyped up crowds are usually forgiving when such a player did not show; or is given the red herring of a misdemeanour by the player or even the player’s club (Club vs Country; remember that?)
Many more than these four have felt a certain wrath over the years.
The more recent two have gone from appalled to discouraged to resentful -- resentful of a people who allow all this manipulation of the country’s natural talent to be done for more personal than national gain without as much as a complaint.
And now, to ... I guess, dutiful.
Dutiful because Dwight sincerely wants to give the country what it wants now and assesses that none of the current lot can provide the type of service of the ball that he needs without having to do too much additional work, in order to create an impact.
With a midfielder the calibre of Latapy, he feels, he can better exploit the 45 to 60 minutes he tells Pierre Littbarski he is capable of producing at this time, for the odd goal that would keep TnT competitive where lack of cohesion and porous defending are not.
Yes, I say bring on Latapy for the specific purpose of winning the next two matches against Guatemala and Costa Rica (after all, Leo Beenhakker is here specifically to qualify for this World Cup, not develop our game; and the hype is being regenerated through media influence again).
But bring on Latapy.
The target is just 11 points for a real chance to qualify.
Let him work his magic in midfield.
And let’s hope he does not find himself needing to be provided quality passes or wanting quality support in midfield in order to better effect his distribution to Dwight.
For, we all know how poorly the team has been on fundamentals of the game; how topsy-turvy the performances; how crucial a miss was that opportunity to improve through the Gold Cup.
Bring on Russell, bring on Dwight; but remember guys, the only thing that has changed in football administration since you last played together, is the years.
The pleasures or pains you may have known are still there.
Experience would tell you to concentrate on just the football aspect, as you must.
Just play to win.
Know your position as role models and understand your responsibility as motivators -- the likes of which has not been seen on a national team since your Strike Squad days under inspirational coach Everald “Gally” Cummings and psychologist Shirley Rudd-Ottley, in 1989.
Play your part on the field and lift the guys in belief that points against not only Guatemala and Costa Rica, but also Panama and Mexico belong to TnT.
And yes, I hear you: take it one game at a time.
But I can’t wait for after this: My wish is that, qualify or not, you use this second coming to organise national and club players as a body.
You see, because you did not put down your feet before, other players have been manipulated.
In more recent times, Clayton Ince was announced to have retired without ever having done so himself.
That hatchet was said to have been buried, but it would be another lifetime before you see him on a national team again.
And Cornell Glenn, one of the most gifted forwards of the day, is suddenly and mysteriously told his services are no longer required on the national team.
And this in the middle of a struggling campaign when players around him need all the feeling of confidence and security they could muster.
If you think that action is insensitive, then you’re part accepting that it is time for a Players’ Association.
Forget that faux pas after 1989 which some of the Strike Squad players jettisoned; the 2000 Gold Cup uprising David Nakhid seemed to have led in Los Angeles; and the more recent one by local boys Gary Glasgow, Travis Mulraine, Kelvin Jack and company in which Jack was made the scapegoat.
No backing out this time because, given your status, you have nothing to lose (well, except for that desire to be assistant national coach; they’ll never pay you like a foreigner anyway).
Think about it.
I’ll develop on how this can work in another column.