From de archives 
cokesmanNGOZI... THE ROAD WILL ONLY GET HARDER (book form..
Wed Aug 23 14:42:55 2000
Team/Player Analysis...This must be more like what you really wanted)
First of all the facts are that Trinidad and Tobago need just one winning result again in this round and then we are through to the next round. But exactly what does success through the next round entail. It will be a war of cataclysmic proportions.
Well one thing for sure is that this is going to be something like a 100m Olympic Final race. Really nobody knows what is going to happen. You see the CONCACAF region is now pushing toward new frontiers. Before this period, Mexico's qualification was a formality because Mexico took on qualification with 'full time seriousness'. We treated football like a sugar cane industry. It was important for only part of the year. Everything would be laid down to idle for the rest of the year.
But now T&T''s strength on paper means nothing, Mexico's traditional stronghold means nothing. Jamaica and Costa Rica's previous qualification means nothing. Everything hinges on preparation, passion, strategy (both before and during the game) and tactics.
However a critical factor must be taken into consideration. Really there are four teams that can boast a decent squad of 22 players. They are Jamaica, Mexico, Costa Rica and USA. They have a larger number of players who are domestically based than those that are abroad and this means that these teams will be very close knit. They also generally play the same style of football. The local football associations would obviously organise the local league to cushion the demands on players when internationals are just around the corner.
Exposure of local players to international matches is also of critical importance. There is a saying that too many cooks spoil the broth. I am saying that we need to spend some time working with a few different combination of cooks and see what dishes they can prepare with a given set of ingredients. At present T&T have many cooks and we really don't know what they can do. Some cooks, as good as they may seem now, cannot make a salad or even a sandwich given a different or novel set of ingredients. These are the situations that opposing coaches would try to create for these cooks. Simply speaking we need to know what all our players can and cannot do.
Quite frankly T&T are carrying some international deadweight. Stokeley Mason, Lyndon Andrews and Nigel Pierre cannot make the transformation into the players upon which a coach can place them on a piece of paper, look at it, and realistically expect consistent output and input, from them both defensively and offensively. My own feeling is that they have somewhat reached their threshold levels, the maximum attainable from the intellectual and technical nourishment they are getting in Trinidad. A year of professional football in the UK and there would be no stopping any one of them.
Lyndon just has to learn to moderate his decision making i.e. when and where to pass the ball, and when and where to dribble.
Pierre has the ability to become a superstar. He is a massive man. He has the upper body mass to properly screen and hold off the best of defenders in the world. He looks like Dwight's better-nourished Big Brother yet when Dwight puts up a screen you feel like you are in Kay Donna. Somebody needs to tell him how to use his gifts to advantage. The gentleman is 6 feet 3 inches tall and is well built and strong and is a good runner. He also shoots powerfully and accurately. Stern John has a turn that is called the Stern turn where he leans back into his marker and by rotating his upper body and then turning on his heels bounces defenders off while creating an opening through which to shoot. It is this ability to shoot and place the ball accurately, coupled with his powerful turning movements that make him so deadly. Without the upper body mass he would not be able to bounce off the defender and create the room to shoot. Only God knows how effective Pierre can be if he only uses his gifts and stop 'thong (panty) man football and play like a jockstrapper.
Its not his fault alone though. He is given very little power training in T&T. ANY ATHLETE KNOWS THAT SPEED PLUS STRENGTH EQUALS POWER. His strength lacks the explosiveness for him to be considered powerful. The fellow can become like Ronaldo because he has dazzling ball skills, and with power training his speed will greatly improve. Unlike Ronaldo he is an excellent crosser of the ball with both feet. He also has a creative mind.
Unfortunately his mind is not equally ambitious and our coaches are woefully short sighted. We have no proper physical trainers working with the team. Like Ronaldo and many other power forwards he does not attack the ball in the air and so he is a poor header of the ball.
Another weakness is that he likes to pass off the responsibility of shooting at goal. He is one of the hardest kickers of the ball in T&T. Dwarika has no right to have more goals than Pierre.If Jack Warner really wants to get the pound and the crown he wants out of him, by selling him to a big club he will find the boy a physical trainer and a psychologist to motivate him. Pierre is becoming overweight. If his weight is not properly managed he would develop a tendency to have recurrent knee injuries and groin strains. The only reason he has not developed these as yet is probably due to his lack of physical application on the pitch.
Stern John's knee injuries are probably also due to his weight and relative lack of fitness from previous years in the slower American Leagues. The sudden change in tempo in the British game would take a toll on the body especially the joints. It's a faster more explosive game with a lot of jumping, lunging tackles etc.
In Italy, a greater attempt is made to strengthen the players in the pre-season. This is an absolute necessity to survive the rigours of the league and the season. While in the UK players train in the mornings only. In Italy training is done twice a day, both in the morning and the evening.
Most footballers have very lean upper bodies, which is ideal when it comes to placing little stress on the joints but the disadvantage is that they are more easily bounced off the ball. If Pierre works and controls his weight, he would be able to maintain explosiveness and penetrative power, with a career of some longevity. I have observed that big players with explosive and powerful games have injury prone careers. Examples are Christian Vieri, Ronaldo, Stan Collymore, Alan Boksic and Ruud Gullit.
Another such player is Shawn David who presently plays for Police. He has speed and power to neutralize any attacking player. He is also a good passer of the ball and has a powerful shot on either foot. His strength and upper body mass gives him an enormous ability to win the ball with the shoulder and screen the ball to make time and room for accurate passes. But he is playing for a losing team and is not as motivated as he used to be. Really its time for TTFF to rescue these players from their rut because they clearly have the talent and technical ability and the physical gifts to make it. He must get his mental and physical fitness up to mark. The French do it save Anelka and the English for Owen and the Spanish for Raul. They really aren't all that good. They are moulded, shaped and protected like the Country's future financial reserves. Like Rougier, David is a very special player. Remember his college days. He far outshone Dwarika. As a matter of fact Glasgow and Dwarika were well placed in his shadow. It is the manner in whch he outshone them that is really significant: running, passing, shooting dribbling here and there, providing assists - all in all very mature football. Also at the Under 23 tournament in Canada he played an excellent game as a wing back. These are the class of vehicles we want on the pitch. We don't want Hyundais and Suzukis. We want efficient, intelligent, skillful, powerful and reliable running machines. An old Benz is better than a new Hyundai. (Particularly when the old Benz isn't all that old). I always wondered what madness possessed St.Clair to get the rid of David but yet keep Dwarika.
In midfield I recommend Brent Rahim, Wesley Webb and Dale Saunders to be looked at or drafted into the squad to get some international exposure. The proper passing, trapping and running off the ball is just not present in the team's current midfield. The present combination of players is a poor combination of good, unique but disjointed talents that has not complimented each other. T&T has large amounts of varied talents and must be very careful not to let it pass by extravagantly. Wesley Webb's versatility to play defensively, pass accurately to play attacking midfielder and as a forward is enormous-He is excellent at using both feet both at shooting and at passing. As my coaching friend Hayden Martin (CIC) would say, 'Webb is real class'. Connection's stupid 11 Brazilian move has blunted yet another brilliant career. I would advise that he seeks a transfer to Jabloteh.
Brent Rahim's distribution of the ball is wonderful he has the ability to play excellent one touch football and he has a lot of vision. He is also technically sound on both feet. The Gold Cup is evidence of his talent. To say he is not ready at 22 is nonsense. If anybody have proven that they are not ready it would be Nigel Pierre, Lyndon Andrews and Carlos Edwards. Perhaps T&T should try and arrange a 'B' squad to see what they have got. Rahim have shown a lot of patience and maturity in his game at Under 23 (Olympic) and Senior level (Gold Cup).
Dale Saunders is very simply the new 'Hutson Charles' . I need say no more. He scored a wicked goal that I would have to take a whole article to describe, 2 nights ago. Just suffer me to say it was from twenty five yards out, from the top-right side corner of the 18 yard box, it was hit with the outside of the right foot. It viciously dipped and swerved after traveling along a straight line for 99% of its flight, into the far left 'V' .It was not a chip or a lob. It was a cracking strike which stunned the keeper was looking for a cross to curl away from goal. These fellas need time to prove themselves.
Then there is Avery John and Shawn Garcia who are also very gifted players. While T&T''s team currently have an impeccable defensive record when it comes to conceding goals in the qualifiers, the defenders with the exception of Rougier are unable to pass the ball properly and accurately out of defense. In games when pressing would be used and the ball is played on the ground our defense would be in serious trouble.(Especially if Cox fails to show up).Avery John and Shawn Garcia are strong aggressive tacklers who can read the game and can pass the ball well. John in particular is also versatile enough to play on the flanks and is also familiar with the central midfield and sweeper positions. I suggest that Porterfield attempt to discover the depth of his resources.
Latapy, Eve, Elcock, Carrington and Mason are all good individuals but they are not smooth together.
Carrington is an excellent passer of the ball the weighting and direction of the ball in counterattacking situations makes him absolutely deadly. He is also a very aggressive tackler but he does not cover ground quickly enough.
Latapy is an excellent dribbler and creative midfielder but gives no defensive output.
Elcock has plenty of pace but the tactics used thus far has limited his running to the midfield third, when he is much better in a free role. However under pressure makes numerous unforced errors.
Mason is a tireless worker and a nuisance to any attacking player, however his attacking output is miserably low and inaccurate.
Webb, Saunders, Rahim, Avery John, Shawn David and Shawn Garcia all have traits to create a midfield that would complement itself. They all have excellent technique and hence the ability to carry out instructions. They are our future, Porterfield or No Porterfield. Something must be done to polish them.
Porterfield should do some experimentation here. I am not recommending that he drops or picks any one player but that he finds suitable combinations that complement each other. The talent is available. Of course there is always the proven option of Nakhid and Hutson Charles in midfield and Leonson Lewis, Prosper . ONLY PRACTISE GAMES WOULD PROVIDE THE ANSWERS and our low budget preparation must end immediately. We have to start spending some money, because the crowd support is there and wherever there is a crowd there are businessmen. So the money is there. The spectators such as I would find the money.
Our present team is surviving on situational improvisation, which admittedly all teams must do to an extent. But we can no longer continue to allow our midfield to produce such BLUNT performances. We are becoming highly predictable and unimaginative.
While Lawrence has played very well as a sweeper thus far, he is unable to use the instep to pass a long ball and his execution of tackles leave a lot to be desired. He uses the right foot when he should the left and tackles side on rather than full on. He tackles by sticking in a foot rather than following through. However his reading of the game is excellent and he wins more balls by interception than by tackling. His authority on the air has been very good however.
Marvin Andrews has no ability to make an accurate pass. He is unable to pass accurately with the instep and has to use the side of the boot. In the last game against Panama he attempted a cross and the technique he used left many in the crowd speechless. He used a 'side on golf stroke approach' with the side of the foot. He drove the ball straight across the area at about waist height. But Andrews is a near impregnable barrier to aerial balls and is also very good at getting to them in attack. Undoubtedly he is a deadly weapon in the air.
The required technique and talent to guarantee versatility just isn't there IN THE PRESENT SQUAD.
If some of our players pick up injuries only God knows how we'd survive against the likes of the USA, Mexico, Costa Rica and Jamaica. And let me say here only three teams can make it.
And as my ancestors used to say "FOWL THAT DOH HEAR 'shoo' DOES FEEL 'VAPP!!' "
