Fellas, wanted to post ealier but just didn't get a chance.
About five years ago, I sat down with Cyrile Regis (former WBA, Aston Villa and England) while he was passing thru to Grenada. He played with Dwight while he was as Villa.
He said that everywhere he went in Trinidad everyone pointed out to him that Russell was a much better player that Dwight.
When I asked him his thoughts on that, he said that he had never seen Russell play, however, he said that it didn't underscore what Dwight had achieved in England.
The first thing Dwight had to do was to adapt to the playing conditions in England and to the fast-paced style of play. This didn't happen overnight and in fact it took a couple of years. Cyrile said that it was really no surprise Dwight excelled because he worked very, very hard on his fitness, his skills and his overall game. He was one of the more disciplined and dedicated youngsters on the field. Dwight was also fortunate that he was picked up at a very early age is his playing career to pursue professional football.
This is what I believe puts our players at a dis-advantage when they move to England and other countries. Pound for pound, we have naturally talented players that I believe may be better than most of the players in England. But they lack discipline, a hard work ethic and that little technical edge to take them over the top.
It also is a case of being in the right place at the right time.
It is a shame that we have very talented local footballers like Whitley who after playing in the WC should be picked up by an overseas club, but at age 27, how much can he really develop and show his class in a major foreign league.
Laters