Messages

1

Football / Re: Concacaf Caribbean Shield Competition.

« on: August 15, 2023, 12:45:07 AM »

I watched nearly all the games, and I don't think it's unfair to say Club Sando were the best team at the tournament. Were it not for a bit of complacency or bad luck (depending on your view) they would have made a more competitive final.

Having said that, Rigters and Cairo were excellent for Robinhood, and it'd be hard to see Ragoo and Powers deal with them - the former a bit inexperienced and out of position at times and the latter wasn't quick enough. Trimmingham looked strong in the tournament. Alvin Jones disappointed a bit for me (apart from an excellent free kick) - I was hoping to see him have more of an influence in the games given his quality. As it was, Dillon looked the best player for Sando - strong and clinical, but able to bring the wingers into the game consistently.

If you're interested I made a best XI from the tourney;
https://twitter.com/TDMScrivener/status/1690888874644369408?s=20

2

Football / Re: Concacaf Caribbean Shield Competition.

« on: August 08, 2023, 01:01:12 PM »

On that subject, Sando are currently playing SV Dakota - watch here; https://www.concacaf.com/concacaf-go/

Dakota are angry at every referee call, and I'll be surprised if the match ends 11 v 11. Someone's going to get injured...

3

Football / Re: Concacaf Caribbean Shield Competition.

« on: August 06, 2023, 03:48:37 PM »

Matches live on CONCACAF Go right now again.

So far, Sando have looked a class above all the teams I've watched apart from Robinhood. I was surprised how easily they brushed aside Solidarité, and I'm watching hem 3-nil up against SWA Sharks (who I don't expect to pull any trees up). SWA keeper is pretty good this time and keeping the score down, last match they had another one who was terrible. Dillon looking a bit slower than usual, and a bit bulkier. SWA have a Trini in defensive mid who looks about a foot taller than everyone else, playing decently.

Junior Stars v Metro (Saint martin v Puerto Rico) turned spicy in the second half with a mini-fight resulting in two red cards. Metropolitan have a couple foreign players who look a little better than the usual standard, but I was underwhelmed by their play as a team. 

Tactically it's been interesting - real mix and some relatively complex approaches from teams you wouldn't expect - a fluid 4-4-2 from b1 FC of Saint Lucia for example (I don't think it worked overall, and in their second game it looked more structured). Robinhood of suriname focused wing play 4-2-4, whilst Junior STars of Saint Martin were palying 4-2-3-1 and insisting on playing out of defence despite being (on paper) significantly weaker (which hurt them on one or two occasions). Counter attacking seems very popular.

I've been impressed by a couple - Andrus Remy was the saving grace of B1 FC in the first match, but anonymous so far against Robinhood. Shaquille Cairo of Robinhood looking good, and Romario Barthéléry of Golden Lion impressing from right back.

If you're bored I would recommend - I'm watching two games at once at the moment...

4

Football / Re: Levi Garcia Thread

« on: August 03, 2023, 08:02:37 AM »

Agreed. He's 25 and just got a good salary guaranteed until he's 30, which sets him up right. If he moves to Celtic, who is to say it works out? If it fails, he might struggle to get Champions League football again, and he's clearly enjoying his time on the pitch.

5

Football / Re: TTFA/TTFF Players of the Year

« on: August 03, 2023, 08:00:35 AM »

Wiki page here;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinidad_and_Tobago_Footballer_of_the_Year

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Football / Re: Concacaf Caribbean Shield Competition.

« on: August 03, 2023, 07:20:27 AM »

Today this competition kicks off! They'll likely show the matches on CONCACAF Go for free, or stream on Youtube as they did last year.

7

Football / Re: Concacaf Caribbean Shield Competition.

« on: August 03, 2023, 07:19:31 AM »

Army target Caribbean Cup following Premier League double.
By Jelani Beckles (T&T Newsday).

DEFENCE Force coach Hutson Charles said despite completing the double in the TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) there is still room for improvement including defensively and being more clinical in front of goal.

Defence Force clinched the TTPFL Knock-out title with a 5-3 win in extra time over Terminix La Horquetta Rangers in the final played at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex on Saturday night.

Charles was an elated man when he spoke to Newsday on Sunday. “Very satisfied. We set out a goal and we achieved it so right now I am very relaxed,” Charles said.

Despite the titles this season, Charles said there is room to grow.

“First of all before the next (local) season we have the Caribbean Cup (in August), so we still need to improve our fitness, we still need to improve defensive wise and we still have to put away our chances...we get a lot of opportunities, but we still have to make them count. I think once we do that we are going to be okay.”

A hat-trick from Brent Sam and a goal each from Kaihim Thomas and man of the match Reon Moore saw off Rangers, who started well with the opening goal from in-form striker Tyrone Charles in the 15th minute.

In muddy conditions, Defence Force equalised nine minutes later as Moore placed a neat through-ball to a surging Thomas who made no mistake to beat Rangers custodian Jabari Brice. Moore continued to pester the Rangers’ defence and earned a penalty in the 32nd minute. However, Sam’s shot sent Price the wrong way but the ball deflected off the left post and out.

The score remained level at the half but Defence Force came right back into it eight minutes in, as Sam slotted home from close range and then headed past Price, courtesy of a Jelani Felix cross, to make it 3-1 in the 58th minute.

The army’s two-goal cushion was soon cut in half as Tyrone Charles’ smart free-kick ricocheted off the bar and into the path of Ross Russell Jr, who scored past Defence Force goalie Christopher Bigette in the 68th.

Moore, Thomas and Sam continued to keep the Rangers backline busy and should have regained Defence Force’s two-goal lead before the final whistle. But five minutes from regulation time, Rangers won a penalty courtesy of a Jules Lee handball, to which Charles rifled home to level the contest at 3-3.

Into the first period of extra time, Moore continued to cause problems up front and chipped the ball onto the crossbar which fell to Sam’s feet, for his first Cup hat-trick.

Sam’s goal sent them 4-3 up and reignited Defence Force. Rangers though, began to press harder looking for another possible equaliser. But it was not to be, as Moore, who played provider for the entire game, shared a nice one-two with Thomas in the final minute (120’) of extra time to get on the scoresheet and affirm Cup victory. For his valiant efforts, Moore was adjudged man of the match. After the match, Moore, in an interview with SportsMax said he believes the team can succeed at the Concacaf Caribbean Cup. “We have a good programme set in place for the boys, so once we listen to everything the coaches have on board for us I think we are going to do good.” Moore and Sam were the standout players for Defence Force scoring or assisting on all the goals.

“I think they really stepped up big time,” Charles said. “You could see that they really wanted it. They put their team on their back and carried the team. Their performance was tremendous, I could not ask for nothing more.”

Charles knew his players had the stamina to play 120 minutes.

“I told them just keep focused and keep the concentration going because I always felt that if we had to go into extra time we probably would have prevailed because we know that they have some older legs in the back, so I just told them be patient and go at them.”

The win for Defence Force saw them cap off the nation’s first season of domestic pro football, post-pandemic, with two titles; league and knockout cup.

This belongs in the other thread - Sando is the only Club Shield team from T&T

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Football / TTFA/TTFF Players of the Year

« on: August 03, 2023, 07:11:57 AM »

Morning all!

I'm delving into a bit of history lately, and trying to make a more complete list of the TTFA/TTFF players of the year (i.e. not the league one), which I'm putting onto Wikipedia and into Football Manager (I do research for them, I mentioned it many years ago when I started). Struggling to find it, often random tidbits have info (e.g. player profile in a random website, obituary).

So far I have;

Mens;
...
67 - Sedley Joseph
...
83 Latapy
.
85 Latapy
.
.
.
89 Latapy
...
96 Latapy
.
98 Dwarika
99 Dwarika?
00 Carrington?
01 Dwarika
02 Stern John
05 Yorke
07 K.Jones
08 J.Scotland
09 Not awarded
10 K.Jones
12 Hyland
13 K.Jones
21 A. David
22 L. Garcia

Women;
...
00 - Leslie Ann James?
01 - Leslie Ann James
02 - Tasha St. Louis
05 - Cordner
...
08 - Cordner
09 - Not awarded?
10 - Cordner
.
12 - Cordner
13 - Cordner
...
19 - Cordner
20 - Cordner
21 - Cordner
22 - A.James

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Football / Re: Caribbean Club Football League Thread

« on: July 07, 2023, 03:12:44 AM »

Each team in the group stage is getting 160k US now  u win the group Bonus 40k us u make semis 80k us

I've not seen this - where'd you see it? It's be great, as in the past all they've done is subsidise part of the travel costs and accommodation (50%?)

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Football / Re: 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Thread

« on: July 07, 2023, 03:08:18 AM »

Coaching is the answer. Nations that focus on "elite" training go nowhere, whilst countries that have a wide and deep base of good quality coaches at all levels do well. Iceland is the stereotypical example here, but it's what has been true in Spain for years.

Trinidad has benefitted from the competitiveness of the SSFL in this regards, as it has improved the quality of coaching in schools, which targets a wide base. It still results in "elite" mentality though, and it's hard to see where the TTFA would get money to fund a wider coaching badge push.

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Football / Re: Southern Football Association Thread

« on: July 05, 2023, 09:01:24 AM »

So did this season get opened? It's depressing how badly reported on the regional leagues are

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Football / Re: Caribbean Club Football League Thread

« on: July 05, 2023, 09:00:46 AM »

Same thing that always happens (and I remember commenting this in the last thread) - it's financially not viable.

Having a Caribbean league would involve a hell of a lot of international travel with hotels, ferries/planes, rented training grounds for away teams, the works. That's on top of players having to take more time off of work, which is a reality with our current levels.

And what financial return is realistic? How many currently tune in and turn up to the big Caribbean games? I remember many years ago barely anyone turning up to Central FC's home game in the Caribbean Champions League. No way any company makes a return, and making it a league compounds the issue as it has to happen so many more times than a knockout cup.

The Caribbean Cup needs financial support to exist, since CONCACAF force us to work through that medium to reach where the actual money is in the main competitions. The format is a product of financial reality - group stage based in one country where we can save money block-booking accommodation, referees, travel, and training facilities. It should, in my opinion, also be regionalised if it is expanded, i.e. into at least 4 groups gathering local countries.

The whole professional/not professional split is arbitrary and also massively increases the cost for the "non professional" teams, who consequently have to do more than one set of travel. If you want a realistic Caribbean competition you'll need to have 6 groups of 6 (biggest nations/highest ranked by CONCACAF coefficients get two entrants), heavily regionalised (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Trinidad, Suriname, Guyana, French Guiana for example, or wherever makes for the cheapest flights/ferry), with 8 going through to a final qualification tournament.

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Football / Re: TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) Thread.

« on: July 05, 2023, 08:52:58 AM »

So Police has a team in Div2 also. So if the Police was to win Div. 2, will there be two Police team in Div. 1

TTFA statutes prevent this I think... Most FIFA nations have stipulations that teams can't be from the same club, or indeed the same ownership. A couple Caribbean nations do allow though - hell the Turks and Caicos had three academy teams (Academy Jaguars, Cougars, and Falcons, and confusingly whether they were the first, second, or third team changed depending on the year...).

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Football / Re: Concacaf Caribbean Shield Competition.

« on: June 13, 2023, 11:51:20 PM »

The "professional" and "non-professional" distinction is a red herring. I can't tell you what it means, what is a "professional" contract?

Taking a stab at predictions, as I've spent most of the past month looking into historical games to try and help my Football Manager research;

Group A - between Jong Holland and Metropolitan FA, I'm going Jong Holland.
Group B - Golden Lion are looking very strong domestically, so it's whether Waterhouse turns up or not (Jamaican teams are either very good or shockingly bad from what I've seen in the past, so whilst on paper they're the strongest, you never know).

Group C - three relatively strong teams should see B1 not get to see much action, especially given the chaos of St. Lucian football in the past 5 years. Hard to pick between them, but if I have to I'll say OyM, as Dominican teams tend to buy in a bunch of southern/central american talent for continental competitions. Robinhood (and Inter Moengotapoe in the past) have done it before, but I'd be surprised if there's the money. Etoile are also good,, but haven't seen a French Guianese team play outside of home in so long I'm not sure what we'll see. They used to play a Guyanese competition (Suriname, FGUI, Guyana) that they won the last two versions of (2018, 2019).

Group D - Club Sando should mop the group up, but Solidarité Scolaire are a good outfit, and I Was really impressed with SWA Sharks last time out. They lost every game, but it was competitive, which I wasn't expecting from TCI. Dakota are no scrubs, but I don't expect them to be able to compete with Solidarité and Sando.

15

Football / Re: TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) Thread.

« on: June 13, 2023, 02:52:06 PM »

I am absolutely loving it. Trying to keep up-to-date with the games but failing at the moment (work is crazy until the end of this month)

The TTFA made a list of matches with FIFA+ links in case you didn't know, see below;

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iFnjK1gZ-s2ZIFco0uEYuND4jN4nju0W/edit#gid=1008088244

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Football / Re: As­cen­sion Foot­ball League Thread

« on: January 19, 2023, 08:20:55 AM »

Did they ever publish a league table?

Edit: Never mind, on the FA's Facebook page

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Football / Re: Elite League Thread

« on: January 19, 2023, 08:18:41 AM »

I'll see you all in February for another moan...

Any updates about this league? Which teams will be in Div 1, which teams will be in Div 2. When will the “transitional season” start . All we have is early 2023, we’ll that’s soon .

I'm thinking February was too optimistic...

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Football / Re: TTFA License Coaching Course Thread.

« on: January 04, 2023, 04:25:46 PM »

Sounds positive. Still no attendee list I see. They used to publish that type of thing.

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Football / Re: Zonal Football League Thread

« on: December 28, 2022, 07:22:24 AM »

Maloney edges La Horquetta on penalties in EFA kayo final.
T&T Guardian Reports.

Maloney Eagles FC captured the Ascension Eastern Football Association (EFA) Premier Division $10,000 winner-take-all knockout crown after they overcame league champions La Horquetta XF 4-3 on penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw in regulation time at the Phase II La Horquetta Recreation Ground, La Horquetta on Sunday.

Former national player Nathan Lewis stunned the host when he fired Maloney ahead as early as the second minute, but Jamal Creighton hit back for La Horquetta in the 15th minute before another ex-national player Ataulla Guerra put the host ahead for the first in the 34th minute which they held until the half-time interval.

Within 13 minutes of the restart, Saleem Henry got Maloney back on level terms at 2-2 and despite the best efforts of both teams the match ended 2-2 at the end of regulation time, and in the shoot-out, Maloney held their nerves to come away with the victory, making amends for their runner-up finish in the league.

For Maloney, Henry, Joshua Alexander, Keron Clarke and Lewis all scored their attempts with Sean Bonval the lone player to miss while Creighton, Guerra and Tyrone Charles converted their attempts for La Horquetta with failed attempts coming from Aikim Andrews and Isaiah Lee.

In the semifinals a week earlier at the Maloney Recreation Ground, Maloney trashed Malabar FC 7-0 with Daniel Warner scoring a hattrick in the 29th, 31st, and 32nd minutes while Alexander, Bonval,  Keston Williams, and Jadel Carter added one each.

In the second semifinal, La Horquetta XF twice came from behind to defeat Terminix Lighting 3-2 in their semifinal at the same venue on Wednesday.

For Terminix Lighting, national youth team striker Real Gill opened the scoring in the fourth minute, but the short-handed La Horquetta who only fielded 12 men for the contest drew level seven minutes later through Guerra, only for Leonardo Da Costa to restore Terminix Lighting’s lead in the 42nd minute for a 2-1 lead at the interval.

Ten minutes into the second half, Lee got La Horquetta on level terms for the second time in the contest before Guerra fired in the decisive item, his second of the match on the hour mark to book his teams’ place in Sunday’s final.

Last month, La Horquetta defeated Maloney Eagles FC 3-0 to claim the $25,000 league top prize ahead with 21 points from nine matches while Maloney finished in the second spot, two points behind the winners for $15,000, with Bon Air FC securing the $10,000 for third ahead of Malabar FC on goal-difference after both teams ended with 18 points each.

Hold up

La Horquetta has 2 teams in the same league?? (EFA)

I thought the same, but it seems Terminix Lightning isn't a reserve of the other two, just another sponsored team.

Could be wrong

20

Football / Re: Elite League Thread

« on: November 09, 2022, 05:58:17 AM »

I'll see you all in February for another moan...

21

Football / Re: Dennis Lawrence Thread

« on: October 24, 2022, 11:09:52 AM »

Vaguely related, but in one of the We are Wrexham episodes, the office has a TTFA flag up on the wall, presumably a throwback to Dennis Lawrence.

Dennis Lawrence. Carlos Edwards. Silvio Spann. Hector Sam. Think there's someone else I'm forgetting.

Damn you're right, forgot so many went there!

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Football / Re: Zonal Football League Thread

« on: October 23, 2022, 11:23:05 AM »

A website is promising!

If you wondered, the website is still totally incomplete. Not even got the executive up on the pages.

23

Football / Re: T-League Thread.

« on: October 23, 2022, 11:21:58 AM »

So the Elite/T league is in full swing now right? It's the second half of October so we should be several games down?

Shambles. No accountability.

24

Football / Re: Dennis Lawrence Thread

« on: October 23, 2022, 11:19:01 AM »

Vaguely related, but in one of the We are Wrexham episodes, the office has a TTFA flag up on the wall, presumably a throwback to Dennis Lawrence.

25

Football / Re: T-League Thread.

« on: September 11, 2022, 01:54:52 AM »

No news in a month? Sigh

26

Football / Re: Ascension Caribbean Cup Thread

« on: September 11, 2022, 01:51:40 AM »

What's the point of yet another expensive foreign coach? Sod them all and invest in local talent. Take the US$100K and maybe pay down the debt, or support youth teams, or pay the decade overdue prize money, or give it to clubs to fund the youth team.

Youve been sold a pipe dream local coach's don't have the tactical knowledge to coach at the international level nor  do they know anything about youth development.

Says who? I'd rather pay the money to train them then. Foreign coaches come and go and barely leave a mark. Did we get our money for Saintfiet? The welsh guy? If we train our own, locally, they will either stay and enhance our game, or leave for a foreign team and that can have more tertiary benefits than the fly-by-night crews. I'm increasingly convinced the patronising and arrogant approach that a lot of coaches treat the island with is nothing but detrimental.

A local coach will save you money but there inability to get results would cost more in the long run  a foreign coach will cost more money but get the results to make TT team competitive on the international stage putting your money on a local coach that is going no were is a waste of time and money.

If I was Saintfiet I would walk off the job to TT football is run by a bunch of clowns D J  Williams was a successful businessman but he was not a professional.

I feel like you are looking at the problem backwards - if our coaches are bad how can our youth develop? There's no foreign coaches working with the U13 in Laventille, no U14 coaches in Arima. These are the people we should be investing in - they give us the pipeline.

Also, the insane wages these guys get would be significantly better served supporting a domestic league where our talent can get the practice necessary to improve.

Those who refuse to keep up with the times would be left back in time!!

Then lets ensure our coaches in our youth pipeline are up-to-date with modern coaching qualifications?

27

Football / Re: Ascension Caribbean Cup Thread

« on: August 22, 2022, 11:51:56 PM »

What's the point of yet another expensive foreign coach? Sod them all and invest in local talent. Take the US$100K and maybe pay down the debt, or support youth teams, or pay the decade overdue prize money, or give it to clubs to fund the youth team.

Youve been sold a pipe dream local coach's don't have the tactical knowledge to coach at the international level nor  do they know anything about youth development.

Says who? I'd rather pay the money to train them then. Foreign coaches come and go and barely leave a mark. Did we get our money for Saintfiet? The welsh guy? If we train our own, locally, they will either stay and enhance our game, or leave for a foreign team and that can have more tertiary benefits than the fly-by-night crews. I'm increasingly convinced the patronising and arrogant approach that a lot of coaches treat the island with is nothing but detrimental.

A local coach will save you money but there inability to get results would cost more in the long run  a foreign coach will cost more money but get the results to make TT team competitive on the international stage putting your money on a local coach that is going no were is a waste of time and money.

If I was Saintfiet I would walk off the job to TT football is run by a bunch of clowns D J  Williams was a successful businessman but he was not a professional.

I feel like you are looking at the problem backwards - if our coaches are bad how can our youth develop? There's no foreign coaches working with the U13 in Laventille, no U14 coaches in Arima. These are the people we should be investing in - they give us the pipeline.

Also, the insane wages these guys get would be significantly better served supporting a domestic league where our talent can get the practice necessary to improve.

28

Football / Re: Ascension Caribbean Cup Thread

« on: August 21, 2022, 05:46:09 AM »

What's the point of yet another expensive foreign coach? Sod them all and invest in local talent. Take the US$100K and maybe pay down the debt, or support youth teams, or pay the decade overdue prize money, or give it to clubs to fund the youth team.

Youve been sold a pipe dream local coach's don't have the tactical knowledge to coach at the international level nor  do they know anything about youth development.

Says who? I'd rather pay the money to train them then. Foreign coaches come and go and barely leave a mark. Did we get our money for Saintfiet? The welsh guy? If we train our own, locally, they will either stay and enhance our game, or leave for a foreign team and that can have more tertiary benefits than the fly-by-night crews. I'm increasingly convinced the patronising and arrogant approach that a lot of coaches treat the island with is nothing but detrimental.

29

Football / Re: Ascension Caribbean Cup Thread

« on: August 14, 2022, 04:31:43 PM »

What's the point of yet another expensive foreign coach? Sod them all and invest in local talent. Take the US$100K and maybe pay down the debt, or support youth teams, or pay the decade overdue prize money, or give it to clubs to fund the youth team.

30

Football / Re: Ascension Caribbean Cup Thread

« on: August 11, 2022, 02:16:38 PM »

Competence is always a threat to entrenched incompetence.