Messages

121

Football / Re: U-15 Men's Football Team Thread

« on: July 23, 2019, 06:48:14 PM »

Zandolie, JW, DJW!!! We have to live with them. Right now is DJW. You have to deal with him. In a fractured society like ours, football at this juncture is not important. Life is!  In the Afro-TT community where 99% of the footballers originate, there is an unbelievable belief in self destruction. How these youths come out and participate, and in some cases produce international performances, is mind boggling. Then the lack resources from that sector of the society that has it,  and stand by the side (in many cases, quite rightly) is utterly painful. Imagine, Venezuela is in dire straits, There are Vens. coming to TT on boats to escape their version of hell. Yet their youths came and destroy our youths. Their "failed govt" found the resources for their sports program. Our govt is already straddled with the failed pro-league. Other sport organizations needs just as much attention. The money for the failed pro-league could have gone to these youths for longer preps. and competitive international friendlies.

I agree, more or less. Impoverished mindset (TTFA) + great talent (footballers) = poor performance. Bad admin produces sub-par results no matter the talent of the athletes. The 'resources' argument is a joke. 

122

Football / Re: U-15 Men's Football Team Thread

« on: July 22, 2019, 07:30:44 AM »

Having listened to Fevrier's comments after the conclusion of the Mexico match, I think he has a clear picture of the U15s and I think his comments were really thoughtful, reasonable and honest. Unlike his experience with the senior team, I think if his U15s had 21 matches and comprehensive international exposure from Thailand to UAE to Iran etc., I think we would be seeing a U15 with a notable product even better than the many positives that were on display during these three matches.

There is evident talent among the U15s and we must not be discouraged by the results because there are players in the mix with football futures. What needs to change is how youth football is organized within the country or we just need to take all our talent abroad and train them in another environment.

Cant help but wonder if deeper but subtle cultural undercurrents inform the way we structure development.

It's well established that nation-states exhibit differing and measurable attitudes with respect to cultural building blocks such as respect for authority, attitudes to risk, hierarchy, learning, decision-making etc. These attitudes in turn dictate the form and structures of institutions and how information is communicated within them.

Here's a crazy thought... what if our collective attitudes arc toward low tolerance for learning and risk, high deference to authority, and high preference for structure over flexibility, stability over growth. Could the cultural expression  these values manifest as soothing ourselves with relatively risk free, highly structured practice sessions and eschewing the higher risk, less stable, maelstrom of testing players in actual games? 

Case in point :T&T is known to score high in deference to authority. The game bent to the will of Jack Warner for decades. Now we bending over for DJW. It's not coincidence both these individuals be act like a one man show. I think they expect deference in accordance with our predilection to show it.

IMO, unless your compass is oriented true, you will be lost, no matter how sophisticated the vessel.

123

Football / Re: U-15 Men's Football Team Thread

« on: July 20, 2019, 12:17:41 AM »

This team has been doing a lot of work...but what kind of work? Fevrier is probably doing what Latapy did before him; produce practice champs....We need less camp time and more playing time. T&T players weakest areas are tactical awareness, spatial awareness, ability to think quickly, and showing unshakable belief. These thing don't come from 2 years of practice and drills.

They need more international games earlier in the development phase to apply and process what they learned. Then they need to face those same teams again, repeatedly if necessary, to accelerate their growth and confidence as players and as a team.

Moreover I think we have to move away from picking players based on physical skill in practice sessions and develop an eye for those players who show fight and can develop physical and mental skills. This is likely why coaches miss talents like Shaq Moore, Telfer etc. 

Opposing coaches invariably describe us as physical. That is telling, valuable, and actionable insight thatm invariably flies way over the heads of our administrators.

124

Football / Re: U-15 Men's Football Team Thread

« on: July 19, 2019, 09:16:55 PM »

wait who is these boys nutritionist and physical trainers, against Vene dey looking like primary school kids getting out-muscled all over d pitch, yuh would swear we is d ones with severe food shortages 

0-3 steups two years, no tactical drilling, physically weak, terrible

From Wired 868.com: Molino strikes as T&T tie Guyana; DJW absolves himself and Lawrence of blame
June 26, 2019

"And John-Williams, who previously described the Men’s National Senior Team as his ‘flagship team’ advised fans to pay attention to their Boys’ National Under-15 Team instead.

“Un­der this ad­min­is­tra­tion, we have de­lib­er­ate­ly said that we are go­ing to build from the ground up,” he told the Guardian. “I have said it, from the first day of my tenure, but I will close by say­ing watch our Un­der-15s play Mex­i­co, Venezuela and Pana­ma come Ju­ly.

“I think it will be some­thing in­ter­est­ing for the pub­lic to see where we have been chan­nelling our en­er­gies.”

125

Football / Re: Terry Fenwick Thread.

« on: July 03, 2019, 12:05:51 AM »

It's too bad this guy was never allowed to coach a national youth team. 

126

Football / Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.

« on: July 02, 2019, 11:56:33 PM »

The question should be. Will DJW be challenged at the next election. If he losses, there will be wholesome changes. If he wins, the status quo will prevail.

Correct. Coaches operate within frameworks set by the management team. Poor management will result in subpar/underperformance relative to expectations no matter who is coaching or playing.

 

127

Football / Re: U-15 Men's Football Team Thread

« on: June 27, 2019, 06:23:52 PM »

"With regard to competitions, each team has an identified number/minimum number of foreign participations and tournaments that are predetermined. In that organisational framework, you'll never get a U15 not travelling because the U19s have another priority."

Lol, does our FA work like that? The bossman himself said he was channeling "energy" into a team. Mexico, Venezuela etc coming over here and yet they can't put U-23s on a plane? Whether financial or political its clear prioritization/triage is being carried out.

128

Football / Re: U-15 Men's Football Team Thread

« on: June 27, 2019, 11:13:00 AM »

Well DJW touting this team as special, saying this is where TTFA is putting all it energy. We go see...

A few weeks ago he stated the senior team was where the focus was directed.

There's a term I return to occasionally on this forum vis-à-vis the setting of policy and agendas. The term is "picking winners". It first gained currency in the context of governments and economic policymaking but it has application to say, picking the U15s as winners and discarding the U23s as losers.

How many guava seasons does the policymaker anticipate living through before all fruits supposedly ripen in a subsequent generation? Send a memo to the fans and tell them to return whenever you deem fit. 2030? 2034? ... after the golden generation has emerged so that the fans can brace themselves for the famine between now and then.

Picking winners is not an enlightened way of making sustainable comprehensive sports policy or of setting a federation's agenda, but it certainly would be appealing to someone with authoritarian inclinations and "Big Man-ship" tendencies who is running a national federation via an Emergency Committee that ignores that the "emergency" is the totality of the federation itself rather than one or two or three components of it's functioning.

"Non-democratic governments may — emphasize may — be better at picking winners and euthanizing losers, though I’m guessing dictators have other deficiencies that make them lousy capital allocators."

That's a quote from Canadian economist, William Watson writing in the Financial Post in November 2018. The article is titled "Our governments could pick winners, but they can’t resist backing losers". It's a bit thick reading but if you sift through to the middle  of the article, the relevance to the TTFA becomes clear.

Maybe from a fan perspective it would be strategic to trigger government intervention into the affairs of the national federation. Eventually that would pick the TTFA president and his collaborators as losers and the national community as winners.

Mr. Prime Minister, it's a winning proposition and a vote getter. Have you seen the response to the petition? It's a referendum on the land provided by the State to the TTFA.

One could make the argument that an FA is entitled to pick winners and losers. It is the FA's business to manage the fundamental problem of allocating resources among competing interests. But that's not really the issue. DJW is not picking winners, he is playing a crude, shameless smoke and mirrors by deflecting from a national humiliation. If you are deflecting then you aren't taking responsibility, regardless of how well the U-15s perform. As you suggest if the youths do well he can point to generational talent and claim it as superior preparation on the part of the FA

129

Football / Re: U-15 Men's Football Team Thread

« on: June 26, 2019, 09:54:55 PM »

Well DJW touting this team as special, saying this is where TTFA is putting all it energy. We go see...

130

Football / Re: I want T&T tio lose Thread

« on: June 25, 2019, 10:23:03 AM »

Hoping to shame DJW and associates into action is a loosing strategy. Because they have no shame. No matter who the coach he will fail under this FA. And DJW ain't going nowhere. He will probably win re-election. The real shame lies with those who let this destructiveness happen. We let Jack and friends run amok in 1974, 1990, after the 2006 WC, and we'll continue to let it happen because football administrators in T&T generally lack integrity and courage.

131

Football / Re: U-15 Men's Football Team Thread

« on: June 25, 2019, 09:56:16 AM »

"The tournament is scheduled to run from July 17- 21 with three (3) match-days, to be played on July 17 at the Ato Boldon Stadium, July 19 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium and July 21 back at the Ato Boldon Stadium."

"T&T have been grouped with Panama, Mexico and Curacao for the group stage of the Concacaf championship at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida from August 4-12.

“Panama and Mexico are in our group and playing them in the competition at home will give all the teams a good opportunity to have a look at each other. By the time the Concacaf championship comes around we would have played against four very good opponents in the preparations,” Fevrier said."


Good initiative, but like most everything about historic and ongoing  TTFA administration decision-making it is flawed. You really have to question whether playing these powerful teams for the first time so late in the game, just before a tournament, will produce the intended benefits. Its takes time to absorb and reflect the lessons of such games. This should have happened about six months ago, with subsequent matches to guage progress happening now.

However beggars can't be choosers, and its still a great opportunity for the boys to build on going forward.

132

Football / Re: 2018 CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship Thread

« on: November 13, 2018, 02:45:22 PM »

who is that fella with "deep pockets"?

jack had deep pockets. or at least he had his hand deep in OTHER people's pockets

133

Football / Re: 2018 CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship Thread

« on: November 12, 2018, 07:23:50 PM »

Is there any private entity or entities willing to partner with the TTFA to form a REAL academy for Boys and girls, please step up. TT at this moment is unable to compete effectively in this competition.

I keep dreaming (BTW what ever happened to Dreamer?)

I keep dreaming that somebody with deep pockets and the clout (Respected by all) would set-up and implement a winning program which taps into and shocases our natural, god-given talent in football.

Someone who knows the rich history of our players and clubs competing and playing with some of the best in Europe.

I guess I am longing to see our Mbappe's and Latapy's and Judah Garcia's and Lincoln Phillips, and Gally Cummings type players be harnessed, live together in camps and produce football that would be the envy of the region, the world.

I still feel there is a better brand of football than Man City and Barcelonia which comes from "Friends" living together and having a deep chemistry borne out of kinship and selflessness (ala Kante).

But I confess. I'm a Dreamer. I feel like Dr. MLK Jr.

We already had a fella with deep pockets and plenty clout. Be careful what you wish for

134

Football / Re: Who is Nicklas Frenderup?

« on: November 08, 2018, 10:35:07 PM »

DL is not interest in players born outside Trinidad and Tobago  i believe....

Not so sure about that...wasn't Lawrence the man who influenced Birchall to play for T&T. Dunno why he would have anything against foreign born

135

Football / Re: Thread for T&T vs Iran Game (15-Nov-2018)

« on: November 08, 2018, 10:27:39 PM »

4. Where de hell is Ranjitsingh?

5. WOW @Isaiah Lee

ent?!? angus eve rates him very highly and maybe got the ear of lawrence. it can't hurt to try a ting.

solid squad, but would have been nice to see one or two more fresh faces including ranjitsingh.

136

Football / Re: 2018 CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship Thread

« on: November 08, 2018, 11:40:47 AM »

D same super league dat Djw tried to frustrate...in this instance I can't argue with lookloy holding his ground on the fee.....Andre is a disingenuous snake

I believe Andre's point is that the TTSL should have accommodated the U20 NT through national interest, but as you observe, the TTFA and its functionaries do not function in a vacuum or live in a world without consequences.

There are also parallel and similar critiques regarding other T&T national teams that Andre excludes. Did he do so selectively?

I thought the idea of the U-20s participating in the TTSL was a fairly reasonable idea and was disappointed
by their exclusion, but let us accept that idea for what it was - expedient and desperate in the lack of viable alternatives. It also strikes me that the proposal would have needed ratification by the Technical Committee rather than by fiat of the president or technical director.

The buck doesn't stop with the TTSL, it begins with the TTFA. And, in light of how things panned out for the U-20s, it seems that the TTSL averted a domestic version of the internationally publicized begging that occurred with the WNT in Texas and Virgina.

I thought it was a good idea too.... it was done with eve's u20s.... correct if I am wrong, back in day, but on principle, given the struggles to get the ttsl ratified, ttfa role in those struggles and the league's desire to maintain its rules and regulations, I can understand why hardball was played regarding the fee.

Sent from my BLU STUDIO C 8+8 using Tapatalk

2009 u-20 team played in the 2009-2009 super League under Zoran Vranes leadership. They went on to make the 2009 world cup. This time around it would have helped immensely. But to say the super league/look loy are to blame for the loss is disingenuous at best. Its not a good look for DJW. Good leaders don't need bottom-licking attack dogs. 

137

Football / Re: Judah Garcia Thread.

« on: November 07, 2018, 06:37:27 PM »

I watched him play in the CAC games and for a 17 year old who played against players 21 years old he did pretty good he is T&T future #10 just hire a good coach and keep away people like Shabazz ,Corneal ,L Philip ,S Hart and all them other clowns and he will develop into a great player.

you put shabazz in the same league as hart? whatever fine herb you smoking i want some

138

Football / Re: 2018 CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship Thread

« on: November 05, 2018, 10:14:06 PM »

They did well to win their first two. It would have been an uphill battle to beat the U.S. on our best day, far less beat them after three months of no training. Our defensive naivete was on full display.

139

Football / Re: David John Williams Thread.

« on: October 29, 2018, 10:20:05 AM »

When is the next ttfa election for pesident? I hope it’s soon.

I hope so too. His tenure has been abysmal. However look at the progression of TTFA chiefs...Jack Warner, Camps, Tim Kee, and Williams. With arguably the exception of Tim Kee, none of these people has served with distinction, to put it mildly. I'm not well versed in corporate governance, but it seems the TTFA needs to strengthen its internal controls, and improve transparency by strengthening disclosure requirements. Without beefing up its governance, what is to prevent any new leader from conducting business in the same self-serving, destructive manner as Williams, Camps, or Jack?

140

Football / Re: 2018 CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship Thread

« on: October 22, 2018, 07:24:15 PM »

Anyone in the TTFA President's position with any shred of conscience or integrity would have resigned a long time ago. This administration almost makes me long for a return to the days of Jack and Ollie. DJW is not even fit to affix Camp's jock strap

Dude, please!. Doh start. We used to be cussin Jack and Ollie for some of the same things that happening now. Doh mention them people names as a relieve for the  ineptness of the present administration.

Lol we qualified for 4 world cups and 1 close shave under Jack and Ollie. Under DJW we cant even make it to CONCACAF qualifying. I mean literally, in some cases, can't put a team on a plane to play football.  We should not revisit that era, but DJW and his team, in terms of results, is a colossal failure, undoubtedly the worst TTFA president in decades.

141

Football / Re: 2018 CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship Thread

« on: October 22, 2018, 07:07:45 PM »

How magnificent does RTK tenure at the helm look now?

Like Beenhakker to DJW's Saintfiet

142

Football / Re: 2018 CONCACAF Men's U-20 Championship Thread

« on: October 21, 2018, 08:52:04 PM »

Anyone in the TTFA President's position with any shred of conscience or integrity would have resigned a long time ago. This administration almost makes me long for a return to the days of Jack and Ollie. DJW is not even fit to affix Camp's jock strap

143

Football / Re: TTFA aims to set the record straight on its support for Women's football

« on: September 17, 2018, 06:42:24 PM »

Steups

144

Football / Re: Levi Garcia Thread

« on: September 17, 2018, 06:40:19 PM »

Looks like a deliberate sabotage of our football players who are at the national level, especially after how well they performed under hart

From there on and his firing has been deliberate sabotage and the players have been derailed

It’s sad that most don’t see this and Levi has not drop in form, when given the freedom to play freely he is a very dangerous player

no conspiracy here contro. sometimes a drop in form is just a drop in form. looks like he is getting his act together now.

145

Football / Re: Thread for T&T vs United Arab Emirates Game (06-Sept-2018)

« on: September 06, 2018, 12:03:07 PM »

Good stuff. Congrats to the team and staff.

146

Football / Re: Thread for T&T vs United Arab Emirates Game (06-Sept-2018)

« on: September 06, 2018, 11:00:17 AM »

Ok it is Lewis, just saw Big Mag's post. Having a decent game so far.

147

Football / Re: Thread for T&T vs United Arab Emirates Game (06-Sept-2018)

« on: September 06, 2018, 10:57:54 AM »

HALF-TIME: Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 United Arab Emirates. Goal by Ataulla Guerra in the 37th minute.

Tallman, is T&T No. 7 on the left wing Nathan Lewis?

148

Football / Re: CONCACAF Under-13 Champions League Thread.

« on: August 17, 2018, 04:32:56 PM »

its almost shocking to watch a local team display this degree of tenacity, good use of space making concise passes and general football intelligence at such a tender age, most especially against top level concacaf opposition. Their senior counterparts are getting washed by these teams. Somebody somewhere is doing things right

149

Football / Re: Men's U-14 Football Team Thread.

« on: August 10, 2018, 10:52:47 PM »

T&T 3
Aruba 1

150

Football / Re: The little magician waving his magic-wand once more.

« on: February 26, 2018, 12:42:48 PM »

Latapy's youth coaching record:

6 wins
13 losses
1 draw

In the last 2 years

1 win
6 losses

goals for: 6
goals against: 28