Kenwyne Jones wary of England starlet.
By: Lasana Liburd (Express).[/size]
Grow wings!
Trinidad and Tobago head coach Leo Beenhakker has not yet asked national striker Kenwyne Jones for an opinion on England starlet Theo Walcott. But, if Jones was to offer advice to his national defenders, it would probably be along these lines: "Grow wings!"
The 17-year-old Walcott spent the last five months on the bench at England Premier League giants, Arsenal, who signed him from Southampton for 5 million pounds in January-although the fee could rise to 12 million pounds based on his performances. He is yet to play in the Premiership or European Champions' League and remains a mystery to the international press.
Jones, who plays for Southampton, knows Walcott well from their time together at the south coast football club and is in no doubt about the threat he can pose. Walcott, for the record, also has Caribbean roots as he is the great nephew of former West Indies and Barbados star cricketer, Clyde Walcott.
"His pace is frightening," said Jones. "He has a decent touch and a good football mind too. But you have to see how quick he is to believe it."
Trinidad and Tobago's central defensive pairing of Marvin Andrews and Dennis Lawrence can hardly boast of being formidable opponents in sprint challenges. However, the "Soca Warriors" does not lack pace with players like Dundee United striker Collin Samuel and San Juan Jabloteh full back Cyd Gray, who once bore the sobriquet "Roxborough Rocket".
Jones has bad news for Beenhakker, though. He thinks Walcott is faster than both of them.
Word from the Arsenal training ground supported the claim of the former St Anthony's College utility player. Walcott, who is nicknamed "Tiger" for his resemblance to US golf legend Tiger Woods, is said to consistently beat the mercurial Frenchman.
Thierry Henry at 15-metre sprints although the latter player's stronger physique gives him the advantage over longer distances.
Jones was surprised at Walcott's inclusion in England's 23-man provisional World Cup team but was happy for his quick ascension through the ranks.
"I am surprised but I think it is a good thing for him," said Jones. "He is a very humble guy and we talked a lot when he was an apprentice (at Southampton)."
Jones, who scored five times for Southampton this season, expects to chat with Walcott in Germany although they will both be "focused on what we have to do".
Walcott will become England's youngest international if he plays at the World Cup and already the British press is cooing that he is younger than Brazil legend, Pele, when he played at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. Pele, who turned 18 in his debut World Cup, was one of the competition's bright lights and helped Brazil to claim their first crown. Jones will hope that Walcott has nothing near to the great Brazilian's impact should he play when England meet T&T. But he rated Walcott as one to watch and definitely not someone to have to catch.
Beenhaakker praises Jones.
By: Kern De Freitas.[/size]
Trinidad and Tobago head coach Leo Beenhakker is happy with his team's progress, despite their poor first-half performance and a 1-1 result against Peru on Wednesday night at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain.
During the post-match media conference following the game, Beenhakker expressed disappointment with the first half, where he said the T&T squad played more as individuals than as a team.
"The first part (half) was not good, the second part was better," the Dutchman said with his usual sober expression. "The first part I recognised was a little bit of the old problem. We saw 11 players on the team, but there was no organisation, and no discipline."
He gave kudos to the players for pulling things together in the second half, saying that was closer to what was needed at the World Cup in Germany next month.
"Most of the time we had ball possession. The only dangerous moment Peru created in the second part was in minute 82. So that means that at the moment we had the match in our hands, and that's what we are looking for. That's what we have to do further on during preparation matches and World Cup matches."
Beenhakker also dismissed the suggestion that the goal scored by Peru in the 32nd minute was a defensive fault, blaming the midfield for a lack of cohesion early on.
"The problem was not defensive," he stressed. "In (the) first half the problem was that we had no discipline and organisation in the midfield. That was the big problem. I think with the same defence (in) the second half we played without any problems."
Beenhakker also praised T&T goal-scorer Kenwyne Jones.
"Kenwyne is a very important guy for the team. That's why he was always (for) all the qualification matches also selected," he said.
As to the progress of LA Galaxy striker Cornell Glen, the "Soca Warriors" coach said he had an MRI scan and been assessed by T&T's medical team and will need at least three weeks to recover.
"I will give him these three weeks to recover," Beenhakker added, "and at the same time, just in case, I will travel with 24 players to England. So probably I will call up one of the guys who are on the stand-by list, at least to have him prepared if Cornell is not ready in time."
Beenhakker is already looking forward to the pre-World Cup camps in Europe, with three weeks of intense training and friendly matches beginning next week.
"When we arrive in Austria we have three very good games against Wales, Slovenia and (the) Czech Republic, the actual number two of the world, so in that way, after the Czech Republic match, we'll know exactly where we are," the coach concluded.
And midfielder Russell Latapy, who played his final match in front of his home crowd before his impending retirement from international football following the World Cup, was lost for words, describing Wednesday as "emotional" for him.
Latapy said: "Thanks for everything you've done for me as a country, inspired me and prepared me for life, and for football, and for showing me a lot of love and giving me a lot of cherished and special memories. Thanks."
