1. What will it take for us to qualify for the 2007 Gold Cup. Any ideas, plans, your team, things you feel we can do - etc etc. The 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ is scheduled to take place 6-24 June in cities across the USA with venues to be announced in November.
Well, my first plan of action would be to assemble a north american based team including a local based team from Trinidad and Tobago and the uk/europe based squad. All teams are seperate until the final selection is made after the initial tournament. They would play together for three weeks which would help them defensively and offensively, then evidently they would come together at a neutral venue where they will face off in a triangular tournament. This allows the coach to view all players that can represent Trinidad and Tobago, it will also get them accustomed to playing against and with one another. After the final 22 to 25 players have been selected, they will embark on a series of training camps for another 2 weeks prior to the gold cup qualifying. Additionally all players should be training 120 minutes of football to fight the the tired syndrome. The players who cannot make all Gold Cup games should make this known to the coach and thew federation prior to qualifying and the tournament, chopping and adding players continuously will throw off the balance and also the cohesiveness of the team. We will then embark with these players to play two warm-ups games against world class opposition, preferrably from the south american continent. We should only tour with the national players who have made themselves available for all games, full commitment and dedication is required at all times in order for us to take our football to the next level.
2. What will it take for us to actually "win" the 2007 Gold Cup. Seeing that its an all CONCACAF team tournament now and most if not all of our foreign players are saying that want to take part. Give us your ideas on this or even a team you will like to see play at the Gold Cup in order to make this a reality. CONCACAF announced that the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup™ will consist of exclusively CONCACAF teams and no guest teams will be invited to participate in the event as in the past.
It will take heart, commitment and desire from the players and the TTFF. Unwanted distractions like the impending player dispute with the ttff, must be resolved if we are to have a focused team that stands a chance of taking home some silverware. Also in order for us to win we must have a team which has gelled and has been playing together for a few weeks and knowone another well enough, notwitstanding the coach must also know what he has and how he can come up with the best possible line-up according to the team we are playing. However, the most important element aside from the aforementioned listed is having a team together for a extended period of time training and gelling, without chopping and changing.
The best team possible for Trinidad and Tobago footbal at the moment in my opinion is: Marvin phillips, Clayton Ince, Brent Sancho, Nigel Daniel, Dennis Lawrence, Cyd Gray, Clyde Leon, Carlos Edwards, Chris Birchall,Kendall Jagdeosingh, Andre Touissant, Kerry Baptiste, Kerwyn "Hardest" Jemmott, Colin Samuel, Aurthis Whitley, Densil Theobald aka "Bleeder", Keon Daniel, Hayden Tinto, Andrei Pacheco, Stephan David, Dwight Yorke, Stern John, Jason Scotland, Kenwyn Jones, Cornell Glen and lastly Jerrol Jorbes.
3. What will it take for our Women team to at least qualify for the World Cup. Or is it to late. Can we slip pass Mexico and go onto to beat or even a tie vs USA and onto ASIA for the playoffs. What could have been or should be done to help our beloved ladies. The Champion team and the runner-up will automatically qualify to the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup in China. The third-place finisher in the CONCACAF event will face Japan (from the Asian Football Confederation) in a home-and-away playoff for the final berth in the FIFA tournament. T&T is one of only two teams to have taken part in all CONCACAF Women's Championships (the other being Canada), the islanders played five games in order to qualify for the 2006 Gold Cup, posting a 100 per cent record.
I think they still have a chance to qualify, nothing is impossible, I feel the TTFF needs to pay more attention to our women's football and also greater investment is needed for further warm-ups and training sessions. Including a world class coach should also be employed to help the womens team, or at least Wim our current national Sr. team coach for the Soca Warriors in his off time in tt could at least give some advice for the ladies; maybe conduct practises and drills with them to help out the program, but like our men's program we need the TTFF administration to be visionaries, right now we are lacking that insight and foresight for better football.
4. What will it take for our under 16/17 team to qualify for the under 17 youth world cup. Knowing that 5 CONCACAF teams will go through to the finals. The 2007 CONCACAF U-17 Final Round is set for April 2007 and will have total of nine countries competing in two groups, with groups to be hosted by Honduras (Group A – four teams) and Jamaica (Group B – five teams). Joining the host nations in the CONCACAF U-17 Final Round are Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Trinidad & Tobago and USA, with the draw to determine the teams in each of the groups (A & B) scheduled for early November.
It will take alot of heart and practise, better planning and also more players must be scouted for a better team. I think the players we currently have playing is not the best mix of players to take us forward. I also feel that the dutch coaches currently coaching in Trinidad and Tobago should be helping in terms of strategy, it is time to implement the systems of our senior team with our youth teams for continuity and preparation so the transition and workload is easier when these youths step up to the next level. In order for us to qualify we need a plan and also a team who plays together and stays together, right now in this off time the youth team should be doing fitness exercises to get their fitness levels to international standards, hence up to par. They should also be working with national coaches Van Diesen Wim to improve on areas of their game that need working on, with coaches who have coached and trained european professionals and the experience to guide these youths in the right direction. Most importantly, the youths have to want it as much as the supporters, they have to learn how to play smarter football in order to beat world class teams.
5. What will it take for our under 20 team to qualify for the under 20 youth world cup finals. Can Brian Williams take us there. Does he have the right players for the job, can we get by the Reggae Boyz - etc etc. The 2007 CONCACAF U-20 Final Round will have eight countries competing in two groups, with groups to be hosted by Panama (Group A: 17-21 January) and Mexico (Group B: 21-25 February). Joining the host nations in the CONCACAF U-20 Final Round are Costa Rica, Haiti, Guatemala, St. Kitts & Nevis, USA and another Caribbean team (Jamaica or Trinidad & Tobago), with the draw to determine the teams in each of the groups scheduled for late November.
I think Brian Williams can take us there but with the right help and support, not all players are great coaches, I think he also needs to scout more players and have the side more competitive, they need to play against their seniors and better opponents more than once every few months. I think we can get by the reggae boyz, simply because traditionally we have always played smarter football than JA and they have always played more agressive football but with the right attitude, training and mindset we could beat any team in the caribbean on any given day because we have talent on the team already but we are missing components in the areas of defense and the striker position which could be filled with an open camp for over 3 weeks where the players can get it right and Williams could solidify a winning team.
God is de BOSS....
