Carlos in, Stern out
Five overseas pros for Gold Cup
Ian Prescott iprescott@trinidadexpress.com
Trinidad Express
Saturday, April 28th 2007CARLOS EDWARDS, the Sunderland midfielder, is among six foreign-based professionals called to training to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
But most of the Soca Warriors who played at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, including Edwards' club teammate Stern John, have been omitted.
Of the overseas pros, Wim Rijsbergen, Trinidad and Tobago's head coach, called Jason Scotland, who has scored 26 goals for Livingstone in Scotland this season; goalkeeper Clayton Ince, who has 19 clean sheets for League Two Walsall; Sparta Rotterdam striker Darryl Roberts; Edwards; Swansea defender Dennis Lawrence; and recently-signed Chicago Fire defender Osei Telesford.
Omitted from T&T's World Cup squad are: Avery John, Cyd Gray, Aurtis Whitley, Brent Sancho, Collin Samuel, Anthony Wolfe, Cornell Glen, Kenwyne Jones, Kelvin Jack and Marvin Andrews.
Rijsbergen's training squad also include locally-based Densil Theobald, Silvio Spann and Kerwin Jemmott, along with goalkeepers Jan Michael Williams, Marvin Phillip and Daurance Williams.
Contacted yesterday, Rijsbergen said he is still hoping for an amicable and speedy solution to the dispute over outstanding money some members of the T&T World Cup squad are claiming is owed to them by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation as the Gold Cup is just over a month away.
"I am still talking to the Federation," Rijsbergen declared. "We have to try and resolve the problem because we have limited choices. I have also been trying to get some players to negotiate. I hope they can resolve the problem because it will affect everybody. I want to go to the Gold Cup with the best team."
T&TFF president Oliver Camps admitted that the omission of the World Cup players was a direct result of court action they had threatened against the Federation in a dispute over World Cup profits. However, Camps said they were still open to negotiations.
"Anybody who takes their Federation to court is in violation of FIFA rules. Once that threat is in the making we cannot deal with them," said Camps, who added that some of the players from the World Cup team had dropped their legal action and were now negotiating the dispute with the T&TFF.
"Dennis Lawrence is one of them, and they are others before that. Once they dissociate themselves from that action, we can deal with them. I will be glad to see the others come back. But, once the threat of court action against the Federation is looming, FIFA will not allow us to use them.
"What sense is there in us calling up these players and we cannot use them? In the meanwhile, we have to go ahead with what we have. The coach is still scouting for players," said Camps.
Efforts to contact some of the excluded players, including Sancho and Jack, proved futile. However, agent Mike Berry, who represents several of the affected players including Sancho, explained that some of the players had decided to negotiate with the T&TFF, while others opted not to.
"Dennis, Carlos and Scotty have said they are willing to negotiate with the T&TFF. Realistically, that is the only way this matter will be resolved...not by court action," Berry stated. "It's very sad we should be in a state after the glory of the World Cup. What this impasse does now is open up the way for some younger players to make their way into the national team. Remember, there was a strike a few years ago, and that opened up the way for Jason Scotland and Kenwyne Jones to get into the national team. So, some will suffer, and others will benefit."
The local national contingent resumed training on Thursday at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva. They go into camp on May 21, before leaving on June 1 for the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
