Stern: We have the experience to make it again.

[FireBrand]

Stern: We have the experience to make it again.
... Ricky Hill optimistic.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
 
Trinidad and Tobago Striker Stern John is banking on the experience and current form of some the country’s players to provide an edge going into the semi-final stage of the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.
T&T still has to get past the winner of the first round tie between Bermuda and Cayman Islands which will be played on February 6 and March 26.
The winners will then clash with T&T in a second round home and away tie on June 14/15 and June 21/22. Once through to the semi-final stage. T&T’s campaign then will kick off on August 20. The possible opponents at that stage could be the United States, Cuba and Guatemala.
John, in good form at the moment with five goals in six games for Southampton, is relishing the chance to face the Americans prior to the final round.
“I definitely think we can qualify a second time and the most important thing at the moment is getting things back in order and ensuring we have the best team prepared for the matches,” John told TTFF Media.
“I think we can make it into the semi final round and that’s where things can get tricky because those other three teams will all be up for it. We know exactly how we have to prepare now with the draw out of the way and I think once the players and the Federation can work together as well as the stakeholders then we can come out of the group and head into the final round. I think both the Federation and the players want to work together for the benefit of the cause which is getting to South Africa and once we can get off on the right foot then we will have things in our own hands.
“If you look back at the last campaign, it took us three games to really get going and we were still able to get through to World Cup even though Russell came in and made an impact and of course we had Dwight as well. But this time around we have seasoned players, men who have played in a World Cup and know what it takes to qualify for a World Cup. We have a fair bunch of players who were in Germany who can do the job still and we have some new talent as well. It’s also a good chance to meet the US earlier on and I think I’ll really like to get a win over them before my playing days are over John added.
Another man who is no stranger to T&T football, English-based coach Ricky Hill, is firm on his belief T&T’s chances are as good as any in CONCACAF.
“Initially Trinidad will be will happy with the Bermuda/Caymans second round game but it’s at the semi-final stage where it seems to get be a little more difficult,” Hill told TTFF Media.
“But with the talent you have in the country and then overseas, I truly expect Trinidad to be one of the two advancing to the final stage and then you take it from there.”
Hill, former head coach of CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh, left Trinidad on Wednesday after being here for a few days looking at local talent for export. “That’s the idea. Trinidad is a kind of an untapped source of real quality players. OF course now things can be a bit different because they have withdrawn workman’s holiday permit in England and unless you have the caps then you might have to through another European route such as Belgium, Holland or Denmark. The players may have to go through a slower route before they go to England but they should not be disappointed because there is a lot of talent here that can make it,” explained Hill, who is a former Leicester City and Luton Town player and has three appearances for England.
Hill has been keeping tabs on T&T’s UK-based players and added that Kenwyne Jones and Stern John have continued to be a force for their respective clubs.
“They are all progressing very well and they are contributing to their sides in a great way. Stern did a great deal for Sunderland and then moved to Southampton. Kenwyne’s form has been excellent and his status is climbing higher and higher and right now he’s in very good form which could see him moving again from Sunderland in due course. Carlos has been unfortunate last couple months but he’s been in fantastic form prior to that,” Hill said.

[dreamer]

Good article. The author is making an effort to do the right thing these days. So 

[weary1969]

Fuentes wukin 4 d devil reincarnate. He does try. Stern boi we all wish u correk

[Sando prince]

I agree with Stern "buss de net" John....I just want to see us play more friendly games to get us better prepared before the qualification begins

[TrinInfinite]

more prep is needed but not for caymans and bermuda.... we dont need much prep there... after that game we should start worrying.... jmho reason being we dont have our full team 2gether so why assemble a half squad for intl friendlies?

God is de BOSS....

[KND2]

one of the first ariticles I see from the TTFF on a Black listed player.
wham the ban over?

[asylumseeker]

The US is beatable. Apply the appropriate tactics. Gather all necessary resources about their defeats/frustrations and let's move fwd. Leh we move like warriors.

[madness1969]

John is right! We have a good looking team with a lot of outside players. i think we should go full force against caymans or bermuda at their home ground and try to get the team 2gether early.

[Oz]

I don't agree wid that TI.  There is NO substitute for real world experience.  A "half-squad" will most likely consist of players with little or no experience on the international stage.  Everything from the plane flight to the feeling of being in a new environment plays a role in the psyche of an individual player.  Come WCQ time it would be nice to know that whatever squad is selected, they ALL would have had some experience playing against foreign teams both at home and abroad.  Bottom line is... the build up to the game and the big stage should be "been there, done that".  That is what Stern is referring to when he says "We have the experience to make it again."  

Personally, I don't really mind losing an occasional friendly.  As long as we can see some evidence of progress.  Life is NEVER about how or where you start off, its where you finish, and how high yuh could hold yuh head that counts.  The last WCQ campaign was evidence enough for that.  Let's get the mistakes out of the way early o'clock... and for heaven's sake lets get this whole "blacklist" S#!T out of the way early also.  The important thing is to find the right blend of hungry players to represent T&T.  Veterans hungry for chance to make it better this time around, and youngsters hungry to make a name for themselves.

All of us would have our "what ifs" regarding WC2006.  Imagine the amount ah "what ifs" running through Carlos, Stern, Tallest, Brent, Cornell, Latas and...yes.. even Hardest head regarding the last WC.  What if Hardest was even training with the squad prior to the Ash Wednesday game vs the USA.  I say mucho preparation.  The more the merrier.  Let us not underestimate anyone, not even the Cayman Islands.  Let's try to minimize surprises and "what ifs".

[Peong]

Right now I wonderin if we will have the full squad for that first playoff.
It not that far away.
The impasse has been going on for how long, a year now?

[Ngozi]

I think our conditioning will be the determining factor the only squad Ive seen play 90 mins soccer since the strikesquad was the soca warriors and they were fit that is the key....the US is always fitter than us and they beat us when we get tired and our concentration lags if we're depending on local players fitness levels and hoping for or foreigners to come back fit we're going out at the semi finals level....and again i maintain WIM is shit.......and I stand by that......rigidly

[TrinInfinite]

I don't agree wid that TI.  There is NO substitute for real world experience.  A "half-squad" will most likely consist of players with little or no experience on the international stage.  Everything from the plane flight to the feeling of being in a new environment plays a role in the psyche of an individual player.  Come WCQ time it would be nice to know that whatever squad is selected, they ALL would have had some experience playing against foreign teams both at home and abroad.  Bottom line is... the build up to the game and the big stage should be "been there, done that".  That is what Stern is referring to when he says "We have the experience to make it again." 

Personally, I don't really mind losing an occasional friendly.  As long as we can see some evidence of progress.  Life is NEVER about how or where you start off, its where you finish, and how high yuh could hold yuh head that counts.  The last WCQ campaign was evidence enough for that.  Let's get the mistakes out of the way early o'clock... and for heaven's sake lets get this whole "blacklist" S#!T out of the way early also.  The important thing is to find the right blend of hungry players to represent T&T.  Veterans hungry for chance to make it better this time around, and youngsters hungry to make a name for themselves.

All of us would have our "what ifs" regarding WC2006.  Imagine the amount ah "what ifs" running through Carlos, Stern, Tallest, Brent, Cornell, Latas and...yes.. even Hardest head regarding the last WC.  What if Hardest was even training with the squad prior to the Ash Wednesday game vs the USA.  I say mucho preparation.  The more the merrier.  Let us not underestimate anyone, not even the Cayman Islands.  Let's try to minimize surprises and "what ifs".

i hear yuh breddah.... but to me we have been playing with over 5 diff teams, not our strongest single team.... when we can get all of our players on the same page, then it is vital to have a friendly, cayman islands aint no big team, we could have sent our locals to play dem and win, without worrying.... after that leg then we should worry, if we get our strongest team for cayman or we know we will have the full squad, then of course, lets get some friendlies goin, other than that i not worried a bit..

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED TT TEAMS THAT WILL EVER PLAY....GOD WILLING

God is de BOSS...

[maxg]

I think our conditioning will be the determining factor the only squad Ive seen play 90 mins soccer since the strikesquad was the soca warriors and they were fit that is the key....the US is always fitter than us and they beat us when we get tired and our concentration lags if we're depending on local players fitness levels and hoping for or foreigners to come back fit we're going out at the semi finals level....and again i maintain WIM is shit.......and I stand by that......rigidly

Why do you think so, or is it just their style/program - emphasis more on running, marking..etc..rather than technical skill, that allows them to seem more fit than our players ? I think their whole program is geared to run at 80 % max for 110 mins...and not focus on wheter the pass (shot or beat..etc.) was good or not, buh how one react to it....size of fight in the dog...Unfortunately, it works for them..I don't think it is so much a matter of fitness, as comfort, with thatkind/level of game.... Ideally, any coach would love to have, any of our stars, and dem able to do their do at 50 % more speed, and 20 more minutes...but to play how we play, even train, with the heat at home..it's not easy...Some might say, well, Brazil have heat too...Though maybe not as much as us....nb: ah remember only 1 Brazilian playing at 100 mph, and even then only for30-40 mins (Jaizinho)..Very difficult to even learn to play at such pace..buh ah tell, meh, 1st couple years here, with high school final happenning in snowfall, ah learn to speedup and move a lot, very fast..
Consequently, as ah arm-chair coach, I wouldn't play the same strategy, maybe not even pick the same team to play against the US, as I would against Mexico...Unfortunately, real coaches disagree..

[dinho]

I don't agree wid that TI.  There is NO substitute for real world experience.  A "half-squad" will most likely consist of players with little or no experience on the international stage.  Everything from the plane flight to the feeling of being in a new environment plays a role in the psyche of an individual player.  Come WCQ time it would be nice to know that whatever squad is selected, they ALL would have had some experience playing against foreign teams both at home and abroad.  Bottom line is... the build up to the game and the big stage should be "been there, done that".  That is what Stern is referring to when he says "We have the experience to make it again." 

Personally, I don't really mind losing an occasional friendly.  As long as we can see some evidence of progress.  Life is NEVER about how or where you start off, its where you finish, and how high yuh could hold yuh head that counts.  The last WCQ campaign was evidence enough for that.  Let's get the mistakes out of the way early o'clock... and for heaven's sake lets get this whole "blacklist" S#!T out of the way early also.  The important thing is to find the right blend of hungry players to represent T&T.  Veterans hungry for chance to make it better this time around, and youngsters hungry to make a name for themselves.

All of us would have our "what ifs" regarding WC2006.  Imagine the amount ah "what ifs" running through Carlos, Stern, Tallest, Brent, Cornell, Latas and...yes.. even Hardest head regarding the last WC.  What if Hardest was even training with the squad prior to the Ash Wednesday game vs the USA.  I say mucho preparation.  The more the merrier.  Let us not underestimate anyone, not even the Cayman Islands.  Let's try to minimize surprises and "what ifs".

i hear yuh breddah.... but to me we have been playing with over 5 diff teams, not our strongest single team.... when we can get all of our players on the same page, then it is vital to have a friendly, cayman islands aint no big team, we could have sent our locals to play dem and win, without worrying.... after that leg then we should worry, if we get our strongest team for cayman or we know we will have the full squad, then of course, lets get some friendlies goin, other than that i not worried a bit..

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED TT TEAMS THAT WILL EVER PLAY....GOD WILLING

God is de BOSS...

so TI, if this was true, then why all our other concacaf opponents wasting all that time with their extensive preparation programs gathering their pool of players, playing a setta friendlies and working on finalizing their teams for the qualifiers?

they should just do like us and pelt dey strongest, most talented men together in time for game and tell them show up for de match?! because according to your logic, the most talented team will win...

u stay there and doh worry yes...

[Tallman]

more prep is needed but not for caymans and bermuda.... we dont need much prep there... after that game we should start worrying.... jmho reason being we dont have our full team 2gether so why assemble a half squad for intl friendlies?

1. We have played Bermuda seven times and blow dem out twice (4-0 and 5-0). We draw with dem twice and dey beat we (Strike Squad) once. De other games were 1-0 affairs.
2. We lorse tuh Antigua in 2005
3. Remember when we had tuh scrape past St. Vincent in 2004?

We need tuh approach each game with discipline. We cyar discount nobody.

[TrinInfinite]

I don't agree wid that TI. There is NO substitute for real world experience. A "half-squad" will most likely consist of players with little or no experience on the international stage. Everything from the plane flight to the feeling of being in a new environment plays a role in the psyche of an individual player. Come WCQ time it would be nice to know that whatever squad is selected, they ALL would have had some experience playing against foreign teams both at home and abroad. Bottom line is... the build up to the game and the big stage should be "been there, done that". That is what Stern is referring to when he says "We have the experience to make it again."

Personally, I don't really mind losing an occasional friendly. As long as we can see some evidence of progress. Life is NEVER about how or where you start off, its where you finish, and how high yuh could hold yuh head that counts. The last WCQ campaign was evidence enough for that. Let's get the mistakes out of the way early o'clock... and for heaven's sake lets get this whole "blacklist" S#!T out of the way early also. The important thing is to find the right blend of hungry players to represent T&T. Veterans hungry for chance to make it better this time around, and youngsters hungry to make a name for themselves.

All of us would have our "what ifs" regarding WC2006. Imagine the amount ah "what ifs" running through Carlos, Stern, Tallest, Brent, Cornell, Latas and...yes.. even Hardest head regarding the last WC. What if Hardest was even training with the squad prior to the Ash Wednesday game vs the USA. I say mucho preparation. The more the merrier. Let us not underestimate anyone, not even the Cayman Islands. Let's try to minimize surprises and "what ifs".

i hear yuh breddah.... but to me we have been playing with over 5 diff teams, not our strongest single team.... when we can get all of our players on the same page, then it is vital to have a friendly, cayman islands aint no big team, we could have sent our locals to play dem and win, without worrying.... after that leg then we should worry, if we get our strongest team for cayman or we know we will have the full squad, then of course, lets get some friendlies goin, other than that i not worried a bit..

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST TALENTED TT TEAMS THAT WILL EVER PLAY....GOD WILLING

God is de BOSS...

so TI, if this was true, then why all our other concacaf opponents wasting all that time with their extensive preparation programs gathering their pool of players, playing a setta friendlies and working on finalizing their teams for the qualifiers?

they should just do like us and pelt dey strongest, most talented men together in time for game and tell them show up for de match?! because according to your logic, the most talented team will win...

u stay there and doh worry yes...

yuh miss the part where is said if we can get our squad 2gether, then yes lets prepare, if not i not worried until after cayman islands, its the ttff we are dealing with, not the csa or us soccer fed.. the ttff will do what they want to do, whether we talk here or not, but if the impasse is not over in time, we will have 2 settle for a full team after caymans/bermuda... diz real info and to tell u the truth i wish our team was playing 2gether b4 cayman but right now the impasse not even resolved, if it is in the next 2 months, then we should start the friendlies with the full team...

God is de BOSS....

[Ngozi]

I think our conditioning will be the determining factor the only squad Ive seen play 90 mins soccer since the strikesquad was the soca warriors and they were fit that is the key....the US is always fitter than us and they beat us when we get tired and our concentration lags if we're depending on local players fitness levels and hoping for or foreigners to come back fit we're going out at the semi finals level....and again i maintain WIM is shit.......and I stand by that......rigidly

Why do you think so, or is it just their style/program - emphasis more on running, marking..etc..rather than technical skill, that allows them to seem more fit than our players ? I think their whole program is geared to run at 80 % max for 110 mins...and not focus on wheter the pass (shot or beat..etc.) was good or not, buh how one react to it....size of fight in the dog...Unfortunately, it works for them..I don't think it is so much a matter of fitness, as comfort, with thatkind/level of game.... Ideally, any coach would love to have, any of our stars, and dem able to do their do at 50 % more speed, and 20 more minutes...but to play how we play, even train, with the heat at home..it's not easy...Some might say, well, Brazil have heat too...Though maybe not as much as us....nb: ah remember only 1 Brazilian playing at 100 mph, and even then only for30-40 mins (Jaizinho)..Very difficult to even learn to play at such pace..buh ah tell, meh, 1st couple years here, with high school final happenning in snowfall, ah learn to speedup and move a lot, very fast..
Consequently, as ah arm-chair coach, I wouldn't play the same strategy, maybe not even pick the same team to play against the US, as I would against Mexico...Unfortunately, real coaches disagree..

Well Max yuh right about the US style of play but it really aint about their style but rather about our ability to winthstand a fit team historically alot of our goals conceded have been by defensive lapses and that normally comes with fatigue which causes lapses in concentration I mean lets face it its the nature of the game..how many teams concede at the end of games when their energy levels aint there......The soca warriors had the midfield working back defensively like crazy as well as going forward rather than just sitting back and watching the defense take pressure....but is not even about playing at high tempo but being able to deal with it and absorb the pressure while still playing their natural style.......I personally think that most of our national teams are not well conditioned and when they tire thats when the lapses multiply...trini players have a tendency to play in spells and at times they can be caught watching the game pass them by sometimes

[maxg]

ah doh have no actual figures, buh i feelin we does lorse most we games early...team start orf running and we jus warmin up...of course ah not disputin the concentration/fatigue aspect, just sayin dem does hit the ground runnin, while we checkin dem, checkin the crowd, diggin the atmosphere, take ah wave ...oh shim we down 1 yes   

[madness1969]

we need to get the team 2gether like yesterday. lets not waste time. get de outside players and local on the field