March 28, 2024, 02:30:17 AM

Poll

IF MONEY IS NOT AN ISSUE PICK YOUR COACH

ZICO
3 (6.3%)
GUS HIDDICK
17 (35.4%)
BORA MULTINOVIC
1 (2.1%)
FRANK RIKJARRD
5 (10.4%)
BEENHAKER
19 (39.6%)
SVEN ERIKKSON
0 (0%)
MARCO VAN BASTEN
2 (4.2%)
Luiz Felipe Scolari
1 (2.1%)

Total Members Voted: 48

Voting closed: September 25, 2008, 10:34:15 AM

Author Topic: Name ah Coach Thread ;-)  (Read 56190 times)

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Offline Controversial

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Re: Vote for new coach.
« Reply #300 on: January 21, 2017, 05:01:54 AM »
Hart and Lawrence and I go book meh ticket to see Putin.

I think Hart and Lawrence can do the job. Any committee that has half of a brain will probably choose the Hart - Lawrence duo to get us to Russia.

With Leo as tech director ... now that is a coaching staff
« Last Edit: January 21, 2017, 05:05:34 AM by Controversial »

Offline dcs

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Re: Vote for new coach.
« Reply #301 on: January 21, 2017, 07:44:34 AM »

The Board of Directors appoints the Technical Committee to advise.

They don't have to limit their choices to the 5 recommended so nothing stopping them from talking to Hart.

Question is if they going to make a decision on keeping the contract as a short term one or not because Fenwick already said he not interested in anything short term. Maybe he will take it anyway but they can't afford to get rejected twice.

Could be they talking to the next choice by later today/tomorrow.

I hope they know they in for some hard lash in March for anyone who fails from their current shortlist.

Offline Deeks

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Re: Vote for new coach.
« Reply #302 on: January 21, 2017, 08:09:17 AM »
Two forumites voted for Maturana??!!  I find the fact that he in the mix is insulting as a fan.....let the dentist stay where he is....

 :frustrated: :banginghead: :cursing: :bs:

Donkey years you on this board and you ent learn nuttin about football?

Stop talking rubbish nah, maturana have more football sense in his big toe than your entire brain ...

The man is a boss coach, he was under teflon who didn't support him and get rid of him, with players not fully committed, but of course you would not consider that, nor the fact of his decorated resume..

He had us playing a very attractive and attacking brand for the short time he had with the team

Contro, I liked Pacho, but he had mixed results, even though our team was playing a good brand. And he was under heavy manners from AJW. We never had a cobo sweat with a Colombian team while he was coach. Not even a sweat with we next door neighbor. So why should he come back to the same situation as we have at this moment. Who is the man running we football? If you going to take a job, you and your principled self would not work under these conditions set by DJW. So why would Pacho?

Offline Brownsugar

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Re: Vote for new coach.
« Reply #303 on: January 21, 2017, 09:29:22 AM »
Two forumites voted for Maturana??!!  I find the fact that he in the mix is insulting as a fan.....let the dentist stay where he is....

 :frustrated: :banginghead: :cursing: :bs:

Donkey years you on this board and you ent learn nuttin about football?

Stop talking rubbish nah, maturana have more football sense in his big toe than your entire brain ...

The man is a boss coach, he was under teflon who didn't support him and get rid of him, with players not fully committed, but of course you would not consider that, nor the fact of his decorated resume..

He had us playing a very attractive and attacking brand for the short time he had with the team

Contro, I liked Pacho, but he had mixed results, even though our team was playing a good brand. And he was under heavy manners from AJW. We never had a cobo sweat with a Colombian team while he was coach. Not even a sweat with we next door neighbor. So why should he come back to the same situation as we have at this moment. Who is the man running we football? If you going to take a job, you and your principled self would not work under these conditions set by DJW. So why would Pacho?
Deeks, ah sorry eh.  But I still get flashbacks of us being defeated by Bermuda under the dentist......I really doh remember much else.....

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Offline Controversial

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Re: Vote for new coach.
« Reply #304 on: January 21, 2017, 12:42:45 PM »
Two forumites voted for Maturana??!!  I find the fact that he in the mix is insulting as a fan.....let the dentist stay where he is....

 :frustrated: :banginghead: :cursing: :bs:

Donkey years you on this board and you ent learn nuttin about football?

Stop talking rubbish nah, maturana have more football sense in his big toe than your entire brain ...

The man is a boss coach, he was under teflon who didn't support him and get rid of him, with players not fully committed, but of course you would not consider that, nor the fact of his decorated resume..

He had us playing a very attractive and attacking brand for the short time he had with the team

Contro, I liked Pacho, but he had mixed results, even though our team was playing a good brand. And he was under heavy manners from AJW. We never had a cobo sweat with a Colombian team while he was coach. Not even a sweat with we next door neighbor. So why should he come back to the same situation as we have at this moment. Who is the man running we football? If you going to take a job, you and your principled self would not work under these conditions set by DJW. So why would Pacho?

That's not pacho fault, that was teflons responsibility and fault we didn't play Colombia.. don't blame pacho for that... that's rubbish, back then we were starving for friendlies under jack ...allyuh have short memory

Offline coache

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Re: Vote for new coach.
« Reply #305 on: January 21, 2017, 03:19:23 PM »
Contro you are right about Maturana...we were playing very good football only to get better but he was undermined by Latapy and Yorke ...they wanted to coach...he wanted Latapy to play but Latapy refused.

Offline Controversial

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Re: Vote for new coach.
« Reply #306 on: January 21, 2017, 03:40:14 PM »
Contro you are right about Maturana...we were playing very good football only to get better but he was undermined by Latapy and Yorke ...they wanted to coach...he wanted Latapy to play but Latapy refused.

 :beermug:

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Offline Flex

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach thread (2011).
« Reply #307 on: July 12, 2017, 11:41:47 AM »
So we is not coach too? TTFA’s coach selection process questioned after more Connection hirings.
By R.Walcott (Wired868).


San Juan Jabloteh are one win away from sweeping the three categories of the Flow Youth Pro League (FYPL) for the third straight season.

However, with the decisive match carded for the San Juan North Secondary School compound in Bourg Mulatresse today, some people in the Jabloteh ranks feel as though their accomplishments at youth level are not being duly recognised at national level.

The club’s Under-15 and Under-17 units have already wrapped up their FYPL divisions for the 2017 season. Today, the Under-13 squad will bid to complete the unprecedented triple triple for the “San Juan Kings.”

Currently level with Police FC atop the FYPL’s standings on 46 points, the Under-13’s have the wind in their sails because of their superior goal difference; astonishingly, they have already racked up a total of 102 goals.

But despite that proud record, Jabloteh’s coaches aren’t being summoned for national duty or included in the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association’s (TTFA) Elite Youth Development Program. And Dave Weekes, the man responsible for overseeing the club’s Under-13 and Under-15 teams in the FYPL, simply cannot understand why.

The National Lotteries Control Board (NLCB)-sponsored Elite Youth Development Program is geared towards discovering Under-13 players and nurturing and harnessing their skills with a view to preparing them for future national teams.

The head coach in the Elite Youth Development Program is Stuart Charles-Février, head coach at W Connection whose junior coaches, Clyde Leon and Leonson Lewis, serve as assistants in the TTFA Grassroots Program.

At present, Earl Jean and Elijah Joseph—both former St Lucia international players; like Février—are the only established Connection coaches who do not also have jobs with the TTFA, which is presided over by Connection owner David John-Williams.

After TTFA technical director Muhammad Isa informed Février that he would be the person responsible for overseeing the Elite program, the Connection coach—who is also one of Dennis Lawrence’s assistant coaches at national senior team level—said he decided to bring former national players Leon and Lewis on board.

Février noted that both men were competent enough to do the job and that he and the pair had already established a good working relationship.

However, Weekes, who has been a coach at Jabloteh for almost two decades, is questioning the TTFA’s method for assigning coaches to the Elite Youth Program. And he is not alone in raising these concerns.

Former TTFA Technical Committee chairman Dexter Skeene previously told Wired868 that the local football body did not follow proper protocol  in hiring Williams for the Under-20 job last year. And now former National Under-20 coach Derek King is making noises similar to Weekes’.

“This thing in Trinidad about elite and elite. How we could have an elite program?” Weekes asked Wired868. “Jabloteh winning every year—if we ain’t win all three, we taking two—and none of the coaches could coach a national team? Something have to be wrong.

“Why we doing such good work and our coaches cannot even get a water-boy work coaching a national team? We are doing something wrong then; we have to be doing something wrong!”

Weekes suggested that Jabloteh head coach and technical director Keith Jeffrey along with Under-17 coach Gilbert Bateau are both capable of steering national youth teams to success. And in support of his claim, he pointed to Jabloteh’s quarterfinal finish at last year’s CONCACAF Under-13 Champions League tournament.

In recent times, the National Men’s Under-17 and Under-20 teams have had indifferent returns as the Russell Latapy-led Under-17 unit failed to get past the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualifying stage last year while the Under-20’s, under the stewardship of coach Brian Williams—another W Connection employee—failed to advance from their group at CONCACAF level.

The National Under-20 coach Derek King also wondered aloud to Wired868 whether the David John-Williams-led administration is continuing in the same vein as the questionable appointment cited by Skeene.

“It’s really sad. Nobody ever contacted me knowing I’m from the East/West corridor to help out with the Elite Youth Program,” said King. “I don’t know. It’s really strange and it’s sad to know that nothing ever really came out advertising that coaches were needed for these positions. So I don’t know if it’s a personal agenda against coaches who were there under the previous administration.”

Skeene and two other technical committee members vacated their posts after Lawrence was hired as national senior team coach in January. It is uncertain who replaced them on the committee or if indeed there were any replacements at all.

TTFA general secretary Justin Latapy-George told Wired868 that a technical committee was indeed in operation at the TTFA. However, he stated that Isa, the technical director, would be better placed to say exactly who was on the committee and explain their functions.

Wired868 tried unsuccessfully to reach Isa for clarification on the process used to hire Février as Elite Youth Program head coach and the current composition of and goings-on in the Technical Committee.

King, however, who led Trinidad and Tobago’s Under-20 team to Caribbean success in 2014, has already concluded that certain coaches are being sidelined.

“We haven’t heard anything since we resigned,” he told Wired868. “[Former national senior team assistant coach] Hutson Charles and I have never received a letter from the organisation thanking us for our service and stuff.

“It’s really sad because we have served the country as coaches for quite some time and we had success at youth level. I personally feel that they have sidelined certain coaches who were there with the previous administration.”

Weekes, who said he helped to nurture the likes of Jason Marcano and Warriors standout Kevin Molino, echoed King’s sentiment while ex-national stalwart and current Club Sando coach Angus Eve also indicated that he had not been contacted concerning the National Elite Program.

“They condemn Jack Warner and now the new president come in and like it’s only South people [being hired],” said Weekes. “What these fellahs have over us? We are not in the clique. […] Either the [technical] director [Keith Jeffrey] too mannish or they find the coaches are too mannish.

“They are overlooking the Youth Pro League. I cannot see why W [Connection’s] coaches alone are being selected and they cannot beat us in any competition. I could vouch for that. When teams come to play Jabloteh, I always tell my players that they are coming to beat the name so you must have that pride.”

King feels that more transparency in the selection process of coaches, inclusive of advertisements detailing the positions available and the requirements to be met would help improve the TTFA’s relationship with eager coaches and the general football public.

But transparency regarding their coach selection process is not the only issue being raised about the TTFA these days. Veterans Football Foundation of Trinidad and Tobago (VFFOTT) president Selby Browne has sent an official request to the umbrella body asking for answers to a slew of questions about how the administration is utilising the funds received from the NLCB’s TT$8 million sponsorship.

In a document containing dozens of incisive questions revealed at the TTFA’s EGM on Wednesday 5 July, Browne’s asked the TTFA inter alia, “What is the total cost of salary and administrative expenses of the NLCB grassroots program?”

And he also asked the TTFA to reveal the names of the directors of the NLCB grassroots program.

Février, who suggested that the Elite Youth Program was still in its teething stage, vowed to do his part as he and his staff try to find the best crop of youngsters to develop into future national standouts.

“The Elite Youth Development Program is two-fold,” he told Wired868. “Yes, we want to have a good Under-13 team but we also want to develop players for the future of Trinidad and Tobago football. It’s a means to an end. And the end is the national team […] in the next six to ten years we want to see them competing at the international level.”

The TTFA has scheduled a zonal Under-13 tournament to run from September to November. At the end of it, the plan is to select an ‘elite’ pool of about 50 players to work with Charles-Février and company in the future.

Weekes, King and Eve will hope that there’s room for them—and maybe Jeffrey—in that company.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Flex

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #308 on: September 17, 2017, 03:46:00 AM »
Can coaches resuscitate T&T football? King, Jordan give benefits of coaching body.
By R.Walcott (Wired868).


You are nine games into the season and your team sits atop the TT Pro League standings with 18 points. Additionally, you have only this week been on hand to witness your veteran marksman, Kerry Baptiste, grab his 150th league goal on Tuesday night.

Surely North East Stars coach Derek King has reason to be smiling, right? Maybe a Pro League title is on the cards for him…

King, a former national defender, who also served as assistant coach to Stephen Hart during his tenure as “Soca Warriors” head coach, believes that local coaches—and football stakeholders—need to pull together more than ever now: in its 16th year, the Pro League, he thinks, may well be on its last legs.

King is not alone in his view; Brian Jordan, a former member of the technical staff of St Benedict’s College in the Secondary Schools Football League and Point Fortin Civic FC in the Pro League, is also eager to see a body representing national coaches up and running.

“We’d love to see the League stay alive and for the clubs to get some financial help,” King told Wired868. “Once that is sorted, we are playing here to win and that’s our ambition. But right now, we as a league are in dire need of help.

“It’s hard to see that teams can come with 14 players for a game…”

The 37-year-old King, who had his career prematurely halted by injury, was referring to last Friday when three-time defending Pro League champions Central FC showed up at the Arima Velodrome for a clash with Stars with a bare 14 players.

“If Central is being affected, that means other clubs are possibly being affected too,” he reasoned. “We have to watch it that way. We as coaches can’t just be selfish in that sense because obviously if you are building and one of the bricks higher up starts to fall, then the whole building will eventually fall.

“So it’s something that we really have to check from the Pro League come right down.”

The former defender struck a sombre note as he spoke to Wired868 about the shaky footing on which the League now stands and the roles which coaches, players and administrators need to play in order to put Trinidad and Tobago football back on solid ground. Because, according to King, at the moment, local football is in a near depressing state.

King’s opinion seems likely not to be unpopular at this point, if the size of the crowd at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva for the 1 September World Cup qualifier against Honduras is any guide; a mere 5,000 fans turned up.

The whole atmosphere of the Trinidad and Tobago Football is on the down-low,” said King. “When Stephen Hart, Hutson “Barber” Charles and I were with the national team, the stadium was packed for a USA game because football was on a high at that time. Now, if you get 4,000 persons out of (a capacity of) 20,000-plus, you get plenty.”

With things as unencouraging as they have been as far as spectator turnout for national matches is concerned, it would be at least naïve to expect better at the level of the domestic league.

How can the local professional league, which suffers from paltry attendance in the first instance, generate spectator viewership which can induce sponsors to throw their hats in the ring? How can the teetering league move towards sustainability and self-sufficiency and away from dependence on the government’s purse?

A bridge too far, perhaps…

“It’s really hard now in the Pro League to get a player and give him a salary to help his family […],” said King. “Before, a player could get $10,000 and $12,000 but that has stopped. I believe some of the players now have second jobs.”

“How can we fix that?” he went on. “Fixing that is by improving the product we put out on the field to help people come and invest their money. If you don’t have a good product, then nobody will invest their money as a businessman.

“At the end of the day, we know it’s all about winning but we need to support each other as coaches, especially as the national set-up isn’t doing too well. Sponsors are not on board and, in the Pro League, the subvention has stopped from the Ministry…”

Despite lauding Stars owner Darryl Mahibir for all his backing and persistence over the years, King is not putting his money on the League to last the rest of the year unless the government subvention to clubs is resumed. Along with Jordan, the Stars coach is of the view that the Pro League may need to reshape before it can move in the right direction again.

“We need some revamping. I am not calling any names but there are people who have been there for so long and things are not improving,” said King. “That’s the reality we have to deal with now. They need to go! We can’t keep on saying we are improving and nothing is taking place […].

“We lost Digicel and Toyota [as sponsors] and yet they are saying the Pro League is getting better. The whole marketing structure is poor.”

Jordan, who is also a security and software consultant, stated that he has been advocating a restructuring of the Pro League and Trinidad and Tobago Super League (TTSL) which will see a promotion and relegation system between the two.

According to Jordan, this model would prove to be more suitable and sustainable for local football as it would operate as a semi-professional league.

“Honestly, I think it would be better for the Pro League to build from scratch; I think it was built on a bad model to start with –and TTFA as well,” said Jordan. “To me, you can’t just expect football people to run football [because] that’s just very close-minded […]. You want other ideas, other people who think differently so when you approach an issue or a problem area, you get different solutions.

“Traditionally, when sitting in a group of footballers, you get a limited scope of ideas and that’s why the Pro League is in its current state.”

Both King and Jordan believe that coaches and administrators need to get away from the crabs-in-a-barrel mentality, which, both agree, is currently plaguing Trinidad and Tobago football and clearly hindering its forward movement.

“We need to come together and get away from all this animosity and study Trinidad and Tobago football,” King told Wired868. “That’s the problem. We have too much ego in football. Is who have power and that one don’t like this one.

“We have to stop that. We must put Trinidad and Tobago football first […]; we as people create our own problems.”

Clearly on the same page of the How to save T&T football manual as King, Jordan is doing his level best to get a national coaches’ association started or, at least, to have some serious consultation about it with coaches from all over the country.

Jordan suggested that the idea for a coaches’ association was solidified last year after what he deemed as the victimization of coaches Dexter Cyrus and Michael Grayson while in their posts at St Benedict’s and St Augustine Secondary respectively.

And Jordan would have experienced the drama which unfolded at St Benedict’s first-hand, as he was Cyrus’ assistant during a season which saw a player allegedly struck by a Benedict’s team manager after a Premier Division match in 2015.

Along with Cyrus and Grayson, who is currently overseeing Trinity College East in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL), Jordan has reached out to Michael Du Four, Angus Eve, Keith Jeffrey and Clayton Morris among others in an attempt to get some brainstorming done about a possible association.

“People from all walks would be in that initial meeting,” he explained, “but the thing is I don’t want to be premature in doing it. It’s for coaches who are interested to contact me so we can get the ball rolling in a proper manner.”

He told Wired868 that interested coaches can and should reach out to him at nextlvlconsulting@yahoo.com. He believes that, once the response is right and all systems are go, the entity could be registered within a week.

“When we only look at sending football players abroad to play and we don’t look at sending coaches abroad to coach we are very short-sighted,” was how he put it. “We have to understand that there are different techniques and a classroom is good for theory but it is not the place for practical improvement.”

“And certainly, with the issues that would have grounded Dexter Cyrus and Michael Grayson,” he went on, “they needed somebody to voice their concerns on a national level because they probably weren’t the only coaches to go through that sort of victimisation.”

Reporting that the Pro League coaches and southern-based coaches have already indicated an interest in adopting the idea for their respective organisations, Jordan made it clear that he is only interested in holistic progress on a national scale—not excluding Tobago.

Having already circulated a draft constitution, he is eager for the positive feedback which can help the association become a reality. However, in response to the question of whether he had broached the idea with the TTFA, Jordan replied in the negative.

“I am mindful that, in that regard, I don’t want to put myself out there,” he explained, “as being the Coaches’ Association person. I will want a coalition of coaches to elect a duly elected body and then and only then have consultation with the TTFA.”

Jordan has laid his cards out on the table and put on his poker face; he has a King in hand. Does he have an ace in the hole?

Will he find what he needs in the rest of the pack to make it a full house?

Given the current state of T&T football, some would say, that’s not asking for a great deal…

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Deeks

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #309 on: September 17, 2017, 10:09:33 AM »
 >:(

Offline Flex

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Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #310 on: June 05, 2018, 04:44:48 AM »
T&T football coaches feeling $$ pinch.
By Joel Bailey (Newsday).


THE TECHNICAL staff members of the various Trinidad and Tobago football teams (men’s and women’s) have been feeling the pinch of the current economic climate, as far as their monthly salaries are concerned.

A few technical staff members (both men’s and women’s) are getting their monthly salaries, whereas others have either received partial payments or no salaries at all from the TT Football Association (TTFA) for the past few months.

During the last decade, a number of coaches and administrators have pursued legal action towards the TTFA (or then TT Football Federation) for outstanding salaries. That list includes Stephen Hart, Russell Latapy, Wim Rijsbergen (coaches), Anton Corneal, Kendall Walkes and Sheldon Phillips (administrators).

Latapy is back in the coaching arena, as the head of the national youth teams (Under-15, Under-17 and Under-20). Former Under-17 coach and men’s team assistant Corneal has returned as the TTFA technical director.

Dennis “Tallest” Lawrence, national men’s coach, declined to comment on whether or not his salary payments have been affected lately.

Yesterday a technical member, who did not wish to be identified, said the TTFA needs to find a solution to the matter as his salary has not been flowing as it should in recent times.

“It’s affected the smooth running of the programme, the ability to arrange proper practice games,” said the technical member. “We do have financial constraints and we have to work around them as best as we can. Unfortunately, it is going to affect all the teams.”

Asked if he is among the group of personnel who are yet to paid in full, the technical member replied, “Of course (but) I’m hoping it could be rectified very soon.”

He continued, “This is the situation of the Association right now. It’s difficult to ask teams to perform, especially when proper planning cannot be implemented. The main thing is to find solutions to these ongoing problems.”

When contacted last evening, TTFA first vice-president Ewing Davis acknowledged that his organisation is aware of the problems, and said a meeting would be planned to discuss the matter.

“While that is the reality (referring to the TTFA financial woes), I don’t want to comment on that until the Board meets and we take a position,” Davis said.

Speaking on conditions of anonymity, two national team officials outlined contrasting fortunes, with regards to the salary scenario.

One official said, “I have been paid. I’ve heard that (some officials have not been paid) but I can’t confirm. I can speak for myself that I’ve been paid.”

Another official admitted that he is yet to be paid in full for the past few months. But he understands the financial issues afflicting the TTFA.

“It’s affecting the Ministry of Finance, it’s affecting everybody,” he said. “Finance is a problem in every organisation. Everybody in the (TTFA) is undergoing hardship. No team is being spared, it’s a squeeze.”

« Last Edit: June 07, 2018, 12:13:10 AM by Flex »
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Offline Controversial

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #311 on: June 14, 2018, 04:49:02 PM »
Tallest salary being paid by FIFA so why would he worry? ::)

Offline Flex

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #312 on: July 02, 2019, 01:55:26 AM »
Who was T&T’s best and worst coach in this millennium? Wired868 uses stats to answer.
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).


“At the end of the day, [Dennis Lawrence] does not have to put the ball be­hind the net and nei­ther do I,” Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams told the Trinidad Guardian. “[Lawrence] is a pro­fes­sion­al and well-trained coach, who […] has coached at the high­est lev­el and I have a lot of faith in Den­nis.”

John-Williams’ response to Trinidad and Tobago’s 6-0 loss to the United States in 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup action was a breathtakingly dismissive view of not only the current form of the Soca Warriors but the angst felt by supporters and football stakeholders.

If Lawrence—the person who selects, prepares, instructs and directly oversees the Men’s National Team—is not responsible for what happens on the field, then who is?

If John-Williams can find a sensible answer to that question, he ought to put it in a book. It might revolutionise the world of business management. But let’s stick with Lawrence for now.

There is no exact gauge for the length of time a coach needs to impart his philosophy on his squad. Some say six weeks, others six months and some as long as a year.

Lawrence’s lanky six foot seven frame has occupied the head coach’s chair since January 2017 and led the Warriors into action on 26 occasions during that period.

He has three unwanted records during that spell.

After openings wins over Barbados—albeit in a game unrecognised by FIFA, since Lawrence exceeded the number of permitted substitutes—and Panama, Lawrence was unlucky to lose 1-0 to Mexico at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. Left flanker Joevin Jones had an attempt ruled out that VAR, were it available, would have surely upheld.

But after that result, Lawrence found he just could not stop losing. What followed was the longest run of successive losses in Trinidad and Tobago’s football history.

Between Thursday 8 June and Friday 6 October 2017, the Warriors lost seven games on a trot against United States (A) 0-2, Costa Rica (A) 1-2, Ecuador (A) 1-3, Jamaica (H) 1-2, Honduras (H) 1-2, Panama (A) 0-3 and Mexico (A) 1-3. (H = home match; N = neutral venue; A = away match).

That streak eclipsed a six-match losing spell between 1955 and 1957 when the Men’s National Senior Team did not even have a coach. Sonny Vincent-Brown was the manager but the captain on the day was responsible for picking the players and the tactics.

And, fresh after the international retirement of goalkeeper Joey Gonsalves and with ageing attacker Carlton ‘Squeaky’ Hinds well past his best, it is fair to say that T&T’s amateur players struggled to get those calculations right. But not for as long as Lawrence, though.

What happened next might have a profound impact on Lawrence’s immediate future.

A cocksure United States team came to Couva, made some disparaging remarks about the waterlogged track around the Ato Boldon Stadium and then went on to be stunned 2-1 in their final qualifying match—a result that had a seismic effect.

The United States had failed to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since 1986, Panama were through to their inaugural senior FIFA tournament and Alvin Jones’ stunning 30 yard strike was shown around the world.

Glossed over was the fact that Jones’ freakish item apart—he had never scored before for the Warriors and has not done so since—it was an own goal by American defender Omar Gonzales, which separated the two teams.

A month later, Lawrence could not get wins at home against Grenada and Guyana despite being virtually at full strength.

So was the US win a fluke?

Lawrence has plenty of time to answer that question, if John-Williams has his way. But, improbably, he has set two more unflattering records since then.

Trinidad and Tobago’s 6-0 loss to USA on Saturday 22 June 2019—in their first meeting since that fateful night in Couva—was the Warriors’ largest ever defeat in a Gold Cup match and their most lopsided result ever against the ‘Stars and Stripes’.

Less well known on the weekend was that Lawrence’s men had actually set an embarrassing mark at both ends. It was their seventh straight match without a goal, which is the longest barren ever since the TTFA’s first recorded international match in 1923.

The second longest spell without a goal came during the tenure of joint head coaches Hutson ‘Barber’ Charles and Jamaal Shabazz which lasted for six matches and comprised games against: Cuba (N) 0-1, Peru (H) 0-2, Belize (A) 0-0, Peru (A) 0-3, Romania (A) 0-4 and Estonia (A) 0-1 during a seven month spell.

Lawrence’s own barren run lasted nine months and included Thailand A (0-1), Iran A (0-1), Wales A (0-1), Japan A (0-0), Canada N (0-2), Panama N (0-2) and USA A (0-6).

At present, Lawrence is on a streak of eight matches without a win, which is the second longest in the professional era of the local game. He is one winless game behind his own record of nine matches, which he set between 8 March and 6 October 2017.

The only coach to have overseen a longer stretch without a victory was Roderick Warner, who was in charge for 12 winless matches between 3 March 1985 and 18 July 1985.

Then team captain Clayton ‘JB’ Morris said the players received a box of chicken chips and a soft drink for representing their country in those days; and he still remembers the response from staff member Richard Groden when they asked for a match fee:

“Allyuh getting a plane ride; what allyuh want again?”

To be fair to Warner (R), six of the 12 winless matches in that stretch were draws—as opposed to just two for Lawrence against Japan and Guyana.

Unflattering records apart, how does Lawrence’s actual win-loss ratio stand up?

Lawrence has steered the Warriors for 26 games with five wins, six draws and 15 losses; and 19 goals scored and 39 conceded. It means he has won 20 percent of his outings and lost 57 percent.

However, Wired868 will compare based on competitive matches. Some coaches played far more friendlies against weaker Caribbean opposition than others while friendly games are largely cosmetic anyway and count for about as little as a practice test.

So here, in order of best to worst, are the competitive records of Trinidad and Tobago’s 14 coaches since 2000, based on win percentages:

1. Bertille St Clair: 21-16-0-5-59-26 (tallied as wins-draws-losses-goals for-goals against)

Wins: 75 per cent;  Losses: 25 percent.

St Clair’s run started with a 2-0 friendly win over Barbados on 2 July 1997 and ended with a 1-0 loss against Canada at the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal on 24  February 2000 because, eh, then TTFF special advisor Jack Warner thought they should have won the whole blooming tournament.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, then team captain David Nakhid later claimed that the local football body was actively trying to sabotage its own team in a bid to be rid of the no-nonsense Tobagonian.

At the 2000 Gold Cup, St Clair lost combative midfielder Ronnie Mauge to a broken leg in their group opener to Mexico, which they lost 4-0—T&T’s second largest defeat in the tournament.

Then, once they progressed to the knockout round, Warner claimed a deal with Manchester United and ordered Dwight Yorke to head back to England. By the semifinal round, forward Jerren Nixon was ruled out with an injury and Russell Latapy was hampered with a groin strain.

Yet, T&T defeated Guatemala and Costa Rica and came within a missed Nakhid penalty of their first ever showing at a Gold Cup final.

2. Otto Pfister: 6-4-0-2-11-4

Wins: 66 per cent; Losses: 34 per cent loss.

Pfister’s stay was short and not so sweet and is remembered largely for an embarrassing loss away to Guyana which meant that Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated from the World Cup qualifying series at the Caribbean stage for the first time since 1992.

Still, he did have four wins against, eh, Barbados (twice), Bermuda and Guyana.

3. Hutson ‘Barber’ Charles: 11-7-2-2-23-7

Wins: 64 win percent; Draws: 18 per cent; Losses: 18 per cent.

Charles and his assistant Derek King were joined by co-head coach, Jamaal Shabazz, midway through their spell in charge. True, their competitive games were all against Caribbean opposition. But then Charles had a largely local squad himself and it is often glossed over that it was during his tenure that Trinidad and Tobago ended a six year run without qualifying for the Concacaf Gold Cup.

But their aforementioned six match spell without a goal or a win convinced then TTFA president Raymond Tim Kee that help was needed and the local football promptly hired Canada-based coach, Stephen Hart.

4. Bertille St Clair (again!): 21-13-1-7-42-24

Wins: 61 per cent; Draws: 6 per cent; Losses: 33 per cent.

Tell us again why St Clair does not have a statue somewhere? Or a Hall of Fame induction? Or at least a plaque at the TTFA’s headquarters?

With National Senior Team players apparently unconvinced by incumbent Stuart Charles-Fevrier, Warner re-hired St Clair to have a last go at success with the country’s last ‘golden generation’ of Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy, Shaka Hislop and Stern John.

He was, at the time, the only coach to take Trinidad and Tobago to a FIFA tournament after qualifying for the 1991 Under-20 World Cup, while he also had two Caribbean Cup titles and a Gold Cup semifinal finish under his belt.

His sequel was not as successful though. He failed to win the 2000 Caribbean Cup and, although his last game was a goalless home draw to Costa Rica in the 2006 World Cup qualifier, a freakish 5-1 loss away to Guatemala—three days earlier—meant curtains for the wily Tobagonian.

He did set the stage and gather the squad that would go on to qualify for Germany…

5. Hannibal Najjar: 5-3-0-2-6-4

Wins: 60 per cent; Losses: 40 per cent.

Najjar is often remembered for calling up 91 players to try out for the national team; and for being sacked on April Fools Day, after failing to qualify for the 2003 Gold Cup following a 3-1 loss to Cuba at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium.

The fact that he only had five competitive outings—all against Caribbean opposition—might skew his final record too. But, in his defence, Najjar’s preparations were thrown into disarray when the core of his local squad went on strike for better conditions and were subsequently blacklisted.

Thus he was deprived of talent like Cornell Glen, Travis Mulraine, Kelvin Jack, Gary Glasgow, Keyeno Thomas, Lyndon Andrews, Cyd Gray, Brent Sancho and Arnold Dwarika.

6. Ian Porterfield: 22-13-3-6-44-24

Wins: 59 per cent; Draws: 14 percent; Losses: 27 per cent.

Porterfield had the rare fortune of taking over a winning team, as he inherited the squad that St Clair took to the Gold Cup semifinals. His five straight wins in the Concacaf World Cup semifinal round against Canada (twice), Panama (twice) and Mexico will take some beating too. Although his second string team lost 7-0 in Mexico City, Trinidad and Tobago topped a World Cup qualifying group including ‘El Tricolour’.

How good was Porterfield’s squad? Well, the strikers he had to choose from were: Dwight Yorke, Angus Eve, Stern John, Jerren Nixon, Arnold Dwarika, Peter Prosper, Nigel Pierre, Hector Sam, Gary Glasgow… You could probably blindfold yourself in a room with local players and probably find someone good enough to walk into a Scotland Premier League club.

But indiscipline eventually eroded T&T’s World Cup qualifying campaign and the late Scotsman was sacked after one point from their opening five games in the Hex. Not before Porterfield gave an international debut to a gangly utility player from Defence Force who started in central midfield but went on to have a fine career at centre back. His name was Dennis Lawrence.

7. Stephen Hart: 26-11-5-9-38-31

Wins: 44 per cent; Draws: 20 per cent; Losses: 36 per cent.

It is forgotten now that when Hart took over the reigns from Charles and Shabazz, giant forward Kenwyne Jones, then at Stoke City, was sometimes relegated to the substitutes’ bench behind Cornell Glen and Devorn Jorsling.

Hart changed that to good effect for the Warriors—although don’t expect Glen or Jorsling to applaud.

Trinidad and Tobago went on finish as quarterfinalists at successive Gold Cups in 2013 and 2015 and advanced to the Hex for the Russia 2018 World Cup, before John-Williams started walking on to his training pitch petitioning players to overrule their coach in deciding on friendly opponents.

In the end, three straight losses to Martinique (in extra time), Costa Rica and Honduras did for Hart—along with Kevin Molino’s fondness for breaking curfew—set the stage for an unhappy dinner at Ruby Tuesday when John-Williams showed him the door.

Hart only ever lost one competitive match in Trinidad and, three of his nine losses were on penalties and another in extra time. Take those away and his loss ratio drops from 36 to a mere 19 per cent.

8. Francisco Maturana: 17-7-6-4-26-22

Wins: 41 per cent; Draws: 36 per cent; Losses: 23 per cent.

The Colombian legend never did master English and it’s fair to say that his vision for the team was often lost in translation. Still, he did create an attractive young team with Keon Daniel and Khaleem Hyland excelling among his new recruits.

Maturana lost just one of eight home games. But three bad results in the Hex—draws to Honduras (home) and El Salvador (away) and a 3-0 loss to USA in Nashville—saw Warner swing the axe.

9. Russell Latapy: 13-5-1-7-20-22

Wins: 39 per cent; Draws: 7 per cent; Losses: 54 per cent.

Latapy’s loss record of 54 per cent is the fourth worst of any Trinidad and Tobago coach in this millennium. But he did muster a decent enough win total.

The highlight of his coaching tenure was a 2-2 draw against Mexico in Port of Spain, with the visitors already qualified and the hosts already eliminated. Otherwise there was no standout moment for Latapy—apart from Hayden Tinto’s stunning but temporary equaliser in a 2-1 loss to Mexico at the Azteca.

His last game in charge was a 1-0 win over Martinique at the 2010 Caribbean Cup but losses to Grenada (0-1) and Cuba (0-2) meant Trinidad and Tobago were already eliminated from the tournament at the group stage. And you tended not to survive embarrassing exits in those days.

10. Wim Rijsbergen: 8-3-2-3-15-11

Wins: 38 per cent, Draws: 24 per cent; Lost: 38 per cent.

The combustible Dutchman was allegedly fired for an off-field incident, after forcing an unscheduled wrestling contest on his technical director, Lincoln ‘Tiger’ Phillips. Presumably, Warner waited until he was out of the country to let him know his services would no longer be required.

On the field, Rijsbergen’s tenure was immediately thrown into disarray as the 2006 World Cup bonus dispute meant he never had his full squad for a competitive match. He lost to El Salvador (1-2) and USA (0-2) at the 2007 Gold Cup with a second string team.

11. Leo Beenhakker: 14-5-4-5-13-18

Wins: 35 per cent; Draws: 35 per cent; Losses: 30 per cent.

Beenhakker was okay, right? The ‘easiest’ opponent that the wily Dutchman coached against was Panama, which surely says something. He completed the job that St Clair started and had a memorable five game unbeaten streak against Panama (A) 1-0, Mexico (H) 1-0, Bahrain (H) 1-1, Bahrain (A) 1-0) and Sweden (N) 0-0, which would never be forgotten by those fortunate enough to live through it.

But for Peter Crouch’s cheeky tug of Brent Sancho’s hair in their 2006 World Cup group match, the Warriors had not conceded a goal in Germany and they even had a chance to get to the second round in their final group match. And all that with injury concerns with striker Cornell Glen, first choice central defender Marvin Andrews and goalkeeper Kelvin Jack and a first game red card to Avery John.

Although there are some who would never forgive him for not giving Russell Latapy more playing time—you can’t please everybody!

Beenhakker never lost a game in Trinidad.

12. Dennis Lawrence: 11-2-1-8-7-23

Wins: 18 per cent; Draws: 9 per cent; Losses: 73 per cent.

That 2-1 win over USA provoked 1,000 memes and had Trinidad and Tobago football fans walking with chests puffed out for months. But it was a rare shining moment in Lawrence’s tenure. In fact, he only won one other competitive game, which was his opening fixture against Panama back on 24 March 2017.

13. Rene Simoes: 6-1-1-4-3-9

Wins: 17 per cent; Draws: 17 per cent; Losses: 66 per cent.

Simoes talked a great game and he did have the glow of taking Jamaica to the France 1998 World Cup. But he never really got a grip on things after taking over from Porterfield.

His first act as head coach was to drop Latapy and Yorke for missing training while he cut Anthony Rougier, Reynold Carrington, Ancil Elcock and Dennis Lawrence for being ‘too old’—and this was four years before Lawrence scored the goal to take Trinidad and Tobago to the 2006 World Cup, mind you.

Simoes’ only competitive win was a freakish 1-0 result in Honduras when Trinidad and Tobago played for 70 minutes with 10 players, after midfielder Brent Rahim was ejected, and had the host team hit their post six times.

After a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica and 1-0 loss to Martinique at the 2002 Gold Cup, Warner just stopped paying Simoes, who got the hint.

14. Tom Saintfiet: 2-0-0-2-4-6

The TTFA technical committee decided it would not entertain any coach who had not coached an international team in the previous three years to replace Hart—a curious marker that ruled out not just Terry Fenwick but Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Their eventual four-man shortlist was ex-Japan coach Philippe Troussier, ex-Honduras World Cup coach Luis Fernando Suarez, ex-Colombia coach Eduardo Lara and Saintfiet, whose last coaching job was in Bangladesh.

John-Williams was asked to approach Troussier but came back and said Saintfiet was the man for him.

Saintfiet lost two games that saw the Warriors eliminated from the 2017 Gold Cup before announcing his resignation on Facebook, blasting John-Williams’ competency and telling Trinidad and Tobago that their only hope at getting to a World Cup might be in hockey.

Incidentally, Saintfiet’s both defeats were in extra time. Read into that what you will.


Editor’s Note: Stuart Charles-Fevrier never coached Trinidad and Tobago in a competitive match, so his stats were not included. But, for the record, his tally was: 8-2-3-3-8-11.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline Deeks

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #313 on: July 02, 2019, 09:01:07 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.

Offline ZANDOLIE

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #314 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.

 
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Offline ffisback

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #315 on: July 03, 2019, 05:52:42 PM »
Who was T&T’s best and worst coach in this millennium? Wired868 uses stats to answer.
By Lasana Liburd (Wired868).


“At the end of the day, [Dennis Lawrence] does not have to put the ball be­hind the net and nei­ther do I,” Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams told the Trinidad Guardian. “[Lawrence] is a pro­fes­sion­al and well-trained coach, who […] has coached at the high­est lev­el and I have a lot of faith in Den­nis.”

John-Williams’ response to Trinidad and Tobago’s 6-0 loss to the United States in 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup action was a breathtakingly dismissive view of not only the current form of the Soca Warriors but the angst felt by supporters and football stakeholders.

If Lawrence—the person who selects, prepares, instructs and directly oversees the Men’s National Team—is not responsible for what happens on the field, then who is?

If John-Williams can find a sensible answer to that question, he ought to put it in a book. It might revolutionise the world of business management. But let’s stick with Lawrence for now.

There is no exact gauge for the length of time a coach needs to impart his philosophy on his squad. Some say six weeks, others six months and some as long as a year.

Lawrence’s lanky six foot seven frame has occupied the head coach’s chair since January 2017 and led the Warriors into action on 26 occasions during that period.

He has three unwanted records during that spell.

After openings wins over Barbados—albeit in a game unrecognised by FIFA, since Lawrence exceeded the number of permitted substitutes—and Panama, Lawrence was unlucky to lose 1-0 to Mexico at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. Left flanker Joevin Jones had an attempt ruled out that VAR, were it available, would have surely upheld.

But after that result, Lawrence found he just could not stop losing. What followed was the longest run of successive losses in Trinidad and Tobago’s football history.

Between Thursday 8 June and Friday 6 October 2017, the Warriors lost seven games on a trot against United States (A) 0-2, Costa Rica (A) 1-2, Ecuador (A) 1-3, Jamaica (H) 1-2, Honduras (H) 1-2, Panama (A) 0-3 and Mexico (A) 1-3. (H = home match; N = neutral venue; A = away match).

That streak eclipsed a six-match losing spell between 1955 and 1957 when the Men’s National Senior Team did not even have a coach. Sonny Vincent-Brown was the manager but the captain on the day was responsible for picking the players and the tactics.

And, fresh after the international retirement of goalkeeper Joey Gonsalves and with ageing attacker Carlton ‘Squeaky’ Hinds well past his best, it is fair to say that T&T’s amateur players struggled to get those calculations right. But not for as long as Lawrence, though.

What happened next might have a profound impact on Lawrence’s immediate future.

A cocksure United States team came to Couva, made some disparaging remarks about the waterlogged track around the Ato Boldon Stadium and then went on to be stunned 2-1 in their final qualifying match—a result that had a seismic effect.

The United States had failed to qualify for a World Cup for the first time since 1986, Panama were through to their inaugural senior FIFA tournament and Alvin Jones’ stunning 30 yard strike was shown around the world.

Glossed over was the fact that Jones’ freakish item apart—he had never scored before for the Warriors and has not done so since—it was an own goal by American defender Omar Gonzales, which separated the two teams.

A month later, Lawrence could not get wins at home against Grenada and Guyana despite being virtually at full strength.

So was the US win a fluke?

Lawrence has plenty of time to answer that question, if John-Williams has his way. But, improbably, he has set two more unflattering records since then.

Trinidad and Tobago’s 6-0 loss to USA on Saturday 22 June 2019—in their first meeting since that fateful night in Couva—was the Warriors’ largest ever defeat in a Gold Cup match and their most lopsided result ever against the ‘Stars and Stripes’.

Less well known on the weekend was that Lawrence’s men had actually set an embarrassing mark at both ends. It was their seventh straight match without a goal, which is the longest barren ever since the TTFA’s first recorded international match in 1923.

The second longest spell without a goal came during the tenure of joint head coaches Hutson ‘Barber’ Charles and Jamaal Shabazz which lasted for six matches and comprised games against: Cuba (N) 0-1, Peru (H) 0-2, Belize (A) 0-0, Peru (A) 0-3, Romania (A) 0-4 and Estonia (A) 0-1 during a seven month spell.

Lawrence’s own barren run lasted nine months and included Thailand A (0-1), Iran A (0-1), Wales A (0-1), Japan A (0-0), Canada N (0-2), Panama N (0-2) and USA A (0-6).

At present, Lawrence is on a streak of eight matches without a win, which is the second longest in the professional era of the local game. He is one winless game behind his own record of nine matches, which he set between 8 March and 6 October 2017.

The only coach to have overseen a longer stretch without a victory was Roderick Warner, who was in charge for 12 winless matches between 3 March 1985 and 18 July 1985.

Then team captain Clayton ‘JB’ Morris said the players received a box of chicken chips and a soft drink for representing their country in those days; and he still remembers the response from staff member Richard Groden when they asked for a match fee:

“Allyuh getting a plane ride; what allyuh want again?”

To be fair to Warner (R), six of the 12 winless matches in that stretch were draws—as opposed to just two for Lawrence against Japan and Guyana.

Unflattering records apart, how does Lawrence’s actual win-loss ratio stand up?

Lawrence has steered the Warriors for 26 games with five wins, six draws and 15 losses; and 19 goals scored and 39 conceded. It means he has won 20 percent of his outings and lost 57 percent.

However, Wired868 will compare based on competitive matches. Some coaches played far more friendlies against weaker Caribbean opposition than others while friendly games are largely cosmetic anyway and count for about as little as a practice test.

So here, in order of best to worst, are the competitive records of Trinidad and Tobago’s 14 coaches since 2000, based on win percentages:

1. Bertille St Clair: 21-16-0-5-59-26 (tallied as wins-draws-losses-goals for-goals against)

Wins: 75 per cent;  Losses: 25 percent.

St Clair’s run started with a 2-0 friendly win over Barbados on 2 July 1997 and ended with a 1-0 loss against Canada at the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal on 24  February 2000 because, eh, then TTFF special advisor Jack Warner thought they should have won the whole blooming tournament.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, then team captain David Nakhid later claimed that the local football body was actively trying to sabotage its own team in a bid to be rid of the no-nonsense Tobagonian.

At the 2000 Gold Cup, St Clair lost combative midfielder Ronnie Mauge to a broken leg in their group opener to Mexico, which they lost 4-0—T&T’s second largest defeat in the tournament.

Then, once they progressed to the knockout round, Warner claimed a deal with Manchester United and ordered Dwight Yorke to head back to England. By the semifinal round, forward Jerren Nixon was ruled out with an injury and Russell Latapy was hampered with a groin strain.

Yet, T&T defeated Guatemala and Costa Rica and came within a missed Nakhid penalty of their first ever showing at a Gold Cup final.

2. Otto Pfister: 6-4-0-2-11-4

Wins: 66 per cent; Losses: 34 per cent loss.

Pfister’s stay was short and not so sweet and is remembered largely for an embarrassing loss away to Guyana which meant that Trinidad and Tobago were eliminated from the World Cup qualifying series at the Caribbean stage for the first time since 1992.

Still, he did have four wins against, eh, Barbados (twice), Bermuda and Guyana.

3. Hutson ‘Barber’ Charles: 11-7-2-2-23-7

Wins: 64 win percent; Draws: 18 per cent; Losses: 18 per cent.

Charles and his assistant Derek King were joined by co-head coach, Jamaal Shabazz, midway through their spell in charge. True, their competitive games were all against Caribbean opposition. But then Charles had a largely local squad himself and it is often glossed over that it was during his tenure that Trinidad and Tobago ended a six year run without qualifying for the Concacaf Gold Cup.

But their aforementioned six match spell without a goal or a win convinced then TTFA president Raymond Tim Kee that help was needed and the local football promptly hired Canada-based coach, Stephen Hart.

4. Bertille St Clair (again!): 21-13-1-7-42-24

Wins: 61 per cent; Draws: 6 per cent; Losses: 33 per cent.

Tell us again why St Clair does not have a statue somewhere? Or a Hall of Fame induction? Or at least a plaque at the TTFA’s headquarters?

With National Senior Team players apparently unconvinced by incumbent Stuart Charles-Fevrier, Warner re-hired St Clair to have a last go at success with the country’s last ‘golden generation’ of Dwight Yorke, Russell Latapy, Shaka Hislop and Stern John.

He was, at the time, the only coach to take Trinidad and Tobago to a FIFA tournament after qualifying for the 1991 Under-20 World Cup, while he also had two Caribbean Cup titles and a Gold Cup semifinal finish under his belt.

His sequel was not as successful though. He failed to win the 2000 Caribbean Cup and, although his last game was a goalless home draw to Costa Rica in the 2006 World Cup qualifier, a freakish 5-1 loss away to Guatemala—three days earlier—meant curtains for the wily Tobagonian.

He did set the stage and gather the squad that would go on to qualify for Germany…

5. Hannibal Najjar: 5-3-0-2-6-4

Wins: 60 per cent; Losses: 40 per cent.

Najjar is often remembered for calling up 91 players to try out for the national team; and for being sacked on April Fools Day, after failing to qualify for the 2003 Gold Cup following a 3-1 loss to Cuba at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium.

The fact that he only had five competitive outings—all against Caribbean opposition—might skew his final record too. But, in his defence, Najjar’s preparations were thrown into disarray when the core of his local squad went on strike for better conditions and were subsequently blacklisted.

Thus he was deprived of talent like Cornell Glen, Travis Mulraine, Kelvin Jack, Gary Glasgow, Keyeno Thomas, Lyndon Andrews, Cyd Gray, Brent Sancho and Arnold Dwarika.

6. Ian Porterfield: 22-13-3-6-44-24

Wins: 59 per cent; Draws: 14 percent; Losses: 27 per cent.

Porterfield had the rare fortune of taking over a winning team, as he inherited the squad that St Clair took to the Gold Cup semifinals. His five straight wins in the Concacaf World Cup semifinal round against Canada (twice), Panama (twice) and Mexico will take some beating too. Although his second string team lost 7-0 in Mexico City, Trinidad and Tobago topped a World Cup qualifying group including ‘El Tricolour’.

How good was Porterfield’s squad? Well, the strikers he had to choose from were: Dwight Yorke, Angus Eve, Stern John, Jerren Nixon, Arnold Dwarika, Peter Prosper, Nigel Pierre, Hector Sam, Gary Glasgow… You could probably blindfold yourself in a room with local players and probably find someone good enough to walk into a Scotland Premier League club.

But indiscipline eventually eroded T&T’s World Cup qualifying campaign and the late Scotsman was sacked after one point from their opening five games in the Hex. Not before Porterfield gave an international debut to a gangly utility player from Defence Force who started in central midfield but went on to have a fine career at centre back. His name was Dennis Lawrence.

7. Stephen Hart: 26-11-5-9-38-31

Wins: 44 per cent; Draws: 20 per cent; Losses: 36 per cent.

It is forgotten now that when Hart took over the reigns from Charles and Shabazz, giant forward Kenwyne Jones, then at Stoke City, was sometimes relegated to the substitutes’ bench behind Cornell Glen and Devorn Jorsling.

Hart changed that to good effect for the Warriors—although don’t expect Glen or Jorsling to applaud.

Trinidad and Tobago went on finish as quarterfinalists at successive Gold Cups in 2013 and 2015 and advanced to the Hex for the Russia 2018 World Cup, before John-Williams started walking on to his training pitch petitioning players to overrule their coach in deciding on friendly opponents.

In the end, three straight losses to Martinique (in extra time), Costa Rica and Honduras did for Hart—along with Kevin Molino’s fondness for breaking curfew—set the stage for an unhappy dinner at Ruby Tuesday when John-Williams showed him the door.

Hart only ever lost one competitive match in Trinidad and, three of his nine losses were on penalties and another in extra time. Take those away and his loss ratio drops from 36 to a mere 19 per cent.

8. Francisco Maturana: 17-7-6-4-26-22

Wins: 41 per cent; Draws: 36 per cent; Losses: 23 per cent.

The Colombian legend never did master English and it’s fair to say that his vision for the team was often lost in translation. Still, he did create an attractive young team with Keon Daniel and Khaleem Hyland excelling among his new recruits.

Maturana lost just one of eight home games. But three bad results in the Hex—draws to Honduras (home) and El Salvador (away) and a 3-0 loss to USA in Nashville—saw Warner swing the axe.

9. Russell Latapy: 13-5-1-7-20-22

Wins: 39 per cent; Draws: 7 per cent; Losses: 54 per cent.

Latapy’s loss record of 54 per cent is the fourth worst of any Trinidad and Tobago coach in this millennium. But he did muster a decent enough win total.

The highlight of his coaching tenure was a 2-2 draw against Mexico in Port of Spain, with the visitors already qualified and the hosts already eliminated. Otherwise there was no standout moment for Latapy—apart from Hayden Tinto’s stunning but temporary equaliser in a 2-1 loss to Mexico at the Azteca.

His last game in charge was a 1-0 win over Martinique at the 2010 Caribbean Cup but losses to Grenada (0-1) and Cuba (0-2) meant Trinidad and Tobago were already eliminated from the tournament at the group stage. And you tended not to survive embarrassing exits in those days.

10. Wim Rijsbergen: 8-3-2-3-15-11

Wins: 38 per cent, Draws: 24 per cent; Lost: 38 per cent.

The combustible Dutchman was allegedly fired for an off-field incident, after forcing an unscheduled wrestling contest on his technical director, Lincoln ‘Tiger’ Phillips. Presumably, Warner waited until he was out of the country to let him know his services would no longer be required.

On the field, Rijsbergen’s tenure was immediately thrown into disarray as the 2006 World Cup bonus dispute meant he never had his full squad for a competitive match. He lost to El Salvador (1-2) and USA (0-2) at the 2007 Gold Cup with a second string team.

11. Leo Beenhakker: 14-5-4-5-13-18

Wins: 35 per cent; Draws: 35 per cent; Losses: 30 per cent.

Beenhakker was okay, right? The ‘easiest’ opponent that the wily Dutchman coached against was Panama, which surely says something. He completed the job that St Clair started and had a memorable five game unbeaten streak against Panama (A) 1-0, Mexico (H) 1-0, Bahrain (H) 1-1, Bahrain (A) 1-0) and Sweden (N) 0-0, which would never be forgotten by those fortunate enough to live through it.

But for Peter Crouch’s cheeky tug of Brent Sancho’s hair in their 2006 World Cup group match, the Warriors had not conceded a goal in Germany and they even had a chance to get to the second round in their final group match. And all that with injury concerns with striker Cornell Glen, first choice central defender Marvin Andrews and goalkeeper Kelvin Jack and a first game red card to Avery John.

Although there are some who would never forgive him for not giving Russell Latapy more playing time—you can’t please everybody!

Beenhakker never lost a game in Trinidad.

12. Dennis Lawrence: 11-2-1-8-7-23

Wins: 18 per cent; Draws: 9 per cent; Losses: 73 per cent.

That 2-1 win over USA provoked 1,000 memes and had Trinidad and Tobago football fans walking with chests puffed out for months. But it was a rare shining moment in Lawrence’s tenure. In fact, he only won one other competitive game, which was his opening fixture against Panama back on 24 March 2017.

13. Rene Simoes: 6-1-1-4-3-9

Wins: 17 per cent; Draws: 17 per cent; Losses: 66 per cent.

Simoes talked a great game and he did have the glow of taking Jamaica to the France 1998 World Cup. But he never really got a grip on things after taking over from Porterfield.

His first act as head coach was to drop Latapy and Yorke for missing training while he cut Anthony Rougier, Reynold Carrington, Ancil Elcock and Dennis Lawrence for being ‘too old’—and this was four years before Lawrence scored the goal to take Trinidad and Tobago to the 2006 World Cup, mind you.

Simoes’ only competitive win was a freakish 1-0 result in Honduras when Trinidad and Tobago played for 70 minutes with 10 players, after midfielder Brent Rahim was ejected, and had the host team hit their post six times.

After a 1-1 draw with Costa Rica and 1-0 loss to Martinique at the 2002 Gold Cup, Warner just stopped paying Simoes, who got the hint.

14. Tom Saintfiet: 2-0-0-2-4-6

The TTFA technical committee decided it would not entertain any coach who had not coached an international team in the previous three years to replace Hart—a curious marker that ruled out not just Terry Fenwick but Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp. Their eventual four-man shortlist was ex-Japan coach Philippe Troussier, ex-Honduras World Cup coach Luis Fernando Suarez, ex-Colombia coach Eduardo Lara and Saintfiet, whose last coaching job was in Bangladesh.

John-Williams was asked to approach Troussier but came back and said Saintfiet was the man for him.

Saintfiet lost two games that saw the Warriors eliminated from the 2017 Gold Cup before announcing his resignation on Facebook, blasting John-Williams’ competency and telling Trinidad and Tobago that their only hope at getting to a World Cup might be in hockey.

Incidentally, Saintfiet’s both defeats were in extra time. Read into that what you will.


Editor’s Note: Stuart Charles-Fevrier never coached Trinidad and Tobago in a competitive match, so his stats were not included. But, for the record, his tally was: 8-2-3-3-8-11.


This has to be 1 the biggest bunch of garbage I have ever read in my life.

Offline FF

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #316 on: July 03, 2019, 06:03:20 PM »
So you decide to quote the whole thing??? Steups.
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

Offline Deeks

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #317 on: July 03, 2019, 07:35:23 PM »
This has to be 1 the biggest bunch of garbage I have ever read in my life.

How so ?

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #318 on: July 03, 2019, 08:37:03 PM »
This has to be 1 the biggest bunch of garbage I have ever read in my life.

How so ?

Yeah ffisback, how so?
« Last Edit: July 03, 2019, 08:42:06 PM by asylumseeker »

Offline ffisback

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #319 on: July 03, 2019, 09:18:30 PM »
Since I have been watching TT football I have never seen a coach that conceded more goals than B ST Clair and to see he is the  most successful coach in the millennium for TT  shows me this guys system is totally flawed.

Offline FF

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #320 on: July 03, 2019, 10:32:14 PM »
You not very bright are you?

However, Wired868 will compare based on competitive matches. Some coaches played far more friendlies against weaker Caribbean opposition than others while friendly games are largely cosmetic anyway and count for about as little as a practice test.


It is an exercise in statistics. He lays out statistics and facts that are irrefutable for the readers consideration. So to say it is a bunch of garbage... Is actually a bunch of garbage. But I guess we live in a post truth alternate facts age. Go figure.
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

Offline ffisback

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #321 on: July 04, 2019, 03:10:28 AM »
You not very bright are you?

However, Wired868 will compare based on competitive matches. Some coaches played far more friendlies against weaker Caribbean opposition than others while friendly games are largely cosmetic anyway and count for about as little as a practice test.


It is an exercise in statistics. He lays out statistics and facts that are irrefutable for the readers consideration. So to say it is a bunch of garbage... Is actually a bunch of garbage. But I guess we live in a post truth alternate facts age. Go figure.
You talking a bunch of garbage to.

Offline Deeks

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #322 on: July 04, 2019, 08:03:36 AM »

Bertille St Clair: 21-16-0-5-59-26 (tallied as wins-draws-losses-goals for-goals against)

Let's read and comprehend. I am reading this as 21 wins 16 ties 5 defeats 59 goals-for 26 goals-against. What is the 0 for. I can't be 0 losses under Bertille. Is either I can't comprehend or something outa wack with that table.


Offline pull stones

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #323 on: July 04, 2019, 09:09:06 AM »

Bertille St Clair: 21-16-0-5-59-26 (tallied as wins-draws-losses-goals for-goals against)

Let's read and comprehend. I am reading this as 21 wins 16 ties 5 defeats 59 goals-for 26 goals-against. What is the 0 for. I can't be 0 losses under Bertille. Is either I can't comprehend or something outa wack with that table.
deeks it seems to me that it’s 21 games total,  16 wins 0 draws and 5 defeats 59 goals for 26 goals conceded. I could be wrong but I doubt it.

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #324 on: July 04, 2019, 11:01:29 AM »
Agreed.

Offline soccerman

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #325 on: July 04, 2019, 11:16:16 AM »

Bertille St Clair: 21-16-0-5-59-26 (tallied as wins-draws-losses-goals for-goals against)

Let's read and comprehend. I am reading this as 21 wins 16 ties 5 defeats 59 goals-for 26 goals-against. What is the 0 for. I can't be 0 losses under Bertille. Is either I can't comprehend or something outa wack with that table.
deeks it seems to me that it’s 21 games total,  16 wins 0 draws and 5 defeats 59 goals for 26 goals conceded. I could be wrong but I doubt it.
Yes that's the stat. The first figure is total games played so 21=16+0+5.

Offline Deeks

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #326 on: July 04, 2019, 12:17:40 PM »
Ok. Ok. Then Bertille had a good record according to the stats. I knew we lost in a semi-final to Canada int GoldCup under him. But he got fired. But DL will not get fired, unless we keep on losing. DJW has to go. Contro, Colin Murray, Kelvin Jack, 1%,  whey allyuh.

Offline Controversial

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Re: Who will be T&T's next coach Thread.
« Reply #327 on: July 04, 2019, 05:05:45 PM »
Ok. Ok. Then Bertille had a good record according to the stats. I knew we lost in a semi-final to Canada int GoldCup under him. But he got fired. But DL will not get fired, unless we keep on losing. DJW has to go. Contro, Colin Murray, Kelvin Jack, 1%,  whey allyuh.

A good portion of the stakeholders are in the dictators pocket, so it’s a bidding war and tallest is being paid by fifa subventions...

It’s deliberate and they want it like that, even if you offered twice the amount, they will stay loyal to the dictator

It will take a little more than money to get rid of him


Offline Flex

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Re: Name ah Coach thread ;-)
« Reply #328 on: December 17, 2019, 02:42:27 AM »
Coaches queue up for Lawrence’s job.
By Walter Alibey (Guardian).


Trinidad and To­ba­go Foot­ball As­so­ci­a­tion tech­ni­cal com­mit­tee chair­man Kei­th Look Loy is promis­ing a re­place­ment for sacked na­tion­al foot­ball coach Den­nis Lawrence by Fri­day.

And who­ev­er gets the job will have a man­date to take the coun­try to the 2021 CON­CA­CAF Gold Cup via the June 2020 CON­CA­CAF play­off against the win­ner be­tween Bar­ba­dos and Guyana, who play in March.

Lawrence, whose dis­mal record at the helm of the So­ca War­riors dur­ing World Cup qual­i­fiers, CON­CA­CAF Gold Cup and oth­er in­ter­na­tion­al friend­ly match­es for the past three years, led to the TTFA board of di­rec­tors opt­ing to ter­mi­nate his ser­vices at a meet­ing on Sat­ur­day.

Guardian Me­dia Sports un­der­stands that Lawrence has since ex­pressed his dis­plea­sure with how his fir­ing took place.

Yes­ter­day, how­ev­er, Look Loy said the TTFA has al­ready been swamped by ap­pli­ca­tions from men seek­ing to fill the va­can­cy.

“The as­so­ci­a­tion has since been bom­bard­ed with in­ter­ests from coach­es from Eu­rope, South Amer­i­ca and right here lo­cal­ly to pick up coach­ing du­ties with the coun­try’s ju­nior and se­nior teams. The com­mit­tee is cur­rent­ly in the process of look­ing at them be­fore a choice can be made, giv­en the as­so­ci­a­tion’s fi­nan­cial lim­i­ta­tions, but al­so the qual­i­ty of the can­di­dates,” Look Loy told Guardian Me­dia Sports.

But Look Loy gave the as­sur­ance that the se­lec­tion will not be based pure­ly on qual­i­fi­ca­tions.

He said there were the is­sues of fi­nances and im­me­di­a­cy of fill­ing the va­can­cy, which means that the se­lect­ed coach must be will­ing to come here at a mo­ment’s no­tice and lay down his pro­gramme. How­ev­er, he made it clear that al­though there is an is­sue of fi­nances, he has al­ways been firm in the view that the coun­try should get the best coach they can af­ford.

He said he be­lieves for the first 2020 FI­FA win­dow in March, the new coach must have laid plans down which should in­clude at least two in­ter­na­tion­al friend­ly match­es. He said the TTFA has al­ready been ap­proached by sev­er­al in­ter­na­tion­al match agents with of­fers for 2020 en­gage­ments.

Mean­while, Cen­tral FC own­er and man­ag­ing di­rec­tor Brent San­cho, who played with Lawrence on the 2006 team that qual­i­fied for the World Cup in Ger­many, has sup­port­ed the de­ci­sion to re­place Lawrence, say­ing while the for­mer coach faced nu­mer­ous chal­lenges, it was dif­fi­cult to de­fend the string of 14 win­less match­es by the So­ca War­riors in the lat­ter part of his tenure.

“The coun­try has nev­er re­al­ly got­ten the op­por­tu­ni­ty to ex­pe­ri­ence Lawrence’s true tal­ent be­cause the play­ing field was not lev­elled. For in­stance, he faced chal­lenges of an age­ing tal­ent pool, play­ers re­turn­ing for match­es a day be­fore key match­es, etcetera. I think it is un­for­tu­nate for Lawrence, but that’s the na­ture of the sport,” San­cho said.

San­cho said he is hop­ing the new coach will be some­one with ex­ten­sive in­ter­na­tion­al ex­pe­ri­ence and qual­i­fi­ca­tions who will un­der­stand the sit­u­a­tion he is en­ter­ing.

The real measure of a man's character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.

Offline FF

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Re: Name ah Coach Thread ;-)
« Reply #329 on: December 17, 2019, 06:32:49 AM »
Lawrence displeased?? But this man ent easy at all  :cursing:
THE BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES

 

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