Hard road to the flip side of Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones.

[Tallman]

Hard road to the flip side of Sunderland's Kenwyne Jones
Evening Standard

Joe Public FC play W Connection next month in one of Trinidad & Tobago Pro League's biggest clashes. The clubs are serious title contenders and, only a month into the campaign, the result will go some way to deciding its outcome.

Kenwyne Jones played for Joe Public before joining the well-connected W Connection, who helped him get trials for Manchester United, West Ham and Rangers.

Southampton were also alerted and he eventually joined them in 2004. Leaning against a large sofa at Sunderland's training ground on the eve of a North-East derby at Newcastle, this shy young man is reminded of the two clubs who set him on the road to the Barclays Premier League. But who does he want to win the big one?

A smile lit up his face as he replied: "I want Sunderland to win. That's who I play for now."
Eyebrows were raised when manager Roy Keane paid Southampton £6million for Jones last summer but the 23-year-old striker was an instant hit on Wearside from his debut when he made his mark with a goal, an assist and a back-flip.

The acrobatic celebrations are a tribute to his Uncle Philbert, a striker of some repute with Trinidad & Tobago who was greeted like a hero wherever he went on the island and had a profound effect on the young Kenwyne.

"My uncle was my inspiration," he said. "Growing up, I remember him as the starting striker in the team who were one point away from qualifying for the 1990 World Cup. The whole country was behind the team; it changed the profile of football in the country. From then on I wanted to become a footballer.

"My dad and uncle played and became quite famous and I guess I liked that. My uncle did back-flips and inspired me to do that. The funny thing is I didn't see him doing it playing football, it was just casually once when I saw him doing a work-out at his house. He was doing sit-ups and, bang, out of nowhere just did a backflip. Most incredible thing I ever saw.

"When I was about seven, I decided I wanted to do it, so I just started practising."
He first used the flip in a celebration at the age of 13. "I scored, ran to the corner and just flipped over. Everyone just stood back. They'd never seen it before."

Jones' wife Avalon, whom he met as a teenager at the Trinidad FA's centre of excellence, is due to return from a visit to the Caribbean this weekend with their four-yearold son Isaiah and twins Arianne and Kaelyn.
It means life has been quiet around the Jones household in Durham recently, but it did give Trinidad & Tobago's player of the year the chance to spend time with eight young Caribbean footballers, who have been training with Sunderland's Youth League winners. It is a reminder of the tough route Jones took to play in his first Tyne-Wear derby today. And just how close he came to not making it.

"I had been on the road for threeand- a-half months, travelling round Europe, spending two weeks in different places. It was hard because I'd just had my son and it was make it or join the army.
"It was not about just sitting back and hoping something would happen and if it didn't, just being able to wait around until it did. I had a family to support and at that time it was either 'this is it or I go into the services'. I was ready for that life.

"I am so grateful for the talent I have and the talent other people have seen. You only have a short period of time to make an impression on so many people and it's very hard. "It's not easy from our area to be seen and not always your destiny to become a professional footballer, as much as you may want it. Over here the system is in place and you are born into it. For people in Trinidad you really have to make it at youth level and be seen to be good enough. A lot of people don't manage that.

"Where I lived, there was a football field and basketball court across from my house and everybody would be out every evening playing football.
"We'd rush home from school and be out playing football 24-7. We'd do athletics, racing in the street, play cricket in the car park and sometimes basketball. We would play in our own little sections from the neighbourhood and have competitions. I loved it."

Coaches tried to engage Jones in defensive roles but he was having none of it.
"A lot of people have different opinions on who I should be," he said. "The only position I haven't tried is keeper but I always knew what I wanted to be."

He is strong-minded — going on strike to get his move — and was among the 16 brave souls who took on FIFA vice-president Jack Warner and the Trinidad & Tobago FA over their share of World Cup bonuses. Off the pitch he prefers to keep a low profile.

"There is no point in being in the papers everyday saying this and that. You don't have to keep talking about yourself for people to recognise you. I like to stay out of the limelight.

"Sometimes I go out with the wife and just want a quite evening, but people will come over for autographs and pictures and, to be honest, you're not going to enjoy that time together — and your partner certainly isn't. It is part of the job although it can be daunting.

"I'm not being ungrateful. You learn to tolerate it. I'm not one who goes out and needs to be known by everyone everywhere I go. I get paid to play football but I'm just a normal person like everyone else."

Kenwyne: Football saved me a call-up.
By: Simon Bird (Mirror.Co.Uk).

Kenwyne Jones has revealed he was so desperate to become a footballer he spent three months trawling Europe for a club - or face a career in the Trinidad army.

Jones will lead Sunderland's attack in the North East derby tomorrow, well aware of what make-or-break means in life.

The£6million star is now one of the Premier League's most talented and feared targetmen after a successful first season in the top flight.

But he won his chance the hard way, after the birth of his first child Isaiah, now four, inspired him to leave the Caribbean and trawl around training grounds chasing his dream of being a pro.

Wife Avalon, Isaiah and twins Arianne and Kaelyn are among the inspirations that helped kick-start his career.

His back-flipping uncle, Philbert Jones, a World Cup star for Trinidad & Tobago, taught him his spectacular goal celebration.

And mother Lydia worked in the United States for six months at a time as a domestic worker to support her family, leaving two young sons with dad Pamphile.

Such a background has left Jonesuneasy with the fame and fortune the Prem brings, but grateful to be living his dream, and playing under Roy Keane.

Jones admitted: "I was on the road for three and a half months travelling round Europe, spending two weeks in different places having trials.

"I went to Rangers and Southampton and had trials with Manchester United and hadmy photo taken with Roy Keane, West Ham and went over to Holland.

"It was hard because I'd just had my son and it was make it - or join the army.

It was not about sitting back and hoping something would happen - and if it didn't wait around until it did.

"I had a family to support and at that time, it was either this is it . . . or I go into the services. I was ready for that life."

Jones' trademark back flip has been learned from Uncle Philbert, who helped Trinidad to within a point of qualifying for the 1990 World Cup.

The 23-year-old added: "He was my inspiration when I was younger. He played for the national team and I remember him as the starting striker and nearly getting to Italia '90.

"That was big at the time because the whole country was behind the team. It changed the profile of football in the country.

"It was more or less sealed for me from then on. That was my real inspiration to become a footballer. Where I lived there was a football field across from my house and everybody would be out every evening playing.

"We had small goalposts, about five-a-side size. We'd rush home from school, drop our bags and be out playing football 24/7 until we were called in.

"My dad and uncle played football and they became quite famous and I liked that. My uncle did back flips and he inspired me to do that.

"I was about seven and I saw him doing doing some sit-ups and, bang, just like that, out of nowhere he did a back flip. Most incredible thing I ever saw!

"I wanted to do it. I played in school tournaments at the age of 13 and the first time I scored did the back flip. I scored, ran to the corner and just flipped over.

"Everyone stood back, they'd never seen it before, and that was the start of it."

Jones has caught the eye of Liverpool and Chelsea but said: "I love it at Sunderland. We've had quite a good season. We have a beautiful team, the spirit is wonderful and more than anything we have character. Along with your skill and football ability you really need that."

After his battle to the top Jones has proved he too has talent, character and spirit, as Kevin Keegan's defence will discover tomorrow. I was on the road around Europe, spending two weeks in different places having trials

WINNING HEADERS

PLAYER HEADERS[/b]

Santa Cruz Blackburn 35

Carew Aston Villa 28

Adebayor Arsenal 27

Jones Sunderland 24

Berbatov Tottenham 23

KING OF THE DUELS

PLAYER DUELS[/b]

Davies Bolton 255

Jones Sunderland 208

Dempsey Fulham 200

Young Aston Villa 192

Santa Cruz Blackburn 188

[SHOTTA]

real nice read

thanks tallman

[Cocorite]

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh   that was refreshing.  Just refreshing.

[frico]

Nice ! Reminds me of when I was growing up,I lived just accross the road from Skinner Park and used to rush from school to go and play b.ball,f.ball or whatever was in season.Skinner Park had all the facilities,I feel nostalgic listening to KJ.

[Cartman]

Another interview


Improbable as it may seem, given all the money, mayhem and hyperbole, English football is littered with tales of austerity. The paparazzi flock to David Beckham, but no flashbulbs popped when he sacrificed a normal childhood to practise and train and, in the case of Kenwyne Jones, it has been an arduous journey to celebrity.

This has been a breakthrough season for the Sunderland forward, who, since his £6 million transfer from Southampton last summer, has emerged as the pivotal figure in his club's tussle with relegation, has been hailed by John Terry as his most formidable aerial opponent and has been valued by his manager at £40 million. Yet the public perception of him does not stretch much beyond the flamboyant hair and extravagant back-flip.

In Jones, Dwight Yorke and Carlos Edwards, Sunderland have strong ties with Trinidad and Tobago and while Roy Keane jokes about “laid-back people - the opposite to me”, nonchalance is another matter. All three travelled far as young men in search of employment, with Jones and Edwards trawling their way through the leagues. And there will be nothing laid-back at St James' Park tomorrow in the derby match against Newcastle United.

Jones, 23, has a football heritage - Philbert Jones, his uncle, was a striker for the Trinidad & Tobago team who came within a point of qualifying for the 1990 World Cup finals - but advantages were otherwise slight. As children, Kenwyne and Kerwin, his brother, stayed at home with Pamphille, their father, while Lydia, their mother, spent six-month spells in the United States working as a cleaner.

He does not plead hardship - quite the opposite - but his story is not dry. “Where I lived in my community, there was a field and basketball court across from my house and everybody would be out every evening playing football,” he said. “We had small goalposts made for us. We'd rush home from school, drop our bags and be out playing football 24/7 until we were called in.

“We'd do athletics, racing in the street, play cricket in the car park by the football pitch and sometimes play basketball. We all lived in the same area, but there were different sections, so we would play in our own little gangs, make competitions. The facilities were not the best, but it was nice growing up where I was [Point Fortin]. I loved it.”

Still a teenager, Jones and Avalon, now his wife, had their first child (Isaiah, who has since been joined by Arianne and Kaelyn, twin girls); responsibility struck. He had been playing for Joe Public and W Connection, established clubs, but if sport was to provide him with a reliable income, some discomfort was required. The alternatives were not idyllic.

“I was 18 and I was on the road for three months travelling round Europe, spending two weeks in different places,” he said. “W Connection put me in touch with Glasgow Rangers and Southampton and I had trials with Manchester United, West Ham United and went over to Holland. It was hard because I'd just had my son and it was a case of make it or join the Army.

“It was not about just sitting back and hoping something would happen and, if it didn't, just being able to wait around until it did. I had a family to support and it was either a case of ‘this is it or I go into the services'. I was ready for that life. You only have a short period of time to make an impression on so many people and it's very hard. I'm so grateful for the talent I have.”

At United, Keane posed for a photograph with Jones (the Irishman does not recall the meeting), but there was no dream contract. Southampton signed him, quickly dispatching him to Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City on loan. Harry Redknapp, the Southampton manager at the time, said: “Back then I thought he had everything but lacked the desire to be a top player. Roy has got that out of him.”

David Nugent, then of Preston North End, had been Keane's initial target - a protracted, unrequited courtship - and there was little fanfare when Jones, who had submitted a transfer request at Southampton and informed George Burley, the manager at the time, that he would no longer play for him, arrived on Wearside in his stead, although there was surprise at the fee. Was. “We have the best striker in the Premiership,” Keane has since stated.

Jones said: “I love it at Sunderland. We've had quite a good season and we want to finish it on a high. I don't know what Roy has tapped into with me, but we have a beautiful team. We have shown that our spirit is wonderful and, more than anything else, we have character and along with your skill and football ability, you really need that.”

Liverpool have watched him and there have been comparisons with Didier Drogba, the Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker. Niall Quinn, the Sunderland chairman and a former centre forward for the club, said: “Kenwyne, on a first-year comparison, is ahead of Drogba and we hope and believe he'll get better. I think Kenwyne's got a bit of everything - he can run, pass the ball well, win headers, he's one of the quickest at the club.

“In time, he can go all the way. But he has to be given time. I heard Graeme Souness describe him as a poor man's Drogba, but give Kenwyne three years in this division and then compare them, not now.”

Jones has scored seven goals in 29 league appearances for Sunderland, although, as Keane has admitted, chances have arrived at a rate of “one every four or five weeks”. Jones describes his own character as “very cautious”, but Newcastle United defenders will not encounter reticence in the Tyne-Wear derby tomorrow. He is stunned by the fervency of passions in the North East. “It is part of the job, although it can be daunting,” he said. “I like to stay out of the limelight.” The limelight has other plans.

[Zeppo]

The Portuguese player Nani used to do a filp as a goalscoring celebration.

Then once he got to Man United Alex Ferguson ordered him to stop.

What a killjoy.