Richard Braithwaite Thread.

[Tallman]

Braithwaite hails ex-MD for Trintoc’s football success
By Walter Alibey (T&T Newsday)

RICHARD BRAITHWAITE, a former national team manager has credited former Managing Director of Trintoc, Wally James, for the successes of the Trintoc football team in the early 1980s.

The Trintoc footballers made a clean sweep of the titles available in local football, including a hard-fought victory over powerhouse Defence Force for the FA Cup at Skinner Park, San Fernando.

Over 10, 000 people packed the San Fernando facility to watch the memorable contest between two of the country’s best.

Braithwaite, who rose to prominence as manager of the Trintoc team and was also instrumental in the return of midfield maestro Russell Latapy and Dwight Yorke for the Soca Warriors for the 2006 World Cup campaign, said James has been the man with the vision.

“While I had the honour and privilege to manage the Trintoc football team in its heyday, much of the credit for the team’s outstanding success must go to James.

“He is a man of great vision who understood the true meaning of the phrase ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ long before it became popular,” Braithwaite said.

According to Braithwaite who is now a business consultant, “I recall a meeting at Trintoc when the price of oil plummeted in the early 1980s and there was a mandate to cut costs.

“They were surprised when James announced that there would be no reduction on so-called PR activities because, ‘it is in times of difficulty that sport and culture become even more important because they help to maintain community spirit, build morale and inspire hope for the future.’”

The Trintoc team was one of the most successful clubs in local football history and comprised a number of the country’s top players.

The history of southwest Trinidad indicates that sport has always been a catalyst for social development and an important source of inspiration for the surrounding communities.

“It is a reminder that the wealth in this part of the country is more than oil and gas and it also includes the abundant talent of the people,” Braithwaite added.

“The challenge therefore is to establish structures and implement programmes to capture all this talent and take it to the highest possible level.

“In so doing we would preserve the rich sporting legacy of the early pioneers and ensure that their outstanding achievements were not in vain.”

He called on the energy sector to recognise the important role it has to play in the development of the twin-island republic.

“The energy sector, especially the state-owned energy sector, has a critical role to play not only in sport but in the overall human and social development of Trinidad and Tobago,” Braithwaite said.

[Socapro]

http://www.newsday.co.tt/sport/0,151156.html

Former TT manager wants review of qualifiers
By WALTER ALIBEY Thursday, November 24 2011

FORMER manager of the national football team Richard Braithwaite is calling for a complete review on what went wrong with the FIFA Brazil 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign.

The “Soca Warriors” were knocked out of World Cup qualifying after being beaten by regional minnows Guyana 2-1 recently.

The win pushed Guyana to 13 points and assured they advanced to the new round of qualification despite their defeat to Trinidad and Tobago a couple days later at the Hasely Crawford Stadium 2-0.

Yesterday, Braithwaite described the World Cup campaign as a “huge disaster” and called for the review as a matter of priority.

“This review should be done before anything should be considered and the one responsible should be held accountable” said Braithwaite.

He lashed out at “Soca Warriors” Otto Pfister for blaming the poor structure of the Pro League for the failure of the team. According to Braithwaite, “Apart from the extremely poor planning of the campaign we now have the ridiculous statement by the German coach that the local Pro League is no good and that it should be blamed for his failure.”

He said Pfister is probably unaware that he was out-manoeuvred by a Pro League coach in Jamal Shabazz and beaten by a team that had several Pro league players on their roster. The long-serving football administrator who has had successful stints with Trintoc, Petrotrin and a number of national teams said the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation must deal with the problems at hand.

Apart from the review, Braithwaite also wants to see an overhaul of the TTFF which has been in turmoil and without leadership.

“For football to progress it cannot be a case of just brushing aside the problems and moving on with business as usual. I am reading about plans to hire a Technical Director and a new national coach but there is no word about overhauling the TTFF itself and the way it operates” he said.

He explained, “Since 2006 we have had a Dutch, a Colombian, a German and a local coach in charge and the performances went from bad to worse. Last year the team was beaten by Grenada in the Digicel Cup, a tournament that we have won on numerous occasions. It should be obvious now that the problem is not a technical one but it is a management and administrative issue.”

[just cool]

http://www.newsday.co.tt/sport/0,151156.html

Former TT manager wants review of qualifiers
By WALTER ALIBEY Thursday, November 24 2011

FORMER manager of the national football team Richard Braithwaite is calling for a complete review on what went wrong with the FIFA Brazil 2014 World Cup Qualifying campaign.

The “Soca Warriors” were knocked out of World Cup qualifying after being beaten by regional minnows Guyana 2-1 recently.

The win pushed Guyana to 13 points and assured they advanced to the new round of qualification despite their defeat to Trinidad and Tobago a couple days later at the Hasely Crawford Stadium 2-0.

Yesterday, Braithwaite described the World Cup campaign as a “huge disaster” and called for the review as a matter of priority.

“This review should be done before anything should be considered and the one responsible should be held accountable” said Braithwaite.

He lashed out at “Soca Warriors” Otto Pfister for blaming the poor structure of the Pro League for the failure of the team. According to Braithwaite, “Apart from the extremely poor planning of the campaign we now have the ridiculous statement by the German coach that the local Pro League is no good and that it should be blamed for his failure.”

He said Pfister is probably unaware that he was out-manoeuvred by a Pro League coach in Jamal Shabazz and beaten by a team that had several Pro league players on their roster. The long-serving football administrator who has had successful stints with Trintoc, Petrotrin and a number of national teams said the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation must deal with the problems at hand.

Apart from the review, Braithwaite also wants to see an overhaul of the TTFF which has been in turmoil and without leadership.

“For football to progress it cannot be a case of just brushing aside the problems and moving on with business as usual. I am reading about plans to hire a Technical Director and a new national coach but there is no word about overhauling the TTFF itself and the way it operates” he said.

He explained, “Since 2006 we have had a Dutch, a Colombian, a German and a local coach in charge and the performances went from bad to worse. Last year the team was beaten by Grenada in the Digicel Cup, a tournament that we have won on numerous occasions. it should be obvious now that the problem is not a technical one but it is a management and administrative issue.”I

Yet another disgusting jealous bob tail monkey weighing in on the german boobolee coach.

it's real convenient fuh dem tuh blame otto bc they really can't come out and call no names! all yuh hearing from these fellas is that it's the "TTFF" tuh dis and the "TTFF" tuh dat but they not pointing their fingers @ the real culprits!

i know one thing, this gravy train still running it's route and certain fellas don't want tuh get left out so they playing both sides, but if these fellas were willing to be honest they will come out big and bold and say "such and such is tuh blame unequivocally" but they still scared and fraid tuh say what's the nitty gritty.

as for this barbary mackak, he said that we had four coaches in five yrs and the problem was not ah technical one but administrative, but earlier had the nerve tuh blame otto.

is mad sick monkeys who have all the say in T&T oui !

[palos]

I gettin de feeling dat people like Brathwaite, Vidale, etc in some kinda perverse sense happy dat de team lorse jes so dat dey could vent bout foreign coach wutless.

Shabazz is dem new poster boy for showin "how we locals" could do de job and should be gettin de big $$$ and not dem foreign mercenaries who does only come down to colleck a nice pay cheque and do nutting.

De same Shabazz who ALL A DEM used to waste down, who dey appoint as senior men's national team coach fuh half hour and den fire he and ultimately banish to only coach de women's team.

All a dem deserve each other. 

[weary1969]

I gettin de feeling dat people like Brathwaite, Vidale, etc in some kinda perverse sense happy dat de team lorse jes so dat dey could vent bout foreign coach wutless.

Shabazz is dem new poster boy for showin "how we locals" could do de job and should be gettin de big $$$ and not dem foreign mercenaries who does only come down to colleck a nice pay cheque and do nutting.

De same Shabazz who ALL A DEM used to waste down, who dey appoint as senior men's national team coach fuh half hour and den fire he and ultimately banish to only coach de women's team.

All a dem deserve each other. 

CO-SIGNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

[Richard G.]

Mr Braithwaite was a very good manager under the circumstances he had to face when he was the National Team manager. He may have bitter feelings but ladies and gentlemen, he was dealing with the same TTFF that everyone here has said is so disfunctional and needing of a complete overhaul. Bitter or not he has a way better perspective than pretty much everyone here about the TTFF and how mismanagement has lead us to this point.

[Socapro]

Mr Braithwaite was a very good manager under the circumstances he had to face when he was the National Team manager. He may have bitter feelings but ladies and gentlemen, he was dealing with the same TTFF that everyone here has said is so disfunctional and needing of a complete overhaul. Bitter or not he has a way better perspective than pretty much everyone here about the TTFF and how mismanagement has lead us to this point.

 

[Controversial]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

[tempo]

Mr Braithwaite was a very good manager under the circumstances he had to face when he was the National Team manager. He may have bitter feelings but ladies and gentlemen, he was dealing with the same TTFF that everyone here has said is so disfunctional and needing of a complete overhaul. Bitter or not he has a way better perspective than pretty much everyone here about the TTFF and how mismanagement has lead us to this point.

Let's be careful and not paint everyone involved in T&T football with a broad brush. Braithwaite has been one of the few people over the years who has consistently held the TTFF was in need of an overhaul that included a stronger role for the clubs rather than the current regional association set up. I would also add that without Braithwaite, there would be no T&T appearance in '06 Germany.

[andre samuel]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

You on a roll wit these baseless and frivolous statements.  How can u say such things??  Everyone is hurting as a result of our exit from the 2014 world cup, but u have to be a mad man for thinking that the players dont care!!

You have to blame the coach!!  Wewere 1-0 down and all 3 subs made @ 55mins? No final roll of the dice or impact subs around the 70-75 mins to change the game??

Hayden Tinto (one of our most penetrative players) on the bench for the full 90??

Players play to the coach's plan and Otto underestimated the caribbean coaches and was out coached!

[Socapro]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

You on a roll wit these baseless and frivolous statements.  How can u say such things??  Everyone is hurting as a result of our exit from the 2014 world cup, but u have to be a mad man for thinking that the players dont care!!

You have to blame the coach!!  Wewere 1-0 down and all 3 subs made @ 55mins? No final roll of the dice or impact subs around the 70-75 mins to change the game??

Hayden Tinto (one of our most penetrative players) on the bench for the full 90??

Players play to the coach's plan and Otto underestimated the caribbean coaches and was out coached!

Doh let Just Cool hear yuh saying that!! 

[just cool]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

You on a roll wit these baseless and frivolous statements.  How can u say such things??  Everyone is hurting as a result of our exit from the 2014 world cup, but u have to be a mad man for thinking that the players dont care!!

You have to blame the coach!!  Wewere 1-0 down and all 3 subs made @ 55mins? No final roll of the dice or impact subs around the 70-75 mins to change the game??

Hayden Tinto (one of our most penetrative players) on the bench for the full 90??

Players play to the coach's plan and Otto underestimated the caribbean coaches and was out coached!

Doh let Just Cool hear yuh saying that!! 

Ah see yuh still beatin dat same ole drum regardless of what rational constructive argument that is presented? it's like yuh dun make up yuh mind like ah stubborn old lady stuck in her ways. 

some ah allyuh feel professional sports particularly football is as elementary as 1 2 3, but it's quite the opposite.

man saying the coach shoulda use tinto bc he has the quality tuh change ah game instantly, but they never stop to think maybe tinto was carrying ah knock, or maybe he coulda had the cold or getting over one, he coulda hurt himself in warm up, maybe where the coach coulda use him it would've been ah mismatch, he coulda have ah headache, or an upset stomach, any amount of factors could've resulted in the coaches decision not to use him.

another thing that have meh peeved with a lot of these experts analysis especially on the coach is that they don't seem to understand that ah team that didn't or never played together, especially for almost ah yr with ah new coach is ah hell of ah scenario!   

imagine this man had tuh see tony warner in ah qualifying situation tuh know that this man was ah walking disaster, had this man played matches against ah few strong teams then he would've known the capability of each player, their strengths and their weaknesses, but no serious matches before qualifying was awful preparation. 

imagine otto saw jaggy, molino, osie, and devon in an elimination match @ bermuda! now allyuh tell me what kinda chance this coach had!! deeks said it best, "otto was given ah poison chalice!" and so did the players.

nuff ah allyuh dun say the otto shoulda went to the federation and demand warm up games like if that was soooooo easy tuh do. like allyuh eh realize that dem ppl had no money, jack was in hot water with fifa and the 06WC court case, so otto couldn't have chosen ah more horrible time to apply for this job.

so allyuh could stay there and blame the coach for being out coached by shabbaz, but ah bet allyuh never stop to think and come to terms with the fact that shabbaz knew our players better than otto did, bc shabbaz coached some of them and played against them for yrs, since almost all of them played in the pro league one time or another.   

allyuh putting blame in the wrong place and then have the nerve tuh dog contro when he made that ridiculous accusation against the players! so what allyuh doing so different from TI? IMO for the most part, damn near all ah allyuh missed the fackin ship!   

[elan]

Some of alyuh head so far up alyuh arse it not funny.

I don't like Jamal Shabazz because he is ah shytehong coach, but he buss Pfister arse with basically a local Guyanese team, yet yo ustill defending Pfister about no warm up games. How many warm up games Guyana play? They train right through just like we and yet they could have gotten the job done.

So is either them players better than we own, or their coach better than we own; or both.

Just Cool, what the man say that is so wrong here? vvvv

http://www.newsday.co.tt/sport/0,151156.html

Former TT manager wants review of qualifiers
By WALTER ALIBEY Thursday, November 24 2011

...................the German coach that the local Pro League is no good and that it should be blamed for his failure.”

He said Pfister is probably unaware that he was out-manoeuvred by a Pro League coach in Jamal Shabazz and beaten by a team that had several Pro league players on their roster.

[just cool]

i think it's you who needs tuh take yuh head out yuh frowzy arse and stop taking sh!t so personal! first off yuh wrong about guyana not playing friendlies since most of the guyanese team plays in the PFL under shabbazz with AIA, so yes he has ah core of players that he knows inside out, as ah matter of fact he knows our players better than pfister did as well which gave him ah huge advantage going into this match.

as ah coach you should know that if you're not in ah must win situation you could  play with ah deep defense and a conjested midfield and absorb the attack and stifle your opponent's offense, didn't beenhakker did it against sweden and to some extent england? but look what happen in the next match when guyana came forward in the return game, they were exposed in the defense and conceded.

the easiest thing to do in football is park the bus, it takes ah very skillful team to pick that lock, and we didn't have that type of chemistry in the team just yet tuh do that.

you talking bout shabbaz out coached pfister, but in football that's ah regular occurrence! the great sir alex ferguson is almost out coached every season by ah less talented coach in the EPL, Sh!t that eh nothing new or unusual! it would make ah difference if he out coached him in T&T on the return leg which he didn't, but while we're on the subject of coaching, how many international titles shabbaz has?? how many teams he's coached in ah world cup , how many trophies he's got in his cabinet other than PFL titles?

all this talk about otto this and otto that, you tell me mr football guru, what coach do you propose that we hire, call names since yuh feel this fella IYO is skungo??!!

[rippin]

Men hailing Shabbazz as a big coach. Same thing with Fenwick. These men ain't win nothing of significance. Yeah Shabbazz was coaching the side who ultimately knock us out but we fail to see the writing on the wall. We get licks from Bermuda and doh forget Grenada. Men want to blame Otto. If we as good as men feel ("U23 team shoulda be core") the coach should have had to do nothing but say " Ok lads get us to the next round and then  we will start preparing for the big boys."

Our footballers have natural ability but there have been studies showing that pep with natural abilities are often surpassed by people who just want it more. Read a book called "Tipping point." In this book a study identified a bunch of young kids in the US with really high IQs. When the study picked back up later on men with genius IQs is janitors and all kinda mess. Why? Because potential with out action is meaningless. Men coast and didn't develop other skills and eventually they get passed over.

Man call out Birchall on this site. If all our footballers had Birchall work ethic we would be a shoe in for one of Concacaf 3 guaranteed spots. Watch Keon performance while he was playing for the Union, compared to how he was playing while he was in Trinidad. why is it that when players leave home they get a lot better in little time? Yeah competition is the cause. The effect however is they start working harder. Maybe we need to instill that competition home in PFL. Bring a bunch of young foreigners who want it and let the locals see what hunger looks like.

[just cool]

Men hailing Shabbazz as a big coach. Same thing with Fenwick. These men ain't win nothing of significance. Yeah Shabbazz was coaching the side who ultimately knock us out but we fail to see the writing on the wall. We get licks from Bermuda and doh forget Grenada. Men want to blame Otto. If we as good as men feel ("U23 team shoulda be core") the coach should have had to do nothing but say " Ok lads get us to the next round and then  we will start preparing for the big boys."

Our footballers have natural ability but there have been studies showing that pep with natural abilities are often surpassed by people who just want it more. Read a book called "Tipping point." In this book a study identified a bunch of young kids in the US with really high IQs. When the study picked back up later on men with genius IQs is janitors and all kinda mess. Why? Because potential with out action is meaningless. Men coast and didn't develop other skills and eventually they get passed over.

Man call out Birchall on this site. If all our footballers had Birchall work ethic we would be a shoe in for one of Concacaf 3 guaranteed spots. Watch Keon performance while he was playing for the Union, compared to how he was playing while he was in Trinidad. why is it that when players leave home they get a lot better in little time? Yeah competition is the cause. The effect however is they start working harder. Maybe we need to instill that competition home in PFL. Bring a bunch of young foreigners who want it and let the locals see what hunger looks like.

Well said.

[Controversial]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

You on a roll wit these baseless and frivolous statements.  How can u say such things??  Everyone is hurting as a result of our exit from the 2014 world cup, but u have to be a mad man for thinking that the players dont care!!

You have to blame the coach!!  Wewere 1-0 down and all 3 subs made @ 55mins? No final roll of the dice or impact subs around the 70-75 mins to change the game??

Hayden Tinto (one of our most penetrative players) on the bench for the full 90??

Players play to the coach's plan and Otto underestimated the caribbean coaches and was out coached!

sorry mr 3000

not buying that argument one bit, the players heart was not in the game, they said so and it showed

its a silent rebellion against the ttff and if it means goodbye brazil then so be it, in their opinion

for a die hard, that pill not easy to swallow, trust me its not easy to write it but the truth offends

[Dinner Mints]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

You on a roll wit these baseless and frivolous statements.  How can u say such things??  Everyone is hurting as a result of our exit from the 2014 world cup, but u have to be a mad man for thinking that the players dont care!!

You have to blame the coach!!  Wewere 1-0 down and all 3 subs made @ 55mins? No final roll of the dice or impact subs around the 70-75 mins to change the game??

Hayden Tinto (one of our most penetrative players) on the bench for the full 90??

Players play to the coach's plan and Otto underestimated the caribbean coaches and was out coached!

sorry mr 3000

not buying that argument one bit, the players heart was not in the game, they said so and it showed

its a silent rebellion against the ttff and if it means goodbye brazil then so be it, in their opinion

for a die hard, that pill not easy to swallow, trust me its not easy to write it but the truth offends

Your argument makes no sense. If they wanted to rebel, why come in the first place? Why fly all the way from England? Why leave beautiful L.A.? Why bother when you could be relaxing in Belgium, asking your coach to send a note? Dey come all the way here to waste time and energy and sleep in shitty hotels and take kick and tackle and knock... just to lose a game we woulda lose anyway if dey did stay home? Dem is real masterminds.

Or more likely, you choose a position and sticking with it come hell, high water or common sense.

[Deeks]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

You on a roll wit these baseless and frivolous statements.  How can u say such things??  Everyone is hurting as a result of our exit from the 2014 world cup, but u have to be a mad man for thinking that the players dont care!!

You have to blame the coach!!  Wewere 1-0 down and all 3 subs made @ 55mins? No final roll of the dice or impact subs around the 70-75 mins to change the game??

Hayden Tinto (one of our most penetrative players) on the bench for the full 90??

Players play to the coach's plan and Otto underestimated the caribbean coaches and was out coached!

sorry mr 3000

not buying that argument one bit, the players heart was not in the game, they said so and it showed

its a silent rebellion against the ttff and if it means goodbye brazil then so be it, in their opinion

for a die hard, that pill not easy to swallow, trust me its not easy to write it but the truth offends

Contro,
            Them guys did not come home to lose the game. Them men were not prepared mentally.I am not saying that they are absolved of blame. they played the game. they were on the field. The coaching staff did not do a good job in mental preparation.

[just cool]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

You on a roll wit these baseless and frivolous statements.  How can u say such things??  Everyone is hurting as a result of our exit from the 2014 world cup, but u have to be a mad man for thinking that the players dont care!!

You have to blame the coach!!  Wewere 1-0 down and all 3 subs made @ 55mins? No final roll of the dice or impact subs around the 70-75 mins to change the game??

Hayden Tinto (one of our most penetrative players) on the bench for the full 90??

Players play to the coach's plan and Otto underestimated the caribbean coaches and was out coached!

sorry mr 3000

not buying that argument one bit, the players heart was not in the game, they said so and it showed

its a silent rebellion against the ttff and if it means goodbye brazil then so be it, in their opinion

for a die hard, that pill not easy to swallow, trust me its not easy to write it but the truth offends

Your argument makes no sense. If they wanted to rebel, why come in the first place? Why fly all the way from England? Why leave beautiful L.A.? Why bother when you could be relaxing in Belgium, asking your coach to send a note? Dey come all the way here to waste time and energy and sleep in shitty hotels and take kick and tackle and knock... just to lose a game we woulda lose anyway if dey did stay home? Dem is real masterminds.

Or more likely, you choose a position and sticking with it come hell, high water or common sense.

Don't forget the part where if they sabotage the team they are also sabotaging themselves and their careers. bc had they moved on there would be a lot of scouts out there looking for young talent, and they would be taking themselves off the market, which IMO is extremely counter productive.

contro, please give it up fardder, yuh really really gone off the charts wid these ridiculous theories now, real ridiculous and outa timin theories!  yuh need tuh stop.

[Controversial]

investigate the players and ask them why they throw the game

the coach was in a bind and had no choice in the matter, if he had players who were giving 1000% to the nation, he would be forced to do his best

but if he has players who care about caps and themselves and not qualifying, you can't blame him

get rid of the ttff as well, they are the root of the problem to begin with

You on a roll wit these baseless and frivolous statements.  How can u say such things??  Everyone is hurting as a result of our exit from the 2014 world cup, but u have to be a mad man for thinking that the players dont care!!

You have to blame the coach!!  Wewere 1-0 down and all 3 subs made @ 55mins? No final roll of the dice or impact subs around the 70-75 mins to change the game??

Hayden Tinto (one of our most penetrative players) on the bench for the full 90??

Players play to the coach's plan and Otto underestimated the caribbean coaches and was out coached!

sorry mr 3000

not buying that argument one bit, the players heart was not in the game, they said so and it showed

its a silent rebellion against the ttff and if it means goodbye brazil then so be it, in their opinion

for a die hard, that pill not easy to swallow, trust me its not easy to write it but the truth offends

Your argument makes no sense. If they wanted to rebel, why come in the first place? Why fly all the way from England? Why leave beautiful L.A.? Why bother when you could be relaxing in Belgium, asking your coach to send a note? Dey come all the way here to waste time and energy and sleep in shitty hotels and take kick and tackle and knock... just to lose a game we woulda lose anyway if dey did stay home? Dem is real masterminds.

Or more likely, you choose a position and sticking with it come hell, high water or common sense.

if they refuse, they are risking their career in national football when they want it later down the road

get national caps and regarded as an intl player, dont tell me you don't know that part of it, don't be naive breds

[Socapro]

Flex, I feel is time to PM this man yuh know!

He messing up too many threads with his BS arguments!

[Tallman]

Colour Me Sport
By Richard Braithwaite (T&T Express)

In declaring 2005 as the Year of Sport and Physical Education the United Nations highlighted the important role that sport would play in the achievement of its Millennium Development Goals. In supporting its position the UN issued a statement which concluded, inter-alia:

"By its very nature sport is about participation, It is about inclusion and citizenship, sport brings communities together, highlighting commonalities and bridging cultural or ethnic divides. Sport provides a forum to learn skills such as discipline, confidence and leadership and it teaches core principles such as tolerance, cooperation and respect.''

These are impressive benefits and they have great relevance for countries like T&T where bringing communities together and bridging cultural or ethnic divides are critical to achieving national development.

Given these attributes, one would expect that sport would receive a sizeable chunk of the annual budget. Moreover, steps would be taken to ensure that the administrators who are managing sporting assets are no less qualified and competent than those who manage our hydrocarbon resources.

Unfortunately, the focus is almost exclusively on the technical aspects of sport and little attention is paid to other elements as outlined in the UN statement.

In West Indies cricket and local football, for instance, the debate continues to revolve around issues of coaching while the restructuring and reorganisation of the governing bodies are ignored. As a result the response to failure on the field is often the firing of a coach or captain while the management structures and administrative personnel remain untouched. This eventually leads to a situation of entrenched incompetence where sub-standard performances are accepted as the norm. The Trinidad and Tobago Football Fedration is in grave danger of falling into this abyss if it has not done so already.

Another major hindrance is the outmoded perception that sport is merely frivolity and recreation and not a fundamental pillar of development. Developed nations know otherwise and they allocate significant funds to acquire the many benefits that sport provides. They know that success especially at the international level is the result of sustained and systematic programmes from the early years right through to the elite level.

This requires a combination of sound technical knowledge and effective management and perhaps this is where sponsors and funding agencies should provide support. The most successful team managers across the globe are usually those who understand the complex management issues "beyond the boundary''. People like Sir Alex Ferguson, for instance, are equally comfortable with modern human resource management and strategic planning as they are with the intricacies of 4-3-3 or 4-4-2.

Some years ago during a stint with the FIFA Technical Committee, I paid a visit to the Arsenal Training Centre at Hertfordshire. The "Gunners'' were ruling the roost at the time and they had a star-studded team with the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Thierry Henry and the midfield general Patrick Vieira. After watching an intensive training session, I was taken on a tour of the state-of-the-art facilities by former Arsenal great Liam Brady who was in charge of the youth development programme. I later met their acclaimed manager Arsene Wenger who asked my opinion about the training centre.

I told him I was particularly impressed by the outdoor playfields with underground heating and the indoor swimming pool with the mobile floor. He smiled and pointed to a relatively long, narrow corridor and suggested that it was one of the more important aspects of the facility. I looked at him in disbelief and thought perhaps he was joking. He then explained that in order to get to the dressing rooms all players, whether senior team and youth team, had to pass each other in the corridor. He added that the daily intermingling of players served not only to show the youngsters what they must aspire to become but it also reminded the star players where they had come from. He felt that these were necessary reminders for both groups every time they went onto the field. I have been an Arsenal fan ever since despite the recent absence of silverware.

In T&T we have had numerous examples of the positive impact of sport on human, social and community development. For starters, hundreds of young men and women have received free tertiary education in the United States and elsewhere as a result of their sporting prowess. In addition, communities such as Preysal and Pt Fortin have accumulated considerable social capital through the success of sporting programmes within their environment.

There was also a time when the phrase "Belmont Battalion'' did not refer to any criminal gang but to the mighty Colts football team that attracted hundreds of fans to the Queen's Park savannah. Unfortunately, in the case of Pt Fortin, much of this legacy has dissipated although football icon Leroy de Leon is now back in his hometown seeking to rekindle the glory days.

In his regard, the recent announcement by the Ministry of Sport to place greater emphasis on sport at the community level is a step in the right direction. People in communities throughout T&T would certainly welcome any serious initiative to develop sport on a long-term basis. Once they are convinced that a comprehensive, systematic plan is in place, I have no doubt that they will shout in unison "Colour Me Sport".

[Trinitozbone]

Richard writes some very insightful articles and he is a management consultant by training! Why isn't he part of the executive of the TTFF?
I think he can bring some level of professionalism to that organization. I hope someone is reading and listening! If you all love your country start doing the right thing and don't give the population so much stress? Step aside and let people who can help bring us back to some level of competitiveness and pride in our team and country! Of Gawd put a hand!

[CK1]

In T&T we have had numerous examples of the positive impact of sport on human, social and community development. For starters, hundreds of young men and women have received free tertiary education in the United States and elsewhere as a result of their sporting prowess.

A major human resource that is under-utilized, especially in football.

[Flex]

Former T&T football manager Richard Braithwaite passes away. The SWO would like to say condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Braithwaite.

[palos]

Sorry to hear. RIP Mr Brathwaite. Condolences to his loved ones

[dtool]

Condolences to the family.

[FF]

RIP Mr Braithwaite

[weary1969]

RIP Mr Braithwaite

CO-SIGN