I really don't comment on the national football team any more .... it's a damn SHAME...we can't even get it right after all these years...since 1989 to the present......its like we not improving but failing....its like a curse hang over the national football team at all level...we holding on to old guy to help us thru...what a SHAME....its like we considing calling back guy's from the 74 world cup team to get they boot ready...cause it's like the new breed of guy's don't get it and can't get it done...its like we now starting to play so football...it's like the game we lost in 89 to the american....seem like a transfer curse....from that point T&T football went from being very good in the caribbean and in world cup qualifying to a team of no good...lower type amateur play...WHAT A SHAME.....and the american went from lower type amateur play...to high standard of professional play in concacaf and the world and no one seem to notice that...JW and TTFF....our football is so low standard...that our# sport is some other than football and the funny thing about it so much players getting conacted oversea
No need to get hysterical.
We were boxing slightly above our weight in 1989, but were helped by Mexico's absence from qualifying. We have been boxing slightly below our weight in the 2000s, after the tailspin into which we went in the 90's on a regional (not Caribbean) level.
Where Leo got us is pretty much the best where we can hope to be at this point - 4th in Concacaf.
In 06, Dwight, Latas and Shaka were on their way out, blade and tallest were waning. Spann, Birchall, Theobald, Cornell, KJ, Wolfe, Samuel were still coming into their own, Scotty hadn't yet matured, dog was injured. Edwards and Whitley were probably the only players in their prime.
In 09 Dwight is barely hanging on, Latas and Shaka gone, Stern is waning, blade, dog and tallest on their way out.
Of the rest, Edwards, Cornell, Birchall, Spann, Theobald, Wolfe, Samuel, Whitley (and to some extent) KJ have not developed as we would have hoped for varying reasons. Scotty is at his peak, but still does not appear to be an international player.
The only person who appears to be in his prime is Ince (by goalkeepers age standards)
Of the new guard, while politics seems to be sidelining Roberts all we have Hyland, Daniel, JMW, James, Hislop, maybe Telesford - the rest are not quite senior material.
While it is true and obvious to state that Jack and the blacklist + King Cobo set us back three years, we weren't going to ever be THAT much greater than the sum of our players.
The US has used 50 players for the year already in three different tournies (gold cup, confed cup and wcq) plus friendlies (14 games): This is the backbone of their team:
Altidore (Villareal), Bocanegra (Rennes) Beasley (Rangers) Bornstein Bradley (Moenchengladbach) Ching Clark Davies (Sochaux) Dempsey (Fulham) Demerit (Watford) Donovan Feilhaber Guzan Howard (Villa) Klejstan Onyewu (Milan) Spector (West Ham)
All the rest playing MLS, a league we always calling crappy, but could barely seem to get men into (all of them playing USL)
Eddie Johnson and Freddy adu can't even make that side...
At the end of the day, countries in this region, even macco ones like the US only as good as their first 18. A good program, a good coach and facilities defintely make things easier, but its only so much it could do. Until the players step up...is level salt.