February 24, 2011, 05:26 PM

Tuesday, December 08, 2009 Karl: Young Talented Creative Players

The following article, first published on Thursday, December 03rd , 2009, has been reproduced with the kind permission of Premidictor Limited.

IN THE HOUSE

Report By David Henry

Young Talented Creative Players


All sports need a star, an exceptional player that would reduce the number of empty seats at a game/event and generate excitement among the sporting public. Sponsors wait with abated breath for the opportunity to associate their products with. That individual as it may increase their market share and the visibility of their product/brand. Football, being more of a team, and not an individual sport, may not attract corporate sponsorship that easily as say athletics. The recent achievements of Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Frazer and the follow-up rush by corporate Jamaica to “piggy-back on their success” can attest to that.

Local football is still waiting to see that exceptional young talented player since 2002. With their physical pace seemingly going down the hill, only the ageing Jermaine Hue of Harbour View and Kevin Lamey of Waterhouse enjoys the respect of opponents and the football pundits wherever they go as with one deft move, either player can become the hero. There are other ageing “ above the average” players STILL PLYING THEIR TRADE IN THE LEAGUE NAMELY, Kevin Wilson, Steve Green, Shawn Sawyers, Roen Nelson, Kevin Deer and Irvino English.

We are longing to see that young player with speed, great dribbling ability, precise passing and scoring goals frequently. Many people believe that since 1995, only Walter Boyd has consistently been a real drawing card at senior league matches. Even from as far back as his schoolboy days at Excelsior, people went to matches to see him leaving two or three defenders on their butt before scoring or creating a goal. Most fans, except for the Mexicans, will not forget the ease with which he glided pass their defense in a game in Mexico, nor the regularly played twenty seconds clip when he displayed exceptional dribbling skills by beating three Nigerian defenders and scoring that goal in the “OFFICE” back in 1988. I believe that clip was shown for all to see at the annual FIFA Awards Function in Europe in 1998 when Jamaica was awarded “THE BEST MOVER OF THE YEAR ON THE FIFA RANKING”. This convinced the then World Footballer, George Weah, who played for Italian club AC Milan, to take his young Liberian national team to Jamaica for a friendly game the following year.

Let’s not forget the greatest achievement on any Jamaica player at the greatest football platform, the World Cup Finals, as the pencil-slim, “dread-locks look-a-like” Theodore Tappa Whitmore, scored two goals to hand Jamaica victory against Japan in our first and only appearance in 1998 in France. This performance, confirmed the argument that Tappa is the most creative midfielder in the past fifteen years.

For the past five years, the Premier League has not seen any player with exceptional talent that sets the league on fire weekly. There has probably been regular “above the average performances” from Kemar Daley, now playing for Tivoli, and the not so talented but productive Eric Vernon, now in Norway after representing Portmore United for 3 / 4 years.

Just recently, the “most creative midfielder” turned national senior team coach, Mr. Whitmore, defied all logics of football wisdom based on comments he made after the November 17, 2009, game that Jamaica played against South Africa in and he made 5/6 substitutions and kept Kemar Daley on the bench. Two days later, the coach made statements lamenting the fact that the team lacked a ‘creative midfielder’, (since he is now absent) and the best possible candidates were Kemar Daley and Jermaine Hue, respectively. However, the latter seems to have lost interest. So I will now ask the Coach, if that is your assessment, why did you not play Daley in South Africa? Doesn’t regular playing time and quality opponents improve a player’s ability, development and performance?

Many who witnessed it then back in 1987, still argues that that the best local football game they have seen was a quarter-final all-island knock-out at the National Stadium when Port Morant United, coached by Allan “Skill” Cole defeated Seba 2 - 1. Seba had the likes of Paul ‘Tegat’ David, Hector Wright, Alton ‘Noah’ Sterling, Allan Latty and Steve ‘Shorty’ Malcolm while Port Morant United had Hugh ‘Bingie’ Blair Wayne Palmer, Michael Clarke and the skillful Trinidadian pair of Leonson Lewis and Russell Latapy. Yes, the same Russell Lapaty who represented T & T in the 2006 World Cup in Germany at age 37. Both teams were given a standing ovation at half-time for the individual ball artistry, precise passing and ball possession displayed.

Where are the young stars of the Manning and Dacosta Cup teams of 2004-06? Is it that they have lost their way or they have not developed enough to manage the higher level, or worst yet, are their coaches sacrificing their talent and development to try and improve the team? Some player’s talent makes them leaders and carries their team. Which coach in his right mind, would ask Kaka, Christian Ronaldo or Messi to consistently do defensive work? These players contribution lies in scoring or creating goals while some else is required to the dirty work and give them the ball.

Let us find Dicoy Williams, Javaughn Watson, Linval Lewis, Navion Boyd, Kenardo Forbes, Devon Hodges, Jermaine Taylor, Dwayne Miller, Dwayne Kerr, Troy Smith, Kemar Daley and others and develop these players by 2012 to start the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign before IT IS TOO LATE.

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