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Simoes was fired for poor team selection - 1998 Mentality

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  • Simoes was fired for poor team selection - 1998 Mentality


    My only question is why no body stopped him? It was against policy and was it risky.


    JFF dissatisfied with Simoes' selection policy

    Garfield Myers
    Saturday, September 13, 2008

    SIMOES... sacked after Jamaica lost to Honduras on Wednesday night
    MANDEVILLE, Manchester - He did not say so in as many words, but chairman of the Jamaica Football Federation's (JFF) technical committee Howard McIntosh made it plain in Mandeville on Thursday night that dissatisfaction with team selection had much to do with the sacking of Rene Simoes as technical director of Jamaica's football.
    "It really comes down to performance." was the reply from McIntosh when asked what were the "main concerns" that triggered the decision by JFF president Captain Horace Burrell to fire Simoes following successive, though not unexpected away defeats to Mexico and Honduras in CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.
    But when asked specifically what would be expected of Simoes' replacement in terms of team selection, McIntosh was unequivocal.
    MCINTOSH... I don't think the best squad was always selected
    "I would hope that the new technical director and his staff will pick the best 11 to represent the country and if it follows that that best 11 is really from overseas representation, then that's the 11 that should be picked. I always believe that the best 11 (from) the best squad of 18/20 players should be on the field all the time," he said.
    Asked whether he thought Simoes, a Brazilian, who famously guided Jamaica to the 1998 World Cup was in the habit of selecting his "best team" during the current campaign, McIntosh was equally clear.
    "No, I don't think the best squad was always selected.," noted the JFF executive who was in Mandeville as guest speaker at the Manchester FA's annual awards ceremony.
    McIntosh said while the move to fire Simoes was ultimately that of Burrell, senior executives were involved in extensive consultation prior to the decision.
    "Ultimately the full responsibility falls on the president but it was through a process of consultation with senior executives of the federation, not only in Honduras, but also here in Jamaica, but at the end of the day, the president made the decision," said the long-time ally of Burrell.
    He said there had been "an ongoing process of consultation" even before the game in Honduras.
    Simoes drew raised eyebrows and criticism after preferring several youthful and inexperienced local-based players to seasoned overseas-based pros in the tough second phase of CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.
    The Brazilian's position was manifestly risky since Burrell has long held that Jamaica should always take the field with its strongest available team. Concerns that Simoes' immediate predecessor 'Bora' Milutinovic "experimented" too much with the Jamaica team experiencing in the process a number of poor results were said to have contributed to Burrell's decision to fire the Serb shortly after taking the reins as JFF president late last year.
    Currently, Jamaica, drawn in the so-called 'Group of Death' with Mexico, Honduras and Canada, have just one point from three away games after drawing 1-1 with Canada and losing 0-3 and 0-2 to Mexico and Honduras respectively.
    To reach the final qualification round of six, Jamaica must now win their three home games in October and November while hoping that Honduras flounder in remaining home matches against Mexico and Canada.
    McIntosh, a businessman, appeared open to the suggestion that for the three remaining games in this qualification phase, the JFF may look locally for a coach rather than overseas, although he stressed that the 'call' was Burrell's alone.
    "I don't want to comment at this point in time. That will require some consultation and at the end of the day, the president will rule on that one.," he said when asked whether the JFF would be looking overseas or locally.
    But in response to the question of whether a new coach would not be severely handicapped by the short preparation period, McIntosh was more expansive.
    "It's going to be tough, but we believe that we have the talent pool and we have some people in terms of assistant coaches who can help in the continuity. when you are playing at the World Cup level, you only get together for four, five days.
    That's how it really works because you are bringing all the players from overseas primarily and you're integrating them with a number of local players and that's what we need to do," he said.
    Theodore Whitmore, a former midfield wizard who was pivotal to the World Cup qualifying Jamaica team 10 years ago, has served as Simoes' assistant over recent months.
    Late last year, in the period between the departure of Milutinovic and the arrival of Simoes, Whitmore guided the Reggae Boyz to home victories against El Salvador and Guatemala.
    The same type of thinking that created a problem cannot be used to solve the problem.
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