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John Barnes? ... I don't think so
On The Sporting EdgePaul Reid
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
For the second time in less than a year, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has once again left many fans scratching their heads after the selection of a technical director.
On Tuesday, the JFF named former England winger John Barnes as the man to take over from the fired Brazilian Rene Simoes.
After the Simoes fiasco it appears the JFF has still not gotten it.
While Barnes was a great player and an all-round nice guy, his résumé as a coach amounts to maybe two short paragraphs. He lasted about half a season in the Scottish Premier League eight years ago as coach of Celtics, and after a record of 13 wins, two losses and five draws was shown the door.
Before anyone points out his 13 wins, it is to be noted that Scotland has basically two teams, Celtics and Rangers. Since leaving Celtics, Barnes has not been able to attract attention from any club in England despite hundreds of managerial changes over the period.
Cynics will say that Barnes was not hired for his coaching abilities but his effect on the sponsors on whom the JFF is still heavily dependent.
The Simoes experiment was doomed to fail from the beginning as it was obvious he was hired for the wrong reasons; he was brought in to replace and hopefully upstage Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic who was hired by the previous JFF administration.
It meant nothing to the JFF bosses that Bora was by far the superior coach with the much better résumé. All that mattered was that anything that bore the Boxhill stamp had to be swept out, regardless.
It is Jamaica's football product and forward progress that has suffered as a result of this knee-jerk reaction by people who we hoped had matured and had the future of the game at heart, as opposed to the need to score petty political points.
Not long after Simoes' hiring, former national striker and cult favourite Walter Boyd said in a television interview that the re-hiring of Brazilian Rene Simoes to be the national technical director was a bad move.
Boyd who had a contentious relationship with Simoes suggested that Theodore Whitmore should be made the head coach with Simoes as his assistant.
In November 2007 when it was obvious Burrell would be returned as president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and the days of Milutinovic were numbered, I wrote that bringing back Simoes would be a backward move as he had nothing to offer our football.
My opinion was based on the fact that Simoes had been away from CONCACAF football for too long, and given the short time, six months, which he had to prepare for our first game in the World Cup qualifying campaign, he would not have the time to take on that job.
Both Boyd's and my opinions were met with derision and scorn. Fast-forward to last week and it is obvious that both of us regardless of our motives, were dead right.
But Burrell surprised many - including myself - when he pulled the plug on this disastrous second coming of Simoes, as not many thought he would have the guts to do it.
Minutes after the end of the 0-2 loss to Honduras in the CONCACAF Word Cup semi-final qualifying game in Honduras last Wednesday, I told a colleague that if Simoes had any shred of dignity he would tender his resignation to the Jamaica Football Federation.
Seems I was not the only one thinking that. Pity Burrell and the rest of the JFF hierarchy had not put Jamaica's football first in November.
Complete Story ...
On The Sporting EdgePaul Reid
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
For the second time in less than a year, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has once again left many fans scratching their heads after the selection of a technical director.
On Tuesday, the JFF named former England winger John Barnes as the man to take over from the fired Brazilian Rene Simoes.
After the Simoes fiasco it appears the JFF has still not gotten it.
While Barnes was a great player and an all-round nice guy, his résumé as a coach amounts to maybe two short paragraphs. He lasted about half a season in the Scottish Premier League eight years ago as coach of Celtics, and after a record of 13 wins, two losses and five draws was shown the door.
Before anyone points out his 13 wins, it is to be noted that Scotland has basically two teams, Celtics and Rangers. Since leaving Celtics, Barnes has not been able to attract attention from any club in England despite hundreds of managerial changes over the period.
Cynics will say that Barnes was not hired for his coaching abilities but his effect on the sponsors on whom the JFF is still heavily dependent.
The Simoes experiment was doomed to fail from the beginning as it was obvious he was hired for the wrong reasons; he was brought in to replace and hopefully upstage Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic who was hired by the previous JFF administration.
It meant nothing to the JFF bosses that Bora was by far the superior coach with the much better résumé. All that mattered was that anything that bore the Boxhill stamp had to be swept out, regardless.
It is Jamaica's football product and forward progress that has suffered as a result of this knee-jerk reaction by people who we hoped had matured and had the future of the game at heart, as opposed to the need to score petty political points.
Not long after Simoes' hiring, former national striker and cult favourite Walter Boyd said in a television interview that the re-hiring of Brazilian Rene Simoes to be the national technical director was a bad move.
Boyd who had a contentious relationship with Simoes suggested that Theodore Whitmore should be made the head coach with Simoes as his assistant.
In November 2007 when it was obvious Burrell would be returned as president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) and the days of Milutinovic were numbered, I wrote that bringing back Simoes would be a backward move as he had nothing to offer our football.
My opinion was based on the fact that Simoes had been away from CONCACAF football for too long, and given the short time, six months, which he had to prepare for our first game in the World Cup qualifying campaign, he would not have the time to take on that job.
Both Boyd's and my opinions were met with derision and scorn. Fast-forward to last week and it is obvious that both of us regardless of our motives, were dead right.
But Burrell surprised many - including myself - when he pulled the plug on this disastrous second coming of Simoes, as not many thought he would have the guts to do it.
Minutes after the end of the 0-2 loss to Honduras in the CONCACAF Word Cup semi-final qualifying game in Honduras last Wednesday, I told a colleague that if Simoes had any shred of dignity he would tender his resignation to the Jamaica Football Federation.
Seems I was not the only one thinking that. Pity Burrell and the rest of the JFF hierarchy had not put Jamaica's football first in November.
Complete Story ...
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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