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Of Jamaica's DPL and the Boyz's exit from the World Cup
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Dear Editor,
Please allow me space to comment on the Digicel Premier League (DPL) and the failure of Jamaica to advance in World Cup qualifying.
The DPL has got to be one of the most boring leagues around. Compared to other premier leagues, it is so slow it puts you to sleep. It has zero entertainment value. This is evident from the fan support it gets. After viewing a video of the Women's U-20 CONCACAF final, the DPL does not come even close when comparing the technique and tactics of both teams to the DPL teams. Passes regularly go astray and one is confounded to figure out the movements on the field. I recall Bora once commented on how our players are tactically inept.
My recommendation for the DPL is that they eliminate one round and only have the usual two rounds for the season. This will allow games to be played on weekends only, leaving mid-week games for make up purposes. This should improve the fan support at games and allow the coaches time in between games to make adjustments. This will also allow the coaches to build tactical awareness in their players, as well as allowing them to improve on their technique.
I lay the blame for Reggae Boyz not advancing squarely at the feet of Captain Burrell and Oral Tracey's Sports Commentary. I do not believe that Captain Burrell gave Bora the courtesy of explaining what he was about. He decided to fire him before he came to office and to bring back his friend from Brazil. Bora had already done his homework and was awaiting the qualification games.
Sports Commentary constantly beating up his gums about Bora being gone all the time, all the money he was making and the poor results he had with the local players. Bora's comment that ranking did not matter meant that once the team qualified, the ranking would take care of itself. He also emphasised that he was hired to qualify the team and not as the Technical Director for all the JFF programmes. By saddling Rene Simoes with the entire programme when he had such a short time to prepare for the qualifiers prevented him from concentrating on the most important job at hand.
My compliments to John Barnes for not falling for the same trap and for explaining to the Jamaican football public that what matters in tournaments is advancing and not just entertaining the fans in the stadium. If we knew that we would have qualified for the 2006 World Cup also.
Andre Bell
Former STGC Manning Cup coach
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Dear Editor,
Please allow me space to comment on the Digicel Premier League (DPL) and the failure of Jamaica to advance in World Cup qualifying.
The DPL has got to be one of the most boring leagues around. Compared to other premier leagues, it is so slow it puts you to sleep. It has zero entertainment value. This is evident from the fan support it gets. After viewing a video of the Women's U-20 CONCACAF final, the DPL does not come even close when comparing the technique and tactics of both teams to the DPL teams. Passes regularly go astray and one is confounded to figure out the movements on the field. I recall Bora once commented on how our players are tactically inept.
My recommendation for the DPL is that they eliminate one round and only have the usual two rounds for the season. This will allow games to be played on weekends only, leaving mid-week games for make up purposes. This should improve the fan support at games and allow the coaches time in between games to make adjustments. This will also allow the coaches to build tactical awareness in their players, as well as allowing them to improve on their technique.
I lay the blame for Reggae Boyz not advancing squarely at the feet of Captain Burrell and Oral Tracey's Sports Commentary. I do not believe that Captain Burrell gave Bora the courtesy of explaining what he was about. He decided to fire him before he came to office and to bring back his friend from Brazil. Bora had already done his homework and was awaiting the qualification games.
Sports Commentary constantly beating up his gums about Bora being gone all the time, all the money he was making and the poor results he had with the local players. Bora's comment that ranking did not matter meant that once the team qualified, the ranking would take care of itself. He also emphasised that he was hired to qualify the team and not as the Technical Director for all the JFF programmes. By saddling Rene Simoes with the entire programme when he had such a short time to prepare for the qualifiers prevented him from concentrating on the most important job at hand.
My compliments to John Barnes for not falling for the same trap and for explaining to the Jamaican football public that what matters in tournaments is advancing and not just entertaining the fans in the stadium. If we knew that we would have qualified for the 2006 World Cup also.
Andre Bell
Former STGC Manning Cup coach
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