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Boyz need 'magic'
... Whitmore on hunt for creative midfielder
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sport Editor
Friday, November 20, 2009
ATLANTA, Georgia - Reggae Boyz coach Theodore Whitmore has conceded that the team is lacking a "creative midfielder".
He admitted that the senior national team needs a player whose 'magic' will help to win games by providing for strikers and other players around him.
DALEY (centre)... knows how to use the football
"Yes, we're searching for that kind of player as we're in the whole rebuilding process, but we have a young Keammar Daley who we're looking to inject in that sort of role," said Whitmore at the Bloemfontein airport on Wednesday as the Jamaica team departed for Johannesburg to make their connection to Kingston.
In their game against South Africa's 'Bafana Bafana' on Tuesday night at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, the Reggae Boyz lacked creative muscle in midfield and subsequently crawled to a 0-0 result with the hosts.
"We need someone like that who could set up the strikers. Yes, it's something that we're looking at," Whitmore reiterated.
But in the absence of a genuinely natural player with these sublime qualities, Whitmore is confident young Daley - the top goalscorer at the Pan Am Games in Brazil in 2007 - possesses the raw material, but needs a bit of polish to fit into the role.
"Daley is that sort of player who can create and finish as well and he knows how to use the football," said Whitmore, Jamaica's two-goal hero against Japan at the 1998 World Cup Finals in France.
In the recent past, successive Jamaican senior outfits have paraded midfield players who are generally dribblers, runners and defensive-minded, but none with the exquisite gift of creating for self and others.
It is an ongoing talking point in Jamaica that such a player exists in the form of Harbour View's Jermaine Hue, but still the crafty midfielder remains in the wilderness as far as international football is concerned.
"Jermaine Hue is a class player, but does he want to play for Jamaica? And before we can even go into any discussion on that, we have to get that straightened out," Whitmore said.
"I have never had the chance to coach Jermaine Hue, but it seems to me he's frustrated with the past coaches for some reason. To be honest, you have players who think they are being used and probably Jermaine is one of them who thinks that he is only called to the senior team when the name overseas-based players are not around," added the Jamaican coach.
Whitmore said no one questions Hue's abilities, but claims he's not convinced the St Thomas native has the appetite for the national set-up.
"It's not like Jermaine Hue cannot play football, and I don't think anyone questions that. He has the quality to play, but does he really want to play? I must ask again," noted Whitmore.
With the lack of a gifted player in the team, Whitmore said maybe it's time for "me to step up and talk with him".
"I have never ruled our Jermaine or another player for that matter," Whitmore added.
The Reggae Boyz returned home yesterday.
... Whitmore on hunt for creative midfielder
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sport Editor
Friday, November 20, 2009
ATLANTA, Georgia - Reggae Boyz coach Theodore Whitmore has conceded that the team is lacking a "creative midfielder".
He admitted that the senior national team needs a player whose 'magic' will help to win games by providing for strikers and other players around him.
DALEY (centre)... knows how to use the football
"Yes, we're searching for that kind of player as we're in the whole rebuilding process, but we have a young Keammar Daley who we're looking to inject in that sort of role," said Whitmore at the Bloemfontein airport on Wednesday as the Jamaica team departed for Johannesburg to make their connection to Kingston.
In their game against South Africa's 'Bafana Bafana' on Tuesday night at the Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, the Reggae Boyz lacked creative muscle in midfield and subsequently crawled to a 0-0 result with the hosts.
"We need someone like that who could set up the strikers. Yes, it's something that we're looking at," Whitmore reiterated.
But in the absence of a genuinely natural player with these sublime qualities, Whitmore is confident young Daley - the top goalscorer at the Pan Am Games in Brazil in 2007 - possesses the raw material, but needs a bit of polish to fit into the role.
"Daley is that sort of player who can create and finish as well and he knows how to use the football," said Whitmore, Jamaica's two-goal hero against Japan at the 1998 World Cup Finals in France.
In the recent past, successive Jamaican senior outfits have paraded midfield players who are generally dribblers, runners and defensive-minded, but none with the exquisite gift of creating for self and others.
It is an ongoing talking point in Jamaica that such a player exists in the form of Harbour View's Jermaine Hue, but still the crafty midfielder remains in the wilderness as far as international football is concerned.
"Jermaine Hue is a class player, but does he want to play for Jamaica? And before we can even go into any discussion on that, we have to get that straightened out," Whitmore said.
"I have never had the chance to coach Jermaine Hue, but it seems to me he's frustrated with the past coaches for some reason. To be honest, you have players who think they are being used and probably Jermaine is one of them who thinks that he is only called to the senior team when the name overseas-based players are not around," added the Jamaican coach.
Whitmore said no one questions Hue's abilities, but claims he's not convinced the St Thomas native has the appetite for the national set-up.
"It's not like Jermaine Hue cannot play football, and I don't think anyone questions that. He has the quality to play, but does he really want to play? I must ask again," noted Whitmore.
With the lack of a gifted player in the team, Whitmore said maybe it's time for "me to step up and talk with him".
"I have never ruled our Jermaine or another player for that matter," Whitmore added.
The Reggae Boyz returned home yesterday.
DALEY (centre)... knows how to use the football 
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