Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

[Farmah]

<DIV id=printReady>

FROM THE BOUNDARY - Bora's problem
published: Friday | January 5, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody Ar6jv="true">


Tony Becca

According to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), its technical director, Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic, will be receiving US$1 million per year for services rendered to the country's football, and to almost every Jamaican, at least to those with whom I have spoken, even if that is all, that's a lot of money for a country so poor, financially, for a football coach.

Based on the task ahead of him, however, that may not be enough.

Regardless of what else he may be asked to do, regardless of what else he is supposed to do, his job is to qualify Jamaica for the next World Cup finals, that is what he will be judged by and that will be no easy task.

Hardly likely

According to some Jamaicans, regardless of the temptation to go overseas, Bora should stick with local-based players, and in its attempt to develop local football, if its priority is to develop local football, the JFF should tell him to do so.

That, however, is very unlikely to happen and it is very unlikely for a few simple reasons.

The first one is that a team of locally-based players hardly have the chance of a snowball in hell of qualifying for the next World Cup finals.

The second one is that Bora is here to get Jamaica qualified for the finals and will hardly turn his back on the overseas players who are exposed to a higher level of football.

The third one is that the JFF's interest at this time surrounds nothing but qualifying for the finals - at least so it appears, and as far as the players are concerned, it will hardly tell Bora what to do.

It stands to reason, therefore, that Jamaica's overseas players will be invited to make themselves available for selection and while nothing basically is wrong with that, apart from the cost of flying them in and out of Jamaica for each match, apart from paying them as professionals, there are two questions which must be asked: How will coach Bora deal with them and how will they fit into the team?

Based on past experiences, with the overseas players, and especially so those from Europe, coming in a day or two or may be three days before a match - and especially so during the qualifying matches, will there be enough time, for example, for Bora to coach them - for them to get to know him, for him to get to know them.

Fitting into the team

Most importantly, will there be enough time for the local players to get to understand how their overseas brothers play the game, and for the overseas players, not only to respect the local players and the coach, for the overseas players not only to appreciate the way the local players play the game, but for the overseas players to fit into the team - to understand not only the tactics and strategies for each match, but also the individual characteristics of each player?

Apart from the JFF's problem of finding the money to fund the participation of the overseas players, that must be the problem facing coach Milutinovic as he looks down the road and Jamaica's preparation for the qualifying matches leading up to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

With two such problems, plus that of getting the release of the overseas players from their clubs, remembering that the clubs pay the overseas players handsomely, that the players are owned by the clubs and obligated to the clubs to keep themselves injury free, plus that of motivating the overseas players to perform, the JFF, and Bora, may be well advised to stick with the local-based players, work hard, get them to work hard and hope for the best. </DIV><!-- end of Kontera div //--

[Siya]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Mr Becca should add the fact that if you forget the overseas based players especially those in England, you aredoomingthem back to the NPLwhen time comes for them to again show they qualify for a work permit.

I have been embroiled in the UB 40 issue for years now both on and off this board but it has never crossed my mind that our top local players who get noticed and drafted to play abroad should not play for Jamaica againon the basis that they are FOREIGN BASED.

(N)(N)(N)(N)(N)(N)(N)(Chal)

[Assasin]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

there has to be some grandfather clause or Goodison wouldn't have gotten a contract renewal last year. It is either that or his agent is good.

Hope a few of the older players can still hang on to their contracts and play in England even if they are not been used most of the time.

[OJ]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Becca dont hear Hugho Sanchez seh playing 1 game in Europe is equal to playing 30 in the mexican league. Well if the mexican league is the best in this region playing 1 game in Europe is egual to about 300 games in the NPL.. Pick the best players irrespective of Geography. Look if Claude is our our best Central and to see some of the mistakes he makes makes you really understand what Sanchez is talking about. This is not a domino or ludo

[Karl]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

I suppose it is not the same thing...but, would Tony advocate Brazil or Argentina ignoring their overseas players? (N)

...not the same thing? Isn't it...for example...not that our Bibi is our Roberto Carlos, Marlon King our Ronaldo? or...etc, etc? :Frus:

Could it be Becca is crazy?:crazy: ....or joking? :Laff:

...oooooh! He forgot what took place 1994-1998! ...and, the results we had?

..forgot to compare it with the lack of preparation for the2002...and the 2006 efforts? :w00t:

Missa Becca did TEAM - mix of local &amp; overseas players need nuff-nuff and continuous preparatory matches?! How about 48 practise matches against top world TEAMs covering the years 2007 through to 2010? Yes! ...outside of competition matches???!!!!

FORWARD!

[HL]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Farmah (1/5/2007)<DIV id=printReady>

FROM THE BOUNDARY - Bora's problem
published: Friday | January 5, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody Ar6jv="true">


Tony Becca

According to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), its technical director, Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic, will be receiving US$1 million per year for services rendered to the country's football, and to almost every Jamaican, at least to those with whom I have spoken, even if that is all, that's a lot of money for a country so poor, financially, for a football coach.

Based on the task ahead of him, however, that may not be enough.

Regardless of what else he may be asked to do, regardless of what else he is supposed to do, his job is to qualify Jamaica for the next World Cup finals, that is what he will be judged by and that will be no easy task.

Hardly likely

According to some Jamaicans, regardless of the temptation to go overseas, Bora should stick with local-based players, and in its attempt to develop local football, if its priority is to develop local football, the JFF should tell him to do so.

That, however, is very unlikely to happen and it is very unlikely for a few simple reasons.

The first one is that The second one is that Bora is here to get Jamaica qualified for the finals and will hardly turn his back on the overseas players who are exposed to a higher level of football.

The third one is that the JFF's interest at this time surrounds nothing but qualifying for the finals - at least so it appears, and as far as the players are concerned, it will hardly tell Bora what to do.

It stands to reason, therefore, that Jamaica's overseas players will be invited to make themselves available for selection and while nothing basically is wrong with that, apart from the cost of flying them in and out of Jamaica for each match, apart from paying them as professionals, there are two questions which must be asked: How will coach Bora deal with them and how will they fit into the team?

Based on past experiences, with the overseas players, and especially so those from Europe, coming in a day or two or may be three days before a match - and especially so during the qualifying matches, will there be enough time, for example, for Bora to coach them - for them to get to know him, for him to get to know them.

Fitting into the team

Most importantly, will there be enough time for the local players to get to understand how their overseas brothers play the game, and for the overseas players, not only to respect the local players and the coach, for the overseas players not only to appreciate the way the local players play the game, but for the overseas players to fit into the team - to understand not only the tactics and strategies for each match, but also the individual characteristics of each player?

Apart from the JFF's problem of finding the money to fund the participation of the overseas players, that must be the problem facing coach Milutinovic as he looks down the road and Jamaica's preparation for the qualifying matches leading up to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

With two such problems, plus that of getting the release of the overseas players from their clubs, remembering that the clubs pay the overseas players handsomely, that the players are owned by the clubs and obligated to the clubs to keep themselves injury free, plus that of motivating the overseas players to perform, the JFF, and Bora, may be well advised to stick with the local-based players, work hard, get them to work hard and hope for the best. </DIV></DIV>

[HL]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Tony Becca has memory problems...:hehe:

I think (maybe) his fourth or fifth paragraph lists--firstly, that<U>a 100% local team does not stand a 'snowball in hell to qualify...</U>

Then his last paragraph stated that Bora would best use a purely 100% local team to qualify...(sigh).

FACT: all JLIJ have this fantasy that local ballaZ can play football up to international levels. The reason is simple. JLIJ are not exposed to football beyond NPL.(Chal)

[Farmah]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

"Memory problems" seem to be Mr Becca's problem but I'm sure he could be helped by some cholinesterase inhibitors. Aricept, Exelon or Reminyl are excellentat enhancing muscarinic effects, improving memory and giving clarity to cognition.

Our recent failure to grab one the Digicel spots and consequently our omission from the upcoming Gold Cup is evident of the fact that the local standard of football is just not good enough. Mr Becca must keep that in mind....or is it that he has forgotten so quickly!

Nevertheless, what we can take from Mr Becca's argument is the NEED for Coach Bora to keep a local squad in top shape. This squad would help to provide fillers whenever there are injuries or unavailability of our more seasoned foreign pros. This would be keeping with the theme of ''Perpetual Renewal'' which Ziadie penned post 1998, and which Karl has mentioned many times since then.

The fact is, while it is imperative to have a large squad of local players in constant training, we would do well to adhere to HL's well chronicled 8:3 ratio, or somewhere close to that split. The Digicel squad brought home that painful and bitter lesson.

Furthermore, we must not forget that our foreign pros do need to keep close to that 75% of national duties performed, as stipulated by the British Office. Failing that, they might face hurdles in renewing their contracts.

[HL]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Farmah you are on target like William Tell to blurrrnaught.



Sssup mi begrin?

[Tilla]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Tony Becca seems as if he is out of subjects to write. Mek im know seh cricket start again and World Cup Cricket is only a few months away.

[Paul Marin]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

I am glad that we are all in agreement on this subject and the naivete of Tony Becca's insight (or lack thereof). It is unbelievable that someone of his standing would even suggest sticking with local players and hoping for the best as an alternative especially, as you all point out, after he himself said that we wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of qualifying without foreign players!!

It is furtheramazing that Becca also points out that $1M is a lot of money to pay a football coach for a nation of our meager resources...yet...were we to follow his suggestion and have no chance of qualifying for the World Cup, we may as well have flushed that money down the toilet. Unbelievable. :buss:

Until people like Tony Becca realize that if we are going to be serious about developing our football program, we have to make these sacrifices, we are going to waste much valuable time losing sight of why we do this in the first place - to advance as a nation and as a people. Accomplishments in football and sports generally, show us that we are capable of great things when we work hard and with integrity.

[T.K.]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Assasin (1/5/2007)there has to be some grandfather clause or Goodison wouldn't have gotten a contract renewal last year. It is either that or his agent is good.

Hope a few of the older players can still hang on to their contracts and play in England even if they are not been used most of the time.

Hey Sass....If a player has played 3 years in Europe the 75% rule does not apply to them. They are free to play in England.- T.K.

[Gamma]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

most of the time when tony becca is not writing about cricket he is at sea. in 1996 i spoke to him at a christmas party at the late tony spauldings home in barbican, and he went on to explain how foolhardy it was to even contemplate the use of ub40's.

his explanation was that the players were not jamaican and had no jamaicanness or PRIDE in representing jamaica and to a lesser extent he felt that local players would be resentful. how wrong he was then! how wrong he is now! he even went on to explain how the son of a friend of his was born and raised in england and could not see himself representing the west indies in cricket! for a big man and experienced sports journalist that was not an apt analogy...west indies cricket and jamaican football represents apples to oranges. i suppose if we hadn't qualified his sankey would be the one to be sung...but that is IF...the facts say otherwise.

i would bet that persons in the diaspora who consider themselves jamaican are more patrioyic to jamaica than to the west indies!! anyway, i thought that mr becca had seen the error of his ways from 1996. clearlyhe has not and if that is anything to go by ...weshould qualify for 2010.

[Karl]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Gamma (1/9/2007)most of the time when tony becca is not writing about cricket he is at sea. in 1996 i spoke to him at a christmas party at the late tony spauldings home in barbican, and he went on to explain how foolhardy it was to even contemplate the use of ub40's.

his explanation was that the players were not jamaican and had no jamaicanness or PRIDE in representing jamaica and to a lesser extent he felt that local players would be resentful. how wrong he was then! how wrong he is now! he even went on to explain how the son of a friend of his was born and raised in england and could not see himself representing the west indies in cricket! for a big man and experienced sports journalist that was not an apt analogy...west indies cricket and jamaican football represents apples to oranges. i suppose if we hadn't qualified his sankey would be the one to be sung...but that is IF...the facts say otherwise.

i would bet that persons in the diaspora who consider themselves jamaican are more patrioyic to jamaica than to the west indies!! anyway, i thought that mr becca had seen the error of his ways from 1996. clearlyhe has not and if that is anything to go by ...weshould qualify for 2010.

I like the logic in the last sentence!

We fanz hang on to just about anything! (tup) Yup! ...fi di luv a di game an JA! (tup)

Tony is a good man...but at times...??? :w00t:

[Mosiah]

RE: Bora Should Stick With Local-Based Players

Gamma (1/9/2007)most of the time when tony becca is not writing about cricket he is at sea. in 1996 i spoke to him at a christmas party at the late tony spauldings home in barbican, and he went on to explain how foolhardy it was to even contemplate the use of ub40's.

his explanation was that the players were not jamaican and had no jamaicanness or PRIDE in representing jamaica and to a lesser extent he felt that local players would be resentful. how wrong he was then! how wrong he is now!

Really?!? How wrong was/is he? I have my doubts as to how much pride some of the UB40s had. I even question the pride of some our parvenus now playing in the big leagues.

And is there resentment? You bet there is!