We Neva learn our lesson, keep banging the wall!

[Tilla]

Is it unusual to see players getting call up to teams when the coach wants to try something different? Hey, Klinsman decided to call Eddie Johnson for the game against Antigua. Johnson although in the player pool has not seen action for the US in some time. The player comes in and nets two goals to make his team winner of that game. If I am to read your position correctly, Johnson should not have been selected but some other player who was ahead of him in the pecking order in the team should have played?

Coaches win and lose games by the decisions they make. Had Shelton scored that perfect opportunity Hue provided him and Jamaica had won, I wonder if we would be having this discussion right now?

At the end of the day, the coach is the one to blame. He is aware of his tactical nous and what he is trying to achieve by including certain players. Maybe Tappa really does not have a clue, but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I wonder if Austin and Map will be available for Tuesdays match in Jamaica. If so, what will the midfield look like then? For sure, Austin would come in for Taylor, Map would be in for Shavar. Looks to me as if Hue could still have a place as the creative mid as we still do not have anyone better.

[Assasin]

Watson Big league stats. Not very impressive at all. Still hope he will come good, not bashing him but just really disappointed that he is Stoni answer to dropping Hue.

http://www.houstondynamo.com/players/je-vaughn-watson

[Stonigut]

Well first off is the squad was too skinny, too much unproven players, I was this close to writing about that this week, especially with maps and Austin injured it really exposed who we carried.

I would not have put Taylor in mid, I would probably have left him at rb, with shavar much as he has not played recently he should not have been on the squad, but the defense after shavar, nose, Taylor and Palmer was essentially totally untested at a national level, bad choice of players there.

In the mids it would be Phillips, Morrison, Watson and pull Johnson Ito attacking mid role, again the field of players just too skinny for this level of match after that everybody is untested at this level. Even giving Phillips game now was a mistake he has not even playing and was not in best condition.

At forward it would be Cummings and shelton.

Taylor at mid was a misplacement left Morrison with too much to do. Johnson at attacking mid gives a fitter battle harder ended running tackle ready player in mids who also can create and destroy.

[Don1]

Hey, Watson has been able to hold down an MLS position, something Hue couldn't do.

So who is better and more worthy of a place on our team?

We should have used that criterion for 1998.

I don't think Stoni can explain the 1998 qualification with a majority local club player base... would enjoy seeing him twisting into a pretzel to do so tho. I recall a key player being a 17 y.o. schoolboy

Kinda shreds his player pyramid scheme...or maybe WC qualification then was pure luck

[Tilla]

I really don't care what his goal ratio for JA is, if you want it go look it up for yourself.

. . .and is the kind of response I expected from you anyway.

My point is, the team does not seem to have a problem creating chances, we have a problem with finishing. It therefore follows that Fuller might not be the answer to our problem, as seen that he has a deficiency when it comes to finishing in national colors. Maybe calling King would be the better option than Fuller.

Hey, over the long run, it is always lost on us who was involved in creating an opportunity. What usually counts is who finished the opportunity. It is sad that this is what happens, but that is just the reality of the game we love.

Last season it was said that Torres was on the creation of so many of Chelsea's goals although he was not scoring. Di Matteo as the manager said as long as the player was contributing, whether he scored or not was not an issue. At the end of the day though, Torres is still considered a failure as a striker as a strikers success is gauged by how many goals he scores per game. A jus' the reality.

[Stonigut]

No it was a different time, we had very little local players that were playing outside jam at the time, so it was simpler, take the best of npl.

Even now we are not doing that we are taking the second and third best of npl and leaving the MVP at home!!


You tell me if a guy scores ten goals, has as many assists and is captain of his team, leads them to almost winning the title with the most meager of resources and he is not even considered for the team yet a guy who has four goals unclear number of assist, plays about half the games in the season keeps getting picked because what he is better looking, looks sweeter on the ball, not sure what it is, Michael Campbell has a better claim to playing on the team that any local on the side yet we don't even talk to this at all.

Back to regular argument, now we have players all over the place we need to build a more merit based system with best producers getting first spaces in the line to get into trials, not just arbitrary feelings, etc.

[Tilla]

Interesting stats.

Played 1006 minutes (equivalent of 11 games), scored 0 goals over those minutes. Good stats to warrant a permanent place in our midfield.

Watson I think at most is a squad player. You do not build your side around him.

Anyway. . .

[Don1]

Your argument is completely negated by Jamaica's history... we qualified with a primarily local squad & just 3 key UB40s...period...end of story

Jamaica already has a template for qualification...and it's mostly local based. Simoes treated that team as a club side...taking them all over the world and hardening them into a cohesive unit...then adding a few players where he had big holes... I believe that was very successful.. but we have not learned the correct lessons from that successful campaign. The lesson is that long term player & team development works...but we prefer the quick fix..especially if the solution is foreign

When we bring in players wholesale from abroad for a few days of camp to play important games it's very difficult to form a good unit... maybe that works for other teams like Brazil which has exceptional players AND a national style/philosophy of ball...we have neither...and it shows

Instead of dissing local players with fanciful and misguided player pyramids based on where they play and elaborate statistical models ...we need to learn the lessons of 1998 first

[Don1]

Watson Big league stats. Not very impressive at all. Still hope he will come good, not bashing him but just really disappointed that he is Stoni answer to dropping Hue.

http://www.houstondynamo.com/players/je-vaughn-watson

Yeah but he plays in a better league

[Assasin]

Dread while Fuller is helpful at time, can you also count the times he has been absolutely selfish and not passing to his strike partner who is in a better position to shoot?

Sad that Fuller is in this position but he himself has spoken about his production for Jamaica. While I like Fuller, he too have to step up. He passes the ball much more when playing for Stoke City and it is said that he and Shelton don't talk to each other. You maybe can say Roy drop Rio and Tappa drop Fuller LOL.

[Tilla]

Here are my problems with him. Each time he gets the ball, he always seem to play it to a Guatemalan player. I am telling you, he made errant passes about 80 percent of the time. We should have computer software to provide that kind of feedback. Remember when Simoes was in Jamaica he had his statistician who would track each and every pass and could give how many successful passes a player made during a match? We need to go back to that. I mean, if he were making his passes under pressure, I could understand, but sometimes he is under no pressure at all and his passes end up with the opposition.

His corner kicks now was another thing. He obviously must have been doing better at them in practice or I cannot understand why he was allowed to waste so many. I mean, after the second corner, I would have demanded a change.

[Tilla]

I think Taylor's lapse in midfield contributed more to us losing the midfield dominance you would like to see than say Hue playing badly.

[Stonigut]

Don is that not what I said, 1998 we had no local based player in any foreign league so clearly our team was local, that s straightforward.

Now we have players that have excelled locally and are selected to go to bigger eagles and are paid to do that, those are our best players, is anything more straightforward than that. If we had a total local squad Antigua would have dusted us out completely.

[Karl]

Karl said:

Here is what Stoni said:

If that is not anti-Hue, I do not know what is.

If his comments were about TEAM and TEAM Selection, then he has gone about it wrong in singling out Hue.

I read it in context of Stoni's promotion of method of selection. Read the posts (entire set of threads) again, Tilla and tell me I am wrong?
If yuh still seh mi wrang...I accept your saying so... but Stoni's would have to tell me I misread his point.

...and as I intimated earlier - I agree with you - Hue did the job requested of him. We did not play anywhere near a perfect match...but we got enough chances to have won...handily.

[Karl]

I only have the advantage of seeing him play every week. That counts for nothing.

sigh

Yes...in a lousy set up where he can look great walking around, going through a dance...then deciding what to do with the ball...and still taking additional years before executing! The point I am making the higher the level play, the less time afforded for decision-making and execution. Hue at this lowest of international football level played against Guatemala at maximum speed - thought, movement and execution. He has nowhere left to go! ...will not 'make it' at higher levels!