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We need the best TEAM....
With Jamaica now in the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup where they are set to face tough challenges from the likes of Mexico, USA, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica, the belief is that the current squad needs strengthening, with a number of overseas-based players being suggested.
Jamaica went through the last round scoring nine goals from six games while conceding six. Six of the team's goals came in two games with the other four matches failing to produce a goal from open play.
"I think we have the players. Certainly, we have to unearth all the talent that is possible -every single talent that is available. Certainly, the coaching staff will get an opportunity, and in the end, to have the best 11 at all times on the field of play," Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president, Captain Horace Burrell, said on Tuesday night, shortly after Jamaica defeated Antigua and Barbuda 4-1 to clinch the final-round spot.
"This, again, is the responsibility of the coaching staff to put the best 11 on the field of play. We must find the money to make this happen, and this is exactly what the JFF intends to do going forward."
One of the players that the JFF is interested in recalling to the programme is 30-year-old Jobi McAnuff, who represented the nation once in May 2002 when he came on as a substitute in an exhibition game against Nigeria at Loftus Road. The midfielder captains Reading in the English Premier League.
"In respect to Jobi McAnuff, coach (Theodore) Whitmore interviewed him and, at the conclusion, expressed to me his desire in having him (McAnuff)," Burrell said. "Jobi McAnuff said to us, at that time, his team Reading had just qualified to play in the premiership in England and, at that particular time, he would not have been available, but ... he said, 'Let us adopt a wait-and-see attitude'.
"He wanted to be here, but based on his commitment to his team -he is the captain - he was asking for some more time. So coach Whitmore and his staff interviewed Jobi and are satisfied that he is the type of player that has the right attitude and all that it takes to become a Reggae Boy. It is just a matter of time."
Whitmore believes the first task, after qualification for the final round, is an assessment of the team's showing in the previous round.
"We want to look back at this round of qualification and then we will see how to approach the next phase," Whitmore said.
ryon.jones@gleanerjm.com
With Jamaica now in the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup where they are set to face tough challenges from the likes of Mexico, USA, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica, the belief is that the current squad needs strengthening, with a number of overseas-based players being suggested.
Jamaica went through the last round scoring nine goals from six games while conceding six. Six of the team's goals came in two games with the other four matches failing to produce a goal from open play.
"I think we have the players. Certainly, we have to unearth all the talent that is possible -every single talent that is available. Certainly, the coaching staff will get an opportunity, and in the end, to have the best 11 at all times on the field of play," Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president, Captain Horace Burrell, said on Tuesday night, shortly after Jamaica defeated Antigua and Barbuda 4-1 to clinch the final-round spot.
"This, again, is the responsibility of the coaching staff to put the best 11 on the field of play. We must find the money to make this happen, and this is exactly what the JFF intends to do going forward."
One of the players that the JFF is interested in recalling to the programme is 30-year-old Jobi McAnuff, who represented the nation once in May 2002 when he came on as a substitute in an exhibition game against Nigeria at Loftus Road. The midfielder captains Reading in the English Premier League.
"In respect to Jobi McAnuff, coach (Theodore) Whitmore interviewed him and, at the conclusion, expressed to me his desire in having him (McAnuff)," Burrell said. "Jobi McAnuff said to us, at that time, his team Reading had just qualified to play in the premiership in England and, at that particular time, he would not have been available, but ... he said, 'Let us adopt a wait-and-see attitude'.
"He wanted to be here, but based on his commitment to his team -he is the captain - he was asking for some more time. So coach Whitmore and his staff interviewed Jobi and are satisfied that he is the type of player that has the right attitude and all that it takes to become a Reggae Boy. It is just a matter of time."
Whitmore believes the first task, after qualification for the final round, is an assessment of the team's showing in the previous round.
"We want to look back at this round of qualification and then we will see how to approach the next phase," Whitmore said.
ryon.jones@gleanerjm.com
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