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Western Bureau:
As one who has spent the last several months trying to convince everyone that Jamaica's Reggae Boyz are in with a decent shot of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, in Brazil, I am not afraid to say how profoundly disappointed I am with the team's performance in the most recent game against Costa Rica.
In a display, which I consider an insult to the capability of the players, the team performed so ordinarily that the Costa Ricans were really not required to do too much to secure their comfortable 2-0 win. In fact, in my estimation, the Boyz contributed more to losing the game than their opponents did to winning it.
Several players turned in really poor showings, but striker Luton Shelton, midfielder Rodolf Austin, and defender Fabian Taylor hit rock bottom. Their general lack of purpose, initiative, and vision were woefully out of sync with anything one could consider as even marginally effective.
Despite the fact that four days have elapsed since the game, I am still perplexed as to what Austin was really trying to do. He made a complete mockery of what one would expect of a midfielder. His approach to the game was so poor that there was absolutely no sign of creativity, making his input far more destructive than constructive.
While it is no secret that I am not a fan of Jermaine Hue, especially on account of his lack of pace and limited defensive skills, I don't believe that on his worst day he would have played as badly as Austin did. On a scale of one to 10, Austin was completely off the radar for me, deserving no more than zero.
In regard to Shelton, I am still at a loss as to exactly what he was about as he spent far more time going backwards than he did going forward. As a consequence, he was always clogging up the midfield and, in so doing, proved to be a great hindrance to the like of Demar Phillips, who was left with no space to go forward as he normally does.
I believe when Jermaine Johnson and Dane Richards came on as substitutes, they gave Shelton a free lesson on how a striker should operate, as they sought to use their speed to penetrate the Costa Rican defence. Even though they did not get any goals, at least once could see positive intentions on their part.
As it relates to the experiment of having Taylor playing in the heart of the defence, I believe it is something that should be discontinued immediately. In addition to his lack of height and less-than-commanding presence, Taylor's decision making and inability to track players and tackle effectively are a clear recipe for disaster.
Since the start of the hexagonal phase of the World Cup qualifiers, the team have been giving off mixed signals and that is not encouraging, knowing there is very little room for error. I think the performance against Mexico was commendable, but we were quite poor both against Panama and Costa Rica. Fortunately for us, we are still in the thick of things in terms of the points we have accumulated.
I am not seeking to dictate to coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore in regard to the team selection and tactics, I would like to urge him to sit down and carefully watch the videotapes of our last three games, paying specific attention to the adjustments that he might need to make concerning Shelton, Austin, and Taylor.
As I have stated repeatedly in this column, I have secured my seat on the Reggae Boyz World Cup bandwagon, and I have no intention of getting off until we reach the final stop in Brazil. However, I would love to see more enticing games to spice up the journey and make it more memorable.
Feel free to send your feedback to adrianfrater@hotmail.com.
As one who has spent the last several months trying to convince everyone that Jamaica's Reggae Boyz are in with a decent shot of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, in Brazil, I am not afraid to say how profoundly disappointed I am with the team's performance in the most recent game against Costa Rica.
In a display, which I consider an insult to the capability of the players, the team performed so ordinarily that the Costa Ricans were really not required to do too much to secure their comfortable 2-0 win. In fact, in my estimation, the Boyz contributed more to losing the game than their opponents did to winning it.
Several players turned in really poor showings, but striker Luton Shelton, midfielder Rodolf Austin, and defender Fabian Taylor hit rock bottom. Their general lack of purpose, initiative, and vision were woefully out of sync with anything one could consider as even marginally effective.
Despite the fact that four days have elapsed since the game, I am still perplexed as to what Austin was really trying to do. He made a complete mockery of what one would expect of a midfielder. His approach to the game was so poor that there was absolutely no sign of creativity, making his input far more destructive than constructive.
While it is no secret that I am not a fan of Jermaine Hue, especially on account of his lack of pace and limited defensive skills, I don't believe that on his worst day he would have played as badly as Austin did. On a scale of one to 10, Austin was completely off the radar for me, deserving no more than zero.
In regard to Shelton, I am still at a loss as to exactly what he was about as he spent far more time going backwards than he did going forward. As a consequence, he was always clogging up the midfield and, in so doing, proved to be a great hindrance to the like of Demar Phillips, who was left with no space to go forward as he normally does.
I believe when Jermaine Johnson and Dane Richards came on as substitutes, they gave Shelton a free lesson on how a striker should operate, as they sought to use their speed to penetrate the Costa Rican defence. Even though they did not get any goals, at least once could see positive intentions on their part.
As it relates to the experiment of having Taylor playing in the heart of the defence, I believe it is something that should be discontinued immediately. In addition to his lack of height and less-than-commanding presence, Taylor's decision making and inability to track players and tackle effectively are a clear recipe for disaster.
Since the start of the hexagonal phase of the World Cup qualifiers, the team have been giving off mixed signals and that is not encouraging, knowing there is very little room for error. I think the performance against Mexico was commendable, but we were quite poor both against Panama and Costa Rica. Fortunately for us, we are still in the thick of things in terms of the points we have accumulated.
I am not seeking to dictate to coach Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore in regard to the team selection and tactics, I would like to urge him to sit down and carefully watch the videotapes of our last three games, paying specific attention to the adjustments that he might need to make concerning Shelton, Austin, and Taylor.
As I have stated repeatedly in this column, I have secured my seat on the Reggae Boyz World Cup bandwagon, and I have no intention of getting off until we reach the final stop in Brazil. However, I would love to see more enticing games to spice up the journey and make it more memorable.
Feel free to send your feedback to adrianfrater@hotmail.com.
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