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Poor preparation hinders Reggae Boyz yet again
Saturday, June 01, 2013
If the Jamaica Football Federation is truly desirous of qualifying for the World Cup Finals in Brazil next year summer, then it behoves their operatives to pay keen attention to details, both on and off the field of play.
From our vantage point, this newspaper is of the view that it should be much easier to fix the off-the-field details than the more technical on-field elements.
Notwithstanding, we can't help but feel like we've been down this road before, where Jamaica's Reggae Boyz enter a crucial stage of the campaign in far less than ideal circumstances.
We clearly recall the dilemma which faced the administrators and technical staff ahead of the kick-off of the Hexagonal in February, which placed the fortunes of the team between the proverbial rock and hard place.
At that time, the Jamaican team comprised a number of UK-based professionals who had very little or no time to gell and build team chemistry with the core of Scandinavian- and US-based pros who formed head coach Mr Theodore Whitmore's squad over the previous three years.
Fearful of what might have happened in that opening game, this space called on the entire nation to remain strong and unrelenting in support of the Reggae Boyz, for the whole campaign.
For, as we saw it then, though the game against Mexico was important, we believed that it was the campaign which was crucial.
So the Reggae Boyz journeyed to the much-vaunted Azteca Stadium and, after just one-and-a-half training sessions, pulled off a miracle by holding the region's superpower to a 0-0 result in high-altitude Mexico City.
Fast-forward to today, a mere four days away from the start of a three-game stretch inside eight days, and once again the team's preparations leave a lot to be desired, when compared to its rivals.
Already behind the eighth ball in terms of team togetherness and chemistry from the get go in February, it is mind-boggling that Jamaica's full squad could not have been assembled before yesterday.
Jamaica oppose Mexico on Tuesday, and the USA three days later, before journeying to Honduras to face that Central American country on June 11.
But, while some of our players enjoyed a 'break', the Mexicans — who were due to play a friendly international against African champions Nigeria in Houston, Texas, yesterday — kicked off their training camp at their High Performance Centre from May 23.
Also, the Americans engaged European power Belgium in an international friendly on Wednesday in Cleveland, Ohio, and though they lost 2-4, they have already set their sights on another friendly against three-time world champions Germany tomorrow, before arriving here on Monday for next Friday's game.
On the other hand, Jamaica played to a 0-0 result in a friendly against English Premiership outfit Tottenham Hotspur last week Thursday in The Bahamas, without the bulk of the players who are expected to face these crucial games in the coming week.
With Jamaica sitting at the bottom of the six-team group on two points, three behind leaders Panama; two behind Honduras, Costa Rica and the US, and one behind Mexico, it is now our view that, while the campaign is important, it's these three games which are crucial.
We truly long for the day when we can say we've got our preparations right.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz2VrhBrbJD
Saturday, June 01, 2013
If the Jamaica Football Federation is truly desirous of qualifying for the World Cup Finals in Brazil next year summer, then it behoves their operatives to pay keen attention to details, both on and off the field of play.
From our vantage point, this newspaper is of the view that it should be much easier to fix the off-the-field details than the more technical on-field elements.
Notwithstanding, we can't help but feel like we've been down this road before, where Jamaica's Reggae Boyz enter a crucial stage of the campaign in far less than ideal circumstances.
We clearly recall the dilemma which faced the administrators and technical staff ahead of the kick-off of the Hexagonal in February, which placed the fortunes of the team between the proverbial rock and hard place.
At that time, the Jamaican team comprised a number of UK-based professionals who had very little or no time to gell and build team chemistry with the core of Scandinavian- and US-based pros who formed head coach Mr Theodore Whitmore's squad over the previous three years.
Fearful of what might have happened in that opening game, this space called on the entire nation to remain strong and unrelenting in support of the Reggae Boyz, for the whole campaign.
For, as we saw it then, though the game against Mexico was important, we believed that it was the campaign which was crucial.
So the Reggae Boyz journeyed to the much-vaunted Azteca Stadium and, after just one-and-a-half training sessions, pulled off a miracle by holding the region's superpower to a 0-0 result in high-altitude Mexico City.
Fast-forward to today, a mere four days away from the start of a three-game stretch inside eight days, and once again the team's preparations leave a lot to be desired, when compared to its rivals.
Already behind the eighth ball in terms of team togetherness and chemistry from the get go in February, it is mind-boggling that Jamaica's full squad could not have been assembled before yesterday.
Jamaica oppose Mexico on Tuesday, and the USA three days later, before journeying to Honduras to face that Central American country on June 11.
But, while some of our players enjoyed a 'break', the Mexicans — who were due to play a friendly international against African champions Nigeria in Houston, Texas, yesterday — kicked off their training camp at their High Performance Centre from May 23.
Also, the Americans engaged European power Belgium in an international friendly on Wednesday in Cleveland, Ohio, and though they lost 2-4, they have already set their sights on another friendly against three-time world champions Germany tomorrow, before arriving here on Monday for next Friday's game.
On the other hand, Jamaica played to a 0-0 result in a friendly against English Premiership outfit Tottenham Hotspur last week Thursday in The Bahamas, without the bulk of the players who are expected to face these crucial games in the coming week.
With Jamaica sitting at the bottom of the six-team group on two points, three behind leaders Panama; two behind Honduras, Costa Rica and the US, and one behind Mexico, it is now our view that, while the campaign is important, it's these three games which are crucial.
We truly long for the day when we can say we've got our preparations right.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz2VrhBrbJD