Jeezas Weeps over Stoni Grounds

[Don1]

The Jeezas Chronicles V1

Schäfer Laments Poor Local League
Published: Thursday | February 27, 2014


Jamaica Football Fereration (JFF) president, Captain Horace Burrell (left), speaks to national men's senior football head coach Winfried Schäfer, during a press conference at the JFF office in New Kingston on Tuesday. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer


National senior men's team coach Winfried Schäfer has lamented the poor standard of football in Jamaica's local leagues, indicating poor conditions of pitches across the island and sparse communication between club and country to be two of the major factors.

"Everybody knows our fields in the league are a catastrophe," Schäfer told members of the media at the Jamaica Football Federation headquarters on Tuesday.

"I don't know one ground in the league where you can play one-touch, two-touch football; every time you must stop the ball because it goes here and there like a billiard. We cannot change this by ourselves, we need help from outside - maybe our sponsors."

The German coach, who took over following the dismissal of former Reggae Boy Theodore Whitmore, during Jamaica's failed bid to qualify for this summer's FIFA World Cup in Brazil, believes the country must begin from scratch in analysing where the programme failed, with an improvement in the overall standard of the local league as a major factor to be considered. Schäfer pointed to the comparatively strong leagues in the United States, Mexico and Honduras as reasons they were able to separate themselves during the qualifiers and eventually book a spot at the World Cup.

FALLEN TO SECOND TIER

"Jamaica's football has fallen into the second tier here in CONCACAF," Schäfer said, pointing to not only the club's elimination from the qualifiers, but also the recent failure to reach the CONCACAF Gold Cup after a dismal performance in the most recent edition of the Caribbean Cup.

"At the moment we have a big problem. I have seen many matches in the league and it will not be easy," Schäfer said.

"The national team is a mirror of the league. When you see the league in Germany it's fantastic, and our team is number two in the world. In Spain, the league is fantastic, with lots of players coming from the youth (teams) in Barcelona. Spain is number one, the French the same.

"The question is, how can we make our league better to make our national team better; when you have good players in the league our national team is better. Our coaches in the league are responsible for our local players. We must help these coaches; meet with the clubs, coaches and chairmen, find out what are their problems, find out what we can do."

[Stonigut]

"At the moment we have a big problem. I have seen many matches in the league and it will not be easy," Schäfer said.

Here is the core of the article. It is poor everything, poor grounds, poor players, poor attitude, poor sponsorship, poor country, but athleticism abounds, the raw material is there let's see what can be done,It needs strong leadership.

[Karl]

Perhaps we have developed a chicken and the egg situation. It has been my experience that our multitude of coaches believe that they are good teachers=coaches, admire their products - quality of players and quality team=quality of play - and therefore do not recognize that they have been producing - underdeveloped players and poor quality play - poor results.

The inability to recognize what are the results of that teaching/coaching for what it is - poor - leads to a not changing what has always been done and 'continuation of being set in your ways'...a perpetuation of 'poor'.

Clearly the new coach is advocating change. The call for change has come from other quarters before but the resistance to change has been fierce. Will it be different this time. Are we in a period of 'the time is ripe for change'? Are the stars aligned for same?

Maybe the successes, such as they are, of attending at FIFA World Cup and FIFA Age-Group Championships blinded our coaches-teachers and their administrators to the cycle of poor results? ...but surely that cannot be an excuse for continuing down a wrong path for so many years? Isn't the aim not always to surpass whatever that has been accomplished before - Went to a FIFA World Cup! Great! ...been there done that...next step higher. FORWARD! Right?

[Gamma]

i whole heartedly agree with your firsy paragraph...perhaps with the exception of andrew edwards who is always trying to learn

[myYout]

Ah doan really buy di poor everytin as yuh state it, but fi startahs wi definitely need bettah fields. Wi produce good playahs no doubt dere, Simoes exploited dat an wi did much more inexperienced then. Ah jus lament how Simoes suggestions nevah acted upon an now it tek anodah fi point out di same.

[Karl]

i whole heartedly agree with your firsy paragraph...perhaps with the exception of andrew edwards who is always trying to learn

Have great respect for Andrew!
Think he shall go very far.

On a not too serious note: If Andrew just takes MC to glory...

[Tilla]

On a not too serious note: If Andrew just takes MC to glory...

How we never hear yuh talk bout Mannings when is there that laid the foundation for you to spend a couple years at MC? What, Mannings is a pia-pia school?

[Muadib]

There is indeed a resistance to change.. clearly... how long have we been using High School football as a youth training ground ?

Why has this been perpetuated ?

Hmmm...

[Jangle]

Ah doan really buy di poor everytin as yuh state it, but fi startahs wi definitely need bettah fields. Wi produce good playahs no doubt dere, Simoes exploited dat an wi did much more inexperienced then. Ah jus lament how Simoes suggestions nevah acted upon an now it tek anodah fi point out di same.

I agree with you. I agree that we need better fields across the island, but that should not prevent us from improving to the point where we can qualify for another world cup. Many of the African countries are mass producing world class footballers with worse fields than us. Why? The single most important area that needs urgent attention is improving our teachers of the game at the youth levels.

[Karl]

How we never hear yuh talk bout Mannings when is there that laid the foundation for you to spend a couple years at MC? What, Mannings is a pia-pia school?

I am sure you have heard me speak about my the wonderful years I spent at Mannings. We (Mannings) have never won the D'Cup...past time we accomplish that feat!

I am also sure you know that we have won Girls Champs, All-Island Netball...performed very well in many other sports. ...and that many of our top leaders walked through Mannings' portal.

One of the many faces of Mannings


Gamma may know her????

[Karl]

I agree with you. I agree that we need better fields across the island, but that should not prevent us from improving to the point where we can qualify for another world cup. Many of the African countries are mass producing world class footballers with worse fields than us. Why? The single most important area that needs urgent attention is improving our teachers of the game at the youth levels.

Pan pint, sah!!!

[Tilla]

Sweet! Marlene Malahoo Forte is the ticket! A Yale and Harvard scholar, but I never knew she went to Mannings.

[Jangle]

Wow!!! Beauty and Brains!!! Makes a good wifey candidate.....for a white man.

[Bricktop]

snicker

[Don1]

Tenk God fi High Schools whe play ball...widout wi all now unnu skill-negative football observers wudda still ah play Jacks cause nuh football program at ANY level wudda dehdeh if wi neva start & support di ball ting ah Yaad fram 100 year aback til yahnow

All unnu cyan duh ah YAP... ah wi ah duh di werk fi 100 years while all unnu ah duh ah play Jacks an Yap same time

Now dat wi launch one unknown coach to national prominence... Hope Springs Eternal...

Woooiiee mi True Blue Rula!!