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Bora must shape up or ship out
Western Bureau
It would appear that some of our so-called local football experts, including some respected coaches, would do well with a proper psychiatric evaluation from Dr. Aggrey Irons as they appear to be losing their minds.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear some of the so-called experts not only batting for coach Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic but shamelessly comparing his tenure, including the just concluded disastrous four-game tour of Asia, with the early days of René Simoes in the build-up to France '98.
In another clear case of obviously skewed judgement, one expert even had the gall of intimating that with his dubious nine defeats against one win record, Bora has some magical blueprint, which he intends to use to replicate the success that Simoes had in 1998.
While I am still in the process of trying to compile Simoes' 1998 qualification record for a comparison with Bora's, based on the information I have garnered to date, it is nothing compared to the current domino-like excursions, which are driving all ambitious local football fans crazy.
On-the-field results aside, if one should try to compare the atmosphere that existed under Simoes in 1998 with what now exists under Bora, it would probably be like comparing the excitement of a 'Dancehall Night' at Reggae Sumfest with a little house party for a few friends.
While he was clearly challenged by the English language, no one could question that Simoes, with his unique style, including his 'Jesus Saves' T-shirts, was a visionary, who was able to get sponsors, fans and players to buy into his vision for Jamaica's World Cup aspirations.
By comparison, the current programme under Bora is lacking energy and vitality and outside of the few pundits, who are seemingly caught up in their blind loyalty to the current JFF administration, the general feeling is that the programme is boring, lacking imagination and not going anywhere.
For me, the embarrassment we suffered in Asia, including the 8-1 thrashing from Iran, vindicates CONCACAF boss 'Jack' Warner, who has gone on record as saying we are wasting good money on coach Bora. Surely, with the players we took to Asia, the results should not be surprising.
As I have said in previous columns, trying to make stars out of our current crop of local players must be an exercise in futility because unlike 1998, the quality of the likes of Durrant Brown, Walter Boyd, Theodore Whitmore, Warren Barrett, Peter Cargill, Ian Goodison and Ricardo Gardener is missing from our current crop of local players.
I believe that if our 'Back to Africa' campaign is to gain any traction and coach Bora is to deliver any value for his J$364 million four-year salary, we would be better served by having regular training camps in England and the United States, where the players who are likely to serve in a sensible World Cup campaign are based.
It is my understanding that Bora has confessed that the recent 8-1 loss to Iran was the worst defeat of his coaching career. However, I would like to suggest to him that if he continues to undermine the Reggae Boyz brand with substandard players, the 8-1 beating might look like a good score when he runs into Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and the United States.
Western Bureau
It would appear that some of our so-called local football experts, including some respected coaches, would do well with a proper psychiatric evaluation from Dr. Aggrey Irons as they appear to be losing their minds.
I was pleasantly surprised to hear some of the so-called experts not only batting for coach Velibor 'Bora' Milutinovic but shamelessly comparing his tenure, including the just concluded disastrous four-game tour of Asia, with the early days of René Simoes in the build-up to France '98.
In another clear case of obviously skewed judgement, one expert even had the gall of intimating that with his dubious nine defeats against one win record, Bora has some magical blueprint, which he intends to use to replicate the success that Simoes had in 1998.
While I am still in the process of trying to compile Simoes' 1998 qualification record for a comparison with Bora's, based on the information I have garnered to date, it is nothing compared to the current domino-like excursions, which are driving all ambitious local football fans crazy.
On-the-field results aside, if one should try to compare the atmosphere that existed under Simoes in 1998 with what now exists under Bora, it would probably be like comparing the excitement of a 'Dancehall Night' at Reggae Sumfest with a little house party for a few friends.
While he was clearly challenged by the English language, no one could question that Simoes, with his unique style, including his 'Jesus Saves' T-shirts, was a visionary, who was able to get sponsors, fans and players to buy into his vision for Jamaica's World Cup aspirations.
By comparison, the current programme under Bora is lacking energy and vitality and outside of the few pundits, who are seemingly caught up in their blind loyalty to the current JFF administration, the general feeling is that the programme is boring, lacking imagination and not going anywhere.
For me, the embarrassment we suffered in Asia, including the 8-1 thrashing from Iran, vindicates CONCACAF boss 'Jack' Warner, who has gone on record as saying we are wasting good money on coach Bora. Surely, with the players we took to Asia, the results should not be surprising.
As I have said in previous columns, trying to make stars out of our current crop of local players must be an exercise in futility because unlike 1998, the quality of the likes of Durrant Brown, Walter Boyd, Theodore Whitmore, Warren Barrett, Peter Cargill, Ian Goodison and Ricardo Gardener is missing from our current crop of local players.
I believe that if our 'Back to Africa' campaign is to gain any traction and coach Bora is to deliver any value for his J$364 million four-year salary, we would be better served by having regular training camps in England and the United States, where the players who are likely to serve in a sensible World Cup campaign are based.
It is my understanding that Bora has confessed that the recent 8-1 loss to Iran was the worst defeat of his coaching career. However, I would like to suggest to him that if he continues to undermine the Reggae Boyz brand with substandard players, the 8-1 beating might look like a good score when he runs into Mexico, Costa Rica, El Salvador and the United States.
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