On a recent National Soccer Examiner report written by freelance writer LE Eisenmenger who did an interview about players from Trinidad and Tobago with agent Mike Wheeler who travels the world scouting soccer players and managing deals for players, clubs and leagues.
LE asked: "There’s a rumor that a former player from Jack Warner’s Joe Public FC of Trinidad and Tobago is coming to the New England Revolution. What’s that market like?
Wheeler replied: "With that Trinidadian player, that’s a player they’ve played against before in the CONCACAF Champions League. Trinidad is a great market and the Jamaican market is a good market just to find young, raw talent."
"The problem though, the quality of the Trinidadian league is poor. So it’s tough to really find a player that’s been playing three, four, five years in those leagues being able to make the jump into the MLS and be a contributor, it's tough."
"I know the league well, I’ve been down there, I know the owners of the teams. They’ve got young bright talents, but you’ve got to get them out of that. I gave a presentation to the Jamaican teams a couple months ago and it’s the same problem always."
"They don’t want to lose their talent to universities, they want to be paid. They’ve been training their players from a young age, but the MLS doesn’t always pay outright for a transfer and will force these Trinidadians, Jamaica clubs, and take the players on loan with option to buy, added Wheeler."
In the past five years Mike Wheeler, the player representive and attorney has placed 35 players in the United States, Caribbean and South America. Wheeler is founder and president of MAE Agency. As for LE Eisenmenger, she is a freelance writer that covers the U.S. National Soccer Teams, MLS and WPS, NASL and USL.