W Connection will be gunning for their first league title since 2005 in the 2009 season of the TT Pro League. Stuart Charles Fevrier, coach of W Connection revealed that pre-season training has been quite good and expects the team to do well.
W Connection have been in sizzling form in that competition scoring an amazing 21 goals in four matches and are favourites to win their third Caribbean title.
Fevrier expressed satisfaction in his team’s progress in the regional tournament as well as the incredible goal output.
“We feel that we have started the competition well and we are encouraged by this and hope to go all the way,” he said.
Fevrier believes that his team is in the perfect mode to make a concerted charge for all domestic titles in 2009 and is using the Caribbean Club Championships as a gauge to their readiness ahead of the league’s opening.
He is expecting that their pre-season form can spill over into the Pro League.
“We want to try to win everything, this year is no different. We always feel we can improve and I am confident in the team,” he said.
W Connection are known to play the most attractive football amongst the local clubs while still being able to produce results and Fevrier noted that this year is no exception.
He revealed that there were no major additions to his first team which include some star names like striker Andre Toussaint, versatile midfielder Andrei Pacheco, and the talented Brazilian midfielders Jose Luis Seabra and Christian Viveros.
The “Savonetta Boys” finished second in the league last year with 72 points, just two behind San Juan Jabloteh who claimed their second consecutive crown.
W Connection salvaged a disappointing season, however, unsurprisingly winning the First Citizens Bank Cup for the sixth time and fifth year in a row. The Fevrier-coached team has undoubtedly made the Cup their own, winning in 2001 and from 2004-2008 while losing in the final from 2002-2003.
Fevrier explained that his team holds each competition in high esteem but because of the repeated success in the FCB Cup, the management and players are proud of the achievement and the tournament has become part of their history.
He pointed out that their qualification of two TT clubs (W Connection and San Juan Jabloteh) to the Caribbean Club Championship semi-finals is a significant feat and something the country should laud.
He noted that football in TT and the Caribbean has come a long way but there is still room for improvement.
“In terms of facilities there is a definite need for improvement. Our national teams need a home, a training centre similar to the National Cricket Centre where you have three to four fields. I think TT has reached the stage where they need a facility like that,” he said.
“At times the national teams have to compete with clubs for the use of grounds which most times are improper,” he added.
The W Connection coach admitted as well that the quality of coaches in TT and the Caribbean was not at the desired level. He stated that the authorities must focus on changing this especially at the youth level.
Fevrier argued that the failure of the national Under-17 team in the Concacaf Under-17 Championships was due to the improper structure of football in TT.
He cited TT’s 7-0 drubbing versus Mexico as proof of TT’s inadequacies. He explained that almost all of the players on the Central American team played professionally while our players were still competing in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL).
“The Mexican team is made up of professionals while ours are schoolboys. That’s a big gap,” he pointed out.
Fevrier argued that the Under-17s should concentrate on playing at a higher level. He also called on all stakeholders to put the interest of the players and the country first to ensure the development of football in TT.