Improper planning says former Petrotrin captain, Clayton Morris, has been responsible for the leading Southern club having to pull out of the 2010 T&T Professional Football League.
“Somewhere along the line there was a lack of proper planning,” said the former “Strike Squad” skipper, while endorsing sentiments made by ex-coach Brian Williams that it was sad to see United Petrotrin not fielding a team in the coming season. “It wasn’t surprising to see the team fold up.
After my second year in the system, I realised that their (the board of United Petrotrin) focus changed from youth development.
“When one look at the United Petrotrin team of last year, there weren’t players from the fence-line communities. “The objective was to get the players to stay home and also to develop young players to stay within the fence-line communities where Petrotrin has its operations.
“I knew it was coming because players were brought in from as far as Colombia, United States and even a coach from Brazil. “We have competent coaches Williams, Dexter Francis, Philbert Jones and myself who were already in the system and have international coaching experience.”
Morris pointed out most of the players contracted last year were mainly former nationals who were out of contracts and on the verge of retirement, including defenders Cyd Gray, Ian Gray and Anthony Noreiga, midfielders Aurtis Whitley, Arnold Dwarika and Stokely Mason and forwards Nigel Pierre and Gary Glasgow.
“It is really disappointing that Petrotrin is no longer playing at the highest level in T&T,” added Morris, who was captain of the club when it started in 1995.