It is not too often in my lifetime that I am unable to make some form of assessment on all the selected players in a national football team.
In the business of football, one gets more enjoyment when you can follow the progress of all the players, understand the manner in which they perform amidst their fellow players and who are realistically the committed players. And like most fans, I have not seen much of some newcomers like Justin Hoyte and Andre Boucaud.
I sympathise with Stephen Hart for the challenge which faces him when he is ready to name his starting team. There are those who would jump at the names of players like Kenwyne Jones, Christopher Birchall, Keon Daniel, Cornel Glen and skipper Densill Theobald.
Performances of the past five years may be still lingering in their minds, while any judgment of their present form will be based upon sheer speculation. It has often been said by the great coaches of the world that constant analysis of players will determine the quality of your team and the type of game they will play. In this context, the selection process will not be based upon any accuracies in terms of the form of the players.
Coaches are also aware of attitudes of different players and how teamwork can be affected adversely. Recently, I heard someone on a television show claim that professional players should not take long to understand what the coach wants of them.
What a fallacy! If that principle was correct, then maybe they can just call the players in a day or two before the matches. Unfortunately, this particular case is not far different from the current one and regardless of the quality of the coaching staff, the chemistry of this team will not be easily implemented.
As I looked through the names of the selected ones, I realise that some of the best players in the nation today are not in the team. Ataullah Guerra is the most talented midfielder in the country, while Hughtun Hector, Lester Peltier and Julius James are the marquee players that come to mind. Maybe they are injured or their teams will not allow them to represent their country.
To my mind, that weakens our fire power up front. Peltier is a prolific goalscorer for T&T in recent times, while Guerra and hector are skillful, penetrative midfielders, who can take central dominance from opponents. Assuming that they were unavailable, then the next step becomes more like a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde situation in the selection room.
From what I have seen of the players in the squad, my choice of goalkeeper would be Jan-Michael Williams for his maturity, his ability to make sound judgment and an apparent communicator to his defence line.
Carlos Edwards, Carlyle Mitchell, Seon Power and Joevin Jones will be the ones who understand the responsibilities of defenders and are likely to be supporting or defending players when the need arises. Edwards and Jones can add effective wing play when the opportunity shows themselves or when they are created by the likes of Kevin Carter and Kevin Molino on the midflanks.
The rock steady ball winning talent of Khaleem Hyland will reduce passing lanes through the T&T defence while Darryl Roberts has the flair, the vision, and understanding as to his function just behind the strikers. While Kenwyne Jones and Glen may appear automatic, my preference is Jamal Gay, because of his high work rate, his desire to fight opposing defenders for the ball and most of all take the half chances that may show up.
He is probably the best choice to partner Jones who will play as a post up striker and expect to be faced with a miniscule task of trying to win services from the array of servers behind. I wish that he would work harder and more aggressively.
Some may even consider my choice madness, especially as skipper Theobald is not in my team. This midfielder’s style of play is based upon moving around the midfield searching for the passes from the defence and interfacing with his fellow midfielders.
His inability to make penetrative passes and pack a long shot are probably the only missing links that would have made him comparable in style to the former captain Dwight Yorke.
Hyland is a top of the line deep-lying midfielder and his aggressive intent, plus his vision of choice passes will be essential if midfield play must belong to our team. I am admitting to not seeing enough of Hoyte and will respect the selector’s choice if they can see a more advanced performance from him in any position.
Having looked carefully at the overall quality of our team, I believe that, as a team, the correct selection can bring some respectability to our game. An absence of preparation stands firmly in my mind as our biggest deterrent and my hope is that my magical friends will pull something out of the hat. There is but a week ahead and I shall look again.