Football November upon us again

It seems as if November, the sign Scorpio (the eighth astrological sign in the Zodiac, originating from the constellation of Scorpius) is intent on always stinging Trinidad and Tobago’s footballing fans, sometimes to cry in pain and on other occasions to cry out in joy.

On November 19, 1989, Trinidad and Tobago’s famous strike squad team lost to the USA 0-1 and we failed to qualify for Italy 1990. Then on November 15, 2005, Trinidad and Tobago defeated Bahrain 1-0, thanks to a Dennis  ‘Tallest’ Lawrence header in the second half from a Dwight Yorke corner to qualify for the World Cup in Germany in 2006 for the first and only occasion so far in our footballing history.

Now on Friday, Trinidad and Tobago will play Guyana in the first of two crucial World Cup qualifiers at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, the second one being played on November 15 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

Guyana currently lead the group by one point over Trinidad and Tobago and are quickly putting things in place to achieve the improbable and defeat Trinidad and Tobago on Friday in front of a sold-out crowd to advance to the next round of qualification for Brazil 2014.

And while many in Trinidad and Tobago may laugh at this, let us not fool ourselves, Guyana are not going to roll over and play dead, they need only two draws to advance, Trinidad and Tobago need to win at least one of the two encounters and not lose the other and thereby advance on goal difference.

Guyana’s Football Federation has already told the entire country to wear yellow on Friday and have printed T-shirts, highlighting their team which is being called the Golden Jaguars, at a purchase price of TT$40. All of last week into this week, there has been a massive move to promote the match.

In fact, coach of the Guyana team, Trinidad and Tobago’s Jamaal Shabazz said that the government of Guyana has promised the team a lot of incentives including land and other benefits if the team advances beyond this round. So, as we prepare for this match, the big question is just that—preparation.

Otto Pfister, the highly paid German born coach of the Trinidad and Tobago team, has been in the news since Trinidad and Tobago’s dominating 4-0 success over Barbados for all the wrong reasons, with many local coaches and owners of pro league clubs questioning his behavior in saying players were being treated like animals by their clubs.

This sort of misunderstanding was not needed at this time, because it was almost as if players were being asked to choose between national duty, their local clubs and their future outside of Trinidad and Tobago. It was wasted energy that could have been put to better use with consultation among all of the leading parties in this matter.

What we did not observe was the locally-based players training and the coach talking about his expectations on the crucial match. In fact I am left to wonder and hope that the entire coaching team actually did their homework and watched some of Guyana’s matches and their style of play—in case they are still not aware at this late stage—which are available on You Tube.

We must not fall into the mindset that this is Guyana and we are accustomed to beating up on them, and they have not been able to defeat us in recent matches, so that all Trinidad and Tobago need to do is show up. All of that stands for absolutely nothing—Guyana is determined and disciplined in the main. And as we have witnessed this is sometimes more important than just mere ability.

 Football is a team game with of course individual moments of brilliance sometimes being the difference between winning and losing. Unfortunately, we do not have any one brilliant player (at least consistently) at the moment that we can hope for something special from.

Let us also hope that the Trinidad and Tobago coaching staff would have also examined the Providence Ground in Guyana, which was built for the 2007 cricket World Cup. We need to ensure that we are fully appreciative of the service.

We must as well expect the Guyanese to be charged up when the whistle blows to start the game especially if the expected sellout crowd is in place. For those who may not know, this Stadium is located on the east bank of the Demerara River, a few kilometers south of the capital, Georgetown. Located along the East Bank Highway, the stadium is a ten-minute drive from Georgetown’s city centre and a 30-minute drive from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.

We also need to understand that Guyana’s national elections are due on November 28 and the incumbent party in power would love nothing better than to promote before the elections that they have assisted the country’s football team to advance to the next stage and in that regard are giving their full support to this match and the players.

A lesson perhaps for those in authority in Trinidad and Tobago. Kenywne Jones returns to captain Trinidad and Tobago, and let us hope he can shrug off the embarrassing 0-5 loss suffered by Stoke to Bolton on Sunday. Jones will need to step forward and be a true leader and encourage his players to stay focus on the job at hand. In that regard, he will need to lead, where it matters most with decisive play in Guyana’s penalty box, to ensure we score goals.

Trinidad and Tobago need to think only of victory and an early goal or two will settle not only the nerves of the players on the field, but also of millions of fans worldwide. However one can expect that similarly Shabaaz’s knowledge of Jones and his importance will ensure that we may witness some tough marking on Jones.

We can only hope that Jones will travel to Guyana willing to play the game hard and competitively, because we can imagine that Guyana will attempt to shake him up with some rough play and force him into his shell. Jones, though must play for his country, as he can and should deliver goals. The return of Carlos Edwards, Chris Birchall and Anthony Wolfe will all have to be well measured, given the clearly faulty mindset of Pfister to utilise the right-footed Edwards as a left back.

It is an error that can be exploited by someone with knowledge of Edwards and Shabazz has the intelligence to use this suspect positioning against Trinidad and Tobago. Birchall offers another option in the centre of midfield and even though Khaleem Hyland played well against Barbados, Birchall’s international experience and his shooting prowess (even though of late, it appears to have gone backwards) will perhaps give him the edge. Also, the fact that his team LA Galaxy are through to the November 20, MLS Cup Final will provide him with a lot of confidence.

It will also be critical that youngsters Kevin Molino and Lester Peltier are given the opportunity to be adventurous and use their vision and speed to unsettle a generally conservative Guyana unit. Pfister must ensure they are allowed to run at a rather ponderous looking Guyana defensive back four. If there is one element of predictability about any Shabazz’s team, it is they they are tough defensively and will attempt to wear you down with a lot of attrition and hope that you will be mentally weak at the end.

A number of Guyana’s goals have come in the last 20 minutes of matches, so we need to plan for that and be mentally ready for a stern test of our nerves and our resolve. It will be interesting to witness what sort of support there will be in Guyana for Trinidad and Tobago despite the lack of creativity by the Trinidad and Tobago football Federation or All Sports in arranging a charter flight (at the time of writing) for this match. There are enough flights to and from Guyana, that loyal Trinidad and Tobago fans can attend the game on Friday night.

And while for Guyana it will not be all over with a defeat on Friday, for Trinidad and Tobago it will be the end of a campaign that would be described as embarrassing and depressing at the best of times. The traditionalists among us will say, that we are perhaps taking this match too seriously as Guyana will be easy meat, however I believe it will be a testing match for Trinidad and Tobago and we will need to start the match very positively.

We must hope that all of the players understand how important this match is, in particular for some players such as Stern John and Carlos Edwards it may be their last chance to participate in a World Cup final again. So, come Friday, the important question will be: “Who?” Who will step forward and deliver the goals for Trinidad and Tobago to relieve some of the pressure in this country ahead of Tuesday’s encounter at the Hasely Crawford Stadium?