We Neva learn our lesson, keep banging the wall!

[Don1]

Watson Big league stats. Not very impressive at all. Still hope he will come good, not bashing him but just really disappointed that he is Stoni answer to dropping Hue.

http://www.houstondynamo.com/players/je-vaughn-watson

Yeah but he plays in a better league

[Don1]

Your argument is completely negated by Jamaica's history... we qualified with a primarily local squad & just 3 key UB40s...period...end of story

Jamaica already has a template for qualification...and it's mostly local based. Simoes treated that team as a club side...taking them all over the world and hardening them into a cohesive unit...then adding a few players where he had big holes... I believe that was very successful.. but we have not learned the correct lessons from that successful campaign. The lesson is that long term player & team development works...but we prefer the quick fix..especially if the solution is foreign

When we bring in players wholesale from abroad for a few days of camp to play important games it's very difficult to form a good unit... maybe that works for other teams like Brazil which has exceptional players AND a national style/philosophy of ball...we have neither...and it shows

Instead of dissing local players with fanciful and misguided player pyramids based on where they play and elaborate statistical models ...we need to learn the lessons of 1998 first

[Tilla]

Interesting stats.

Played 1006 minutes (equivalent of 11 games), scored 0 goals over those minutes. Good stats to warrant a permanent place in our midfield.

Watson I think at most is a squad player. You do not build your side around him.

Anyway. . .

[Stonigut]

No it was a different time, we had very little local players that were playing outside jam at the time, so it was simpler, take the best of npl.

Even now we are not doing that we are taking the second and third best of npl and leaving the MVP at home!!


You tell me if a guy scores ten goals, has as many assists and is captain of his team, leads them to almost winning the title with the most meager of resources and he is not even considered for the team yet a guy who has four goals unclear number of assist, plays about half the games in the season keeps getting picked because what he is better looking, looks sweeter on the ball, not sure what it is, Michael Campbell has a better claim to playing on the team that any local on the side yet we don't even talk to this at all.

Back to regular argument, now we have players all over the place we need to build a more merit based system with best producers getting first spaces in the line to get into trials, not just arbitrary feelings, etc.

[Tilla]

I really don't care what his goal ratio for JA is, if you want it go look it up for yourself.

. . .and is the kind of response I expected from you anyway.

My point is, the team does not seem to have a problem creating chances, we have a problem with finishing. It therefore follows that Fuller might not be the answer to our problem, as seen that he has a deficiency when it comes to finishing in national colors. Maybe calling King would be the better option than Fuller.

Hey, over the long run, it is always lost on us who was involved in creating an opportunity. What usually counts is who finished the opportunity. It is sad that this is what happens, but that is just the reality of the game we love.

Last season it was said that Torres was on the creation of so many of Chelsea's goals although he was not scoring. Di Matteo as the manager said as long as the player was contributing, whether he scored or not was not an issue. At the end of the day though, Torres is still considered a failure as a striker as a strikers success is gauged by how many goals he scores per game. A jus' the reality.

[Don1]

Hey, Watson has been able to hold down an MLS position, something Hue couldn't do.

So who is better and more worthy of a place on our team?

We should have used that criterion for 1998.

I don't think Stoni can explain the 1998 qualification with a majority local club player base... would enjoy seeing him twisting into a pretzel to do so tho. I recall a key player being a 17 y.o. schoolboy

Kinda shreds his player pyramid scheme...or maybe WC qualification then was pure luck

[Stonigut]

Well first off is the squad was too skinny, too much unproven players, I was this close to writing about that this week, especially with maps and Austin injured it really exposed who we carried.

I would not have put Taylor in mid, I would probably have left him at rb, with shavar much as he has not played recently he should not have been on the squad, but the defense after shavar, nose, Taylor and Palmer was essentially totally untested at a national level, bad choice of players there.

In the mids it would be Phillips, Morrison, Watson and pull Johnson Ito attacking mid role, again the field of players just too skinny for this level of match after that everybody is untested at this level. Even giving Phillips game now was a mistake he has not even playing and was not in best condition.

At forward it would be Cummings and shelton.

Taylor at mid was a misplacement left Morrison with too much to do. Johnson at attacking mid gives a fitter battle harder ended running tackle ready player in mids who also can create and destroy.

[Assasin]

Watson Big league stats. Not very impressive at all. Still hope he will come good, not bashing him but just really disappointed that he is Stoni answer to dropping Hue.

http://www.houstondynamo.com/players/je-vaughn-watson

[Tilla]

Is it unusual to see players getting call up to teams when the coach wants to try something different? Hey, Klinsman decided to call Eddie Johnson for the game against Antigua. Johnson although in the player pool has not seen action for the US in some time. The player comes in and nets two goals to make his team winner of that game. If I am to read your position correctly, Johnson should not have been selected but some other player who was ahead of him in the pecking order in the team should have played?

Coaches win and lose games by the decisions they make. Had Shelton scored that perfect opportunity Hue provided him and Jamaica had won, I wonder if we would be having this discussion right now?

At the end of the day, the coach is the one to blame. He is aware of his tactical nous and what he is trying to achieve by including certain players. Maybe Tappa really does not have a clue, but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt.

I wonder if Austin and Map will be available for Tuesdays match in Jamaica. If so, what will the midfield look like then? For sure, Austin would come in for Taylor, Map would be in for Shavar. Looks to me as if Hue could still have a place as the creative mid as we still do not have anyone better.

[TheDread]

Provide me with the statistic to disprove my argument. Jus don't tell me I am talking whatever.

Hey, strikers are assessed on their ability to put the ball in the back on the net, not how many chances they create. I think Fuller is at the end of his road right now and the creation of chances is not is killing this team. We need finishers and in that respect, I am sorry to disappoint you, but Fuller is not a finisher when he wears national colors. The stats are out there to prove that. Can you let me know Fuller's game to goal ratio in national colors?

I really don't care what his goal ratio for JA is, if you want it go look it up for yourself. What I care about is the team better with him or not. Any good coach will look at stats, but also knows how to put stats into context. I notice how many of you were cursing Fuller when we beat T&T 1- 0 a while back. Lost in the shuffle was the fact that he created the opportunity for the winning goal. Right now we only have one striker that has score from open play during this round...what that stat mean?

[Stonigut]

Hue is just representative of the selection process, he was nowhere two qual games ago, hell! one qual game ago and bam he is in the team and playing a critical match. Just says we don't have a process it is some hopscotch business, throw you marker and you have no clue where it will fall.

[Stonigut]

Hey, he got a shot, he campaigned for it and they listened, all I can do is take my hat off to him on that and he played ok. Nut in the long run that is not the type of player I want in the mids and I definitely don't want to see guys come up through a contrived selection process, this should be as close to a meritocratic process as much as possible. Big ballas currently producing in big leagues are first in line, ballas getting consistent game in the biggest leagues are next, ball las barely getting low minutes in pro leagues are equal to ballas producing well in local league. That is the pyramid.

Look at the squad it is all over the place we have babies just out of cribs on the national side, to untested players outside of local league.

[Tilla]

Provide me with the statistic to disprove my argument. Jus don't tell me I am talking whatever.

Hey, strikers are assessed on their ability to put the ball in the back on the net, not how many chances they create. I think Fuller is at the end of his road right now and the creation of chances is not is killing this team. We need finishers and in that respect, I am sorry to disappoint you, but Fuller is not a finisher when he wears national colors. The stats are out there to prove that. Can you let me know Fuller's game to goal ratio in national colors?

[Stonigut]

And I have said that, Taylor is out of position, his style of playing especially on Ja team past couple games, he has had to react to a limited st of stimuli as the mids wee playing defense well so he was mostly able to just deal with his geography, going into defenive mid was a jump to hyper space for him, better the move to centre half, leave shavar as sub in case.

I just have big issues with the selection process we must create more of a true meritocracy, those who play earn it.

[Assasin]

We didn't do so bad defensively. My problem is not so much his corner but at what point you tell him to take a break?????