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Yes to patriotism, no to selfishness
Western Bureau:
Except for what I have read in the local newspaper, I know next to nothing about the German, Winfried 'Winnie' Schafer, the man selected by Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) boss Captain Horace Burrell to replace Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore as the head coach of Jamaica's Reggae Boyz.
Nonetheless, I am very happy that he got the job. In giving him the job, it meant the JFF flatly rejected the ploy by those local coaches who were making a hobby out of seeking to bad-mouth former coach Whitmore out of the job in the hope that they would come up for consideration.
As far as I am concerned, the posturing by some of our local coaches - aided and abetted by their friends in the media - left much to be desired. Instead of constructive criticism, they seemed incapable of doing anything else besides maligning the programme, leaving both their patriotism and credibility wide open to question.
I am really happy that Burrell was not fooled by those who openly campaigned to have Whitmore replaced for selfish reasons. It will be interesting to see how these rejected coaches will handle the Schafer appointment, especially if he does not have immediate success.
While the Reggae boyz have a mathematical chance of finishing in the top four, in the ongoing hexagonal phase of the World Cup qualifiers, I seriously doubt they will qualify for Brazil 2014. Despite Schafer's impressive résumé, I am not expecting him to come here and create magic.
It may be true that coach Whitmore made some costly errors in his tenure, but it is also equally true that we suffered significantly from the inadequate preparation, which for the most part left the team looking more like a group of strangers than a cohesive unit playing together.
Despite his impressive résumé, which includes guiding the Cameroon team to the World Cup, I can't see Schafer getting the current crop of players to gell before our next game in September. It, therefore, means I am expecting more of the negative results we saw in the final phase of Whitmore's tenure.
I believe that instead of expecting magic from Schafer, the JFF should instead be using him to rebuild the national programme so that come the start of the 2018 programme, we will have something to build on. I think it would be a colossal error not to continue with Schafer if we fail to make it to Brazil.
In addition to the appointment of coach Schafer, I believe the JFF should be commended for appointing Vin Blaine as his deputy. Apart from his knowledge of the game, there is no question that Blaine is a true Jamaica patriot, whose heart is in the right place, especially in regard to the development of local football.
Finally, I believe the JFF should also be commended for the sensible decision of keeping coach Whitmore in the national programme, albeit no longer as the national coach. It would be absolutely stupid to completely discard Whitmore after so much money has been invested in developing his coaching expertise.
As I stated above, I seriously doubt we will make it to Brazil 2014; however, as long as football remains an avenue through which gifted youngsters can earn a decent living on the professional circuit, I am all for maintaining a worthwhile national programme to unearth and expose new talent.
Feel free to send your feedback to adrianfrater@hotmail.com
Western Bureau:
Except for what I have read in the local newspaper, I know next to nothing about the German, Winfried 'Winnie' Schafer, the man selected by Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) boss Captain Horace Burrell to replace Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore as the head coach of Jamaica's Reggae Boyz.
Nonetheless, I am very happy that he got the job. In giving him the job, it meant the JFF flatly rejected the ploy by those local coaches who were making a hobby out of seeking to bad-mouth former coach Whitmore out of the job in the hope that they would come up for consideration.
As far as I am concerned, the posturing by some of our local coaches - aided and abetted by their friends in the media - left much to be desired. Instead of constructive criticism, they seemed incapable of doing anything else besides maligning the programme, leaving both their patriotism and credibility wide open to question.
I am really happy that Burrell was not fooled by those who openly campaigned to have Whitmore replaced for selfish reasons. It will be interesting to see how these rejected coaches will handle the Schafer appointment, especially if he does not have immediate success.
While the Reggae boyz have a mathematical chance of finishing in the top four, in the ongoing hexagonal phase of the World Cup qualifiers, I seriously doubt they will qualify for Brazil 2014. Despite Schafer's impressive résumé, I am not expecting him to come here and create magic.
It may be true that coach Whitmore made some costly errors in his tenure, but it is also equally true that we suffered significantly from the inadequate preparation, which for the most part left the team looking more like a group of strangers than a cohesive unit playing together.
Despite his impressive résumé, which includes guiding the Cameroon team to the World Cup, I can't see Schafer getting the current crop of players to gell before our next game in September. It, therefore, means I am expecting more of the negative results we saw in the final phase of Whitmore's tenure.
I believe that instead of expecting magic from Schafer, the JFF should instead be using him to rebuild the national programme so that come the start of the 2018 programme, we will have something to build on. I think it would be a colossal error not to continue with Schafer if we fail to make it to Brazil.
In addition to the appointment of coach Schafer, I believe the JFF should be commended for appointing Vin Blaine as his deputy. Apart from his knowledge of the game, there is no question that Blaine is a true Jamaica patriot, whose heart is in the right place, especially in regard to the development of local football.
Finally, I believe the JFF should also be commended for the sensible decision of keeping coach Whitmore in the national programme, albeit no longer as the national coach. It would be absolutely stupid to completely discard Whitmore after so much money has been invested in developing his coaching expertise.
As I stated above, I seriously doubt we will make it to Brazil 2014; however, as long as football remains an avenue through which gifted youngsters can earn a decent living on the professional circuit, I am all for maintaining a worthwhile national programme to unearth and expose new talent.
Feel free to send your feedback to adrianfrater@hotmail.com