Girl With a Purpose (GWAP)

Rene Simoes, Reggae Boyz' Coach, Fired!

reggae_boyz_flag
Originally uploaded by agentcsmith

 

 

The following is an item of Breaking News...

 

Following Jamaica's horrendous 2-0 defeat to Honduras last night, it has been reported that the head of the Jamaica Football Federation, Captain Horace Burrell, has fired the entire coaching staff of the Reggae Boyz (Jamaica's Football team)...including Rene Simoes - head coach (technical director.)

 

This is on the heels of the Reggae Boyz 3-0 defeat to Mexico on Saturday.

 

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I saw the second-half of the Honduras match last night and the Defense just looked lackluster...disorganized...

 

The Forwards seemed to lack confidence...with a few attempting goals from midfield...

 

Although there were two (2) clear attempts at goal...the Midfielders and Forwards also gave lackluster performances.

 

Surely, Rene Simoes must be re-considering his decision to get rid of Marlon King...the reliable forward, known to be able to score goals.

 

(He claimed that Marlon was selfish with the ball and not a team player.)

 

Well, this will surely affect Jamaica's chances of qualifying for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

 

We have three (3) must-win home matches to be played in Jamaica, against Mexico, Honduras and Canada...in order to qualify for the next round...a very uphill task for any new coach at this time.

 

[The Reggae Boyz are on one (1) point..they need nine (9) more points to qualify for the next round of qualifiers for the World Cup.

 

Teams wishing to qualify for the World Cup are placed in zones, according to their continents...Jamaica is in the CONCACAF zone (consisting of teams from North and Central America and the Caribbean.)

 

According to the FIFA World Cup Qualification Page on Wikipedia.org, "the proposed CONCACAF qualification process^[3] is identical to that for 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF). It would consist of two preliminary rounds to reduce the 35 entrants to 24 and then 12 teams, followed by 3 semifinal groups of 4 (likely to occur in the second half of 2008), with the top two in each group advancing to a final 6-team group (held during 2009).

 

The top three teams would qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup while the fourth placed side would enter a play-off with the fifth placed CONMEBOL (South America) nation."]

 

Surely The Captain (pet name for Horace Burrell) must be wondering if he made a hasty decision...for the team and coaching staff have coalesced around Rene Simoes.

 

In my humble opinion, Rene is a good coach...who was probably not able to motivate his players to perform at their best, following their defeat to Mexico on Saturday.

 

(When we saw TV footage of the players, when they were in transit to Honduras, after the Mexico match...they seemed dejected...and I'm wondering if they lost heart as a result of their Mexico loss...and weren't able to put themselves in the frame of mind to win against Honduras.)

 

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According to Nationwide Radio,The Captain will hold a press conference on the Reggae Boyz' return to Jamaica, later today.

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

 

 

 

1) Radio Programme, "This Morning", Nationwide Radio, September 11, 2008

 

2) Article, "Marlon king axed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!", by Drefus, Junior Member of the Reggae Boyz Forum, www.The ReggaeBoyz.com

Gustav Fosters Entrepreneurship in Jamaica

A Bailey Bridge
Originally uploaded by Jamie Anderson

Tropical Storm Gustav, on Thursday - Friday, August 28-29,2008...had a devastating effect on Jamaica...but especially our island's Eastern and Southern Parishes.

So devastating was Gustav's fury, that bridges, houses and gullies crumbled under the rising and swift- moving waters.

One such bridge affected, was the Hope Bridge, one of the two bridges that connect the two parishes of Kingston and St. Thomas...

Most of the bridge was washed away when the underlying Hope River, raged and swelled under storm-force winds and rains.

People were left marooned, on either side of the river, as one of the major bridges that allowed them to travel into Kingston and into St.Thomas, was no more.

On Sunday, August 31, 2008, when the winds and rains had subsided...young men from the Harbour View and St. Thomas communities, on either side of the river, took matters into their own hands, literally...they offered to brave the Hope River and carry people across (on their backs, or via seats formed by two people clasping two pairs of hands together)..for a fee of course...Jamaican Dollar(JMD) $100- $200 per person (USD $1.40 - $2.80 per person.)

[They charge upwards of up to JMD$1000/person (USD $14/person) for persons wishing to carry loads (baskets of food and produce, etc.) across the river, from either side.]

Thus giving a new face to entrepreneurship (the process by which people start new businesses based on novel/new-to-the-world ideas) in Jamaica.

Some people said they were scared when crossing the river, but they had confidence in the young men taking them across.

On Saturday August 30, 2008, the government of Jamaica, understanding the dire straits that people on either side of the river were experiencing, from the missing bridge, started constructing a Bailey Bridge that would replace the old bridge that washed away.

We don't know when this new bridge will be finished, but we understand that this should be partially-finished, today, to allow vehicles of less than 12 tonnes (including cars and buses), across.

There will be another bridge constructed for heavier trucks that carry construction material...further up the river, where the distance to cross, is less.

Gillian

Sources Include

1. Television Jamaica's News Nightly News at 7:00 p.m., September 1,2008

2. Radio Programme, "On the Agenda", Nationwide Radio, September 2, 2008.