Following the sacking of Technical Director, Rene Simoes, the president of the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), Captain Horace Burrell, announced this week that former Watford player, John Barnes, will be the new Technical Director for the Reggae Boyz.
He will officially start on November 1, due to previous commitments.
Jamaican, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore, will be the interim coach who will guide the Reggae Boyz in their matches against Mexico and Honduras on October 11 and October 15, respectively.
He will be John Barnes' assistant.
When questioned why a Jamaican-based coach who has previously and successfully groomed the Reggae Boyz in World Cup qualifiers, wasn't given the nod for the Technical Director position, Captain Burrell (The Captain) said that he didn't feel that Jamaican coaches were ready for this level of football.
Hmmmh!..well time will tell if 'The Captain's' decision was right.
John Barnes is a Jamaican who has lived in England since his teenage years.
As a former football player, he was simply brilliant...I remember as a teenager being so proud of him while watching his performances for English Clubs Watford and Liverpool, on TV.
As a Midfielder, he won the First Division twice and the F.A. Cup twice, and has played 79 times for England. He is currently a broadcaster with Channel Five television in the UK and acts as a part-time scout in the Caribbean, for Sunderland.
The thing is that that prior to Jamaica, Celtic of Scotland represents the only coaching job (1999-2000)for this Jamaican-born Briton...
And he had a fair measure of success, with Celtic winning 65% of their matches under his tutelage.
So will John Barnes be the best foreign coach ever?
The JFF surely hopes so.
After failed stints at World Cup Qualification glory by foreign coaches, Clovis DeOlivera, Bora Milutinovic and recently Rene Simoes, Jamaican Reggae Boyz sponsors are eager to realize the return on their investments.
One thing is for sure: if Jamaica loses against Mexico on October 11, that will be the end of the Reggae Boyz' quest to qualify for World Cup 2010.
[The World Cup Qualifiers for the CONCACAF (the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football) Region is in it's Third Round. In this round of the competition, there are twelve (12) countries placed in three (3) groups of four.
Jamaica is in Group 2, along with Mexico, Honduras and Canada. The top two (2) teams in each Group, move to Round Four of the competition to be played between February and October 2009. Jamaica needs 10 points to be amongst the top two (2) countries for Group 2.
The top three (3) teams in Round Four will automatically go to the World Cup in 2010. The 4th place team will compete in a home-and-away playoff against the fifth-place team from CONMEBOL. The winner will go to the World Cup in 2010.
The current point standings for Group 2 are as follows:
Mexico - 9 points
Honduras - 6 points.
Canada - 1 point
Jamaica - 1 point.
Jamaica will play Canada, in Jamaica, on November 19.]
I humbly feel, however, that if the Reggae Boyz can win these two upcoming matches, under Theodore Whitmore, that he should be given the nod for the Technical Director position, should John Barnes not be able to deliver.
Winning against Mexico and Honduras is no easy feat and any coach who can snatch these victories, is definitely someone with the necessary grit to take Jamaican football to the highest level possible.
Tappa is hungry for success, but this success will be dependent on his ability to put a prolific squad together who can defend, mark players, and score goals.
- A squad that 'The Captain' has said is available from Jamaican players who play in the USA and Europe.
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Girl With a Purpose Blog wishes Tappa and John Barnes every success in their quest to help the Reggae Boyz qualify for World Cup 2010.
Gillian
Sources Include:
1) Article, "John Barnes names to replace Simoes - Whitmore interim coach", by Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport Editor, SportsJamaica.com
2) Article, "John Barnes to Focus on Digicel Caribbean Cup", Sports Section, Go-Jamaica.com
3) John Barnes Biography, Wikipedia.org
4) 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualification (CONCACAF) page, Wikipedia.org
