New Boyz impressive but contract issue threatens programme – pundits

While impressed with some of the Reggae Boyz who debuted against the United States in the teams’ recent friendly international, former national assistant coach Bradley Stewart and Humble Lion head coach Andrew Price are calling for a quick resolution to the ongoing contract situation with the core group of national players.

This, they underline, will help the team to properly prepare for upcoming major tournaments.

Jamaica lost 4-1 to the Concacaf powerhouses last Thursday in Austria, their first game of 2021, as they continue preparation for the Gold Cup tournament and World Cup final-round qualifiers later this year.

Sergino Dest, Brenden Aaronson and a brace from Sebastian Lletget guided the Americans towards victory, while Jamal Lowe got the lone goal for the Reggae Boyz, his first for the country.

Six of the eight England-born players that were called up to the squad made their debuts, including Lowe, who plays for English Championship side Swansea, Ethan Pinnock (Brentford), Andre Gray (Watford) and Liam Moore (Reading).

Price said that among those who took the field, Moore, Gray and Lowe stood out for him.

“Liam Moore is definitely a cut above the defenders on display. He definitely showed his quality and he’s an experienced and seasoned campaigner,” Price told The Gleaner. (Lowe) is doing very well in the Championship with Swansea and (Andre) Gray is a proven commodity. Those were three players that really stood out for me and are great additions to the current core.”

INVITATION DECLINED

Members of that core declined invitations to play the US as ongoing contract talks continue, and the 20-member squad that made the trip comprised local players that have not played competitively in over a year because of the local football hiatus. Their training camp was cancelled because of the need to secure travel documents the week before the game.

Stewart lamented the lack of preparation time as well as the errors made by the JFF regarding the contract situation, and believes that it is creating a recipe for disaster for the upcoming tournaments if those issues are not resolved.

“If we go into the Gold Cup and World Cup (qualifiers) like this we probably would come last in the zone. So one has to take into consideration the incidents that have happened in the past since this administration has taken over, how many missteps have been made and the end result of those (missteps),” Stewart said.

With that mindset, Price says that it is imperative that an agreement is reached so that the incoming players and core group have the time to prepare and build the required synergy.

“I would hope for a resolution very quickly with the core players that we have been using for the last three years, so that the negotiations can be concluded, that players can get into camp and that we can have a set core group of about 40 players, which we will need to participate in the hectic World Cup qualifiers,” Price said.

West Ham striker Michail Antonio is another of the England-born players that will join the team once his international switch is complete, and former national player Robbie Earle says that he is excited about the Reggae Boyz’s chances of qualifying for the World Cup with the influx of talent from overseas.

“I’m looking forward to it because it’s the opportunity that I got to play international and have the wonderful journey that was the World Cup, and with the quality of some of the players that we are talking about, it definitely puts Jamaica in a better opportunity to qualify again,” Earle said while speaking on the CBS Sports Que Golazo podcast recently.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com