‘Wrong move’

Football analysts Michael Hall and Clyde Jureidini say that they are shocked by and disappointed over the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) decision to fire Theodore ‘Tappa’ Whitmore as head coach of the senior men’s football team.

The JFF said yesterday that Whitmore has been relieved of his duties with immediate effect and that assistant coach Paul Hall will take over until the end of the World Cup qualifying campaign.

Whitmore’s tenure as head coach was reviewed during a technical committee meeting after the Reggae Boyz drew 1-1 with the United States at the National Stadium last month.

The Reggae Boyz are sixth on seven points in the eight-team table, with six games remaining in the qualifiers.

The table is led by Canada on 16 points, followed by the United States on 15, and Mexico and Panama round out the top four with 14 points apiece. Costa Rica are just ahead of the Reggae Boyz on nine points.

Michael Hall says Whitmore should have been allowed the opportunity to finish the campaign.

“I do not agree with the JFF firing him now,” Hall told The Gleaner. “I think that he should have remained for the remainder of the campaign because if we are honest about it, it would take a miracle for Jamaica to qualify, even for the playoffs in this octagonal series.

“Even if they fired him, which they have, and brought in another coach, I am not sure at all about what some other coach is going to achieve that he has not been able to achieve.

“I believe that were it not for a few unlucky situations, we would have been much better placed in terms of points at this point in time. I noticed that they (Concacaf) are saying that VAR (Video Assistant Replay) will be introduced for the remainder of the Concacaf games. It is probably coming a day too late for the team, as well as for Tappa.”

Michael Hall, like Jureidini, said that he has no issue with JFF’s decision to appoint Paul Hall.

“I think he is one of the few people that meets the criteria, so I think it is necessary,” Michael Hall said. “I think he is familiar with Concacaf, and he knows the players, so I suppose he is a decent choice. I wish him all the best, but I don’t know that he is going to be able to work the miracle that it is going to take to get us into the playoff spot.”

Jureidini said that while he understands the JFF’s decision to fire Whitmore because of results, he is disappointed in the manner in which it was done.

“I think that they should have had him finish his tenure based on the ill-preparations that they have, and in my view, destabilised the unit in the last year and half,” Jureidini said.

“I think it may have come down to the results, so it is understandable that the decision would be taken to remove him. However, I think it was done poorly and took too long and too much public involvement to come to a decision.”

Whitmore returned to the senior national team as its head coach in January 2017, four years after his previous stint ended in 2013. His first spell as head coach started in June 2009, where he took charge of 53 games, winning 24, drawing 8, and losing 21. In his second stint, out of 52 games, he did not fare better, having won 23, drawn 13, and lost 16. He took the Reggae Boyz to the Gold Cup final in 2017 and the semi-finals in 2019.

The Gleaner reached out to Whitmore for a response to his termination, but calls to his phone went unanswered.

robert.bailey@gleanerjm.com

See THE WEEKEND STAR (use logo) today for western Jamaica’s reaction to Whitmore’s dismissal.