King’s time in Iceland was a mixed bag, says Speid

With Richard King now back in Cavalier’s defence, head coach Rudolph Speid says the defender’s time in Iceland was not as beneficial as he had hoped.

According to Speid, the defender’s time in Iceland was a mixed bag as his player did not get as much playing time as he would have wanted.

King was a key member of the Cavalier team that won the 2021 Jamaica Premier League title, and the 22-year-old defender was sent on loan overseas after attracting interest from ÍBV in the Icelandic top flight last year.

Speid held high expectations for the loan deal as he believed that the experience would be beneficial for the youngster, who had been making his name in the local league.

“King has been a revelation after leaving school. He went almost straight into the national team, and you can see the quality he has. I don’t think they should have any issues because Cavalier players are taught to remain focused until they get the job done, and they have been a part of that mentality. So I expect them to have the same mentality overseas,” Speid told The Gleaner last year.

Since the player’s return, Speid said that while King was able to show some of his qualities overseas, the time spent away from the island did not help in the player’s development.

“I think he didn’t play enough. That really was the biggest problem. I think he was there for a good while, but he only played about 13 or 15 games. If he had played more, I think it would have been good for his development.”

Before his loan, King had earned his spot as a regular name in the Reggae Boyz team, having played 11 times for the national team in the span of a year. Following his move, King has only worn the national colours three times, all of which came in international friendlies.

Speid believes this was because of his lack of playing time overseas.

“I also think that with his time in Iceland, he never got involved with the national team training. He never got to play either, and that would have set him back again. It’s one of those things where I’m glad he’s gotten the opportunity overseas, but at the same time, I don’t think it was beneficial for him,” he reasoned.

With King now back in Jamaica, Cavalier are hoping that he will help with their title aspirations, but Speid insisted that the club’s priority will be to get the player more opportunities overseas, playing at a higher level for his development.

“We want him to play overseas. We will be looking for opportunities for him to play overseas again as soon as possible,” Speid said.