Wired868 Wired868 for smart sport news and opinion
Trinidad and Tobago National Under-20 Team coach Brian Williams has refused to consider Shiva Boys Hindu College players Tyrel “Pappy” Emmanuel and Quinn Rodney for the Caribbean Cup finals, after rejecting their excuses for skipping an ongoing training camp in Guyana.
Emmanuel and Rodney were selected on Williams’ 20-man team, which left for Georgetown on Wednesday evening. But neither made the trip and both played for their schools on the same evening, as Shiva Boys lost 2-1 away to San Juan North Secondary.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
Williams, a former Strike Squad standout, said the two talented players had dropped themselves as a result of their actions. He said he already informed TTFA president David John-Williams and technical director Muhammad Isa about his decision.
“I am very disappointed about this,” Williams told the TTFA Media. “Definitely these two players will not be eligible for selection for the CFU Final Round. I think this is a total disrespect to the national team by not turning up after being selected with travel and hotel arrangements already confirmed.
“I will not be including them in the selection for the final round in Curacao. These two players have dropped themselves.”
Williams, a W Connection youth team coach and former coach with Pro League team, United Petrotrin, confirmed that his technical staff informed all 20 players of their travel arrangements earlier in the week.
“We selected 20 players which I confirmed earlier this week,” said Williams. “Every player was spoken to and informed about the travel arrangements.”
However, Rodney simply did not turn up.
(Courtesy Kerlon Orr/Wired868)
“Quinn Rodney did not show up at the airport,” said Williams. “I spoke to his mother and his school teacher. But I understand the mother said afterwards that she had no money to send with her son on the tour.
“I could not understand [that excuse] because we were covering all expenses.”
Williams said Emmanuel called on Wednesday afternoon, less than three hours before the flight, to say that his mother could not find his passport and he was also suffering chest pains.
But the national youth team coach rejected that excuse too.
“Pappy called me when I was on my way to the airport and said that his mother could not find his passport,” said Williams, “and due to his medical status with him still having some chest pains, he cannot make the trip.
“I asked him if he was playing in the evening for Shiva Boys and his response was: no coach I am not playing. But I found out after that he scored for Shiva Boys later that day.”
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/Wired868)
Williams will name his final 23-man squad for the Caribbean finals on Tuesday. All selected players will be barred from playing in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL).
The Under-20s hope to have a second training camp in Panama before they head to Curacao before the CFU competition.
The young Soca Warriors edged Alpha United 2-1 on Friday evening in Georgetown. However, their opponents were a surprise since the team thought they would play two exhibition matches against the Guyana National Senior Team for their tour.
“There was an adjustment when we reached here because initially we were supposed to play the national teams,” said Williams. “But what was explained to us by [Guyana National Senior Team coach] Jamaal Shabazz when we arrived here is that he recently selected a pool of national players to prepare for the Caribbean Cup and right now they are into their preparations.
“So there was an arrangement where we would play the Alpha team, which has a few national players, and then play against an Elite All Star team on Sunday, which is also made up of several of their local-based national players.”
The two teams played to a 1-1 draw.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
Team captain Jabari Mitchell and newcomer Moses Jaikeran got the goals against Alpha while striker Nicholas Dillon and left back Keston Julien also gave creditable efforts.
Williams said he was pleased with his team’s performance and happy to away from the distracting nature of the SSFL competition, which has led to regular absences from national team training sessions.
“I was really pleased with the way our boys handled the match. It was very important for us to come here and play as it helped us as a team to refocus on the task at hand.
“Because of the distraction of secondary schools football and the club football back home, we were not getting the chance to really have proper training sessions involving all of the players. And that was becoming a big concern for me as we get closer to the tournament.
“But coming here has allowed us to regroup and refocus and I am happy about that. We came in Wednesday and we had two good training sessions and the boys have been very positive so far. They put on a strong performance in the match which I felt was important for us.”
T&T won 11-0.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
The National Under-20 Team close off their tour tomorrow with a warm-up match against a local all-star team.
(Trinidad and Tobago National Under-20 Team)
Goalkeepers: Jabari Brice (St Anthony’s College/San Juan Jabloteh), Denzil Smith (Shiva Boys HC);
Defenders: Tyrek Sampson (North East Stars), Kori Cupid (Presentation/W Connection), Isaiah Garcia (Shiva Boys/W Connection), Kierron Mason, Keston Julien (both Marabella Family Crisis Centre), Rondell Payne (Naparima College), Hakim Baird (North East Stars);
Midfielders: Jabari Mitchell (W Connection), Kareem Riley (Presentation/Central FC), Shane Sandy (Naparima/North East Stars), Micah Lansiquot (Mucurapo East/St Ann’s Rangers);
Forwards: Nicholas Dillon (Central FC), Kathon St Hillaire (St Anthony’s/St Ann’s Rangers), Josh Toussaint (St Ann’s Rangers), Chaz Burnett (Players Development Academy—USA), Moses Jaikeran (Harlem Strikers).
Britain-based author Richard Blackett, who, at present, is working on A History of Football in Trinidad and Tobago, 1908-2006, made Read more
Trinidad and Tobago had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Guyana in their opening Fifa U-17 World Cup qualifying Read more
Trinidad and Tobago look likely to be without the services of talented 16-year-old defender Adam ‘Toka’ Pierre for their 2025 Read more
Outgoing Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team head coach Angus Eve had another 17 months left on his contract Read more
St Benedict’s College coach Randolph ‘Balo’ Boyce has been selected as the Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Under-20 Team head Read more
The Trinidad and Tobago Men’s National Senior Team completed their preparation for the opening round of their Fifa 2026 World Read more
Hmmm d way this conversation turning like they want a stipend to play!! And it seems big men encouraging that!!
So they shouldn’t get any help for transportation costs etc maybe eat ah food or something? Thas what you encouraging? Just do everything for free wether you could afford it or not? Steups …you jokey yes …either that or never competed in organised sports ever.
Never said that but from d way this conversation doing it seems this is d most important thing!! I remember i carrying peltier to play he come with only his boots i question him he said he come to play for me so i should have everything!
You serious??
How many foreign based players is it? Are they all starters? Core members of the team?
I never understand the point of time and expense for a tour that excludes important pieces of the team.
They young and they’re maybe afraid of the consequences of not saying “listen we not going because of these reasons”…did they respond appropriately – NO. Are they these indisciplined kids that they are being portrayed to be – not at all.
These circumstances are symptomatic of the negative and misguided mindsets that is pervasive in our society. Mr. Sherwood says that these kids are not indisciplined. If so, there must be another word to describe their actions.
So much more can be said about this scenario and it is not positive.
I support Brian Williams totally for the stance he has taken.
The foreign based players aren’t part of this tour? It isn’t mandatory?
Well, then Pappy and company should have brought this to public attention earlier so we could have pushed the TTFA to take a teacher on tour with them.
All the same, school is NOT why Pappy or Quinn said they stayed him.
The kids in the States who will be part of this squad being asked to miss all of this class time? Do you think those parents would accede to that?
But remember that is NOT what he told Brian Williams last week Anthony Sherwood. So that was not his excuse.
I seem to recall in an article in wired where Pappy, (when confronted) indicated that he was not playing youth pro league because of school…
I do not know these fellas from Adam but you really think they choose school over the tour? They are real special yute if they that.
Now you’re making it seem like we just don’t want the children to get an education Tony. That isn’t fair.
If they told the coach that they wanted to devote that time to studies, I’m sure many people would have accepted that.
And of course we would expect that such a statement would be followed by confirmation from Shiva Boys that they are completely dedicated students who never miss class and are prompt with homework.
Doh push it with the prompt with homework. D dog have to eat it sometimes.
???
They could respond to that yuh know, but doing so pits the school and their players against the other guys and for the sake of the younger ones coming up – it’s probably best they leave it alone. Pappy and Quinn are very young and maybe when the next cycle comes around they will be seen as more of an asset to the coach…it’s possible they may have just given up on this cycle? I just don’t see why they would have trained their socks off for all those many months and not reward themselves with “ah little small tour” to Guyana to play against the Guyanese National Team – it just doh make sense…maybe being in class made more sense – a strange concept to many in this country.
But they lied to the coach Tony. No matter what they say now, that won’t change. So why should they get the benefit of the doubt?
Essentially they were caught lying. The most we can do is wish them well in the future. But I don’t see how they can avoid some criticism.
You know my position on this, Lasana.
I am sure Molino, Joevin and Mekeil had a reason why they thought they should have been able to go to the boat party too.
What about if someone can on and say: “If allyuh only knew why they went, allyuh wouldn’t criticise them…”
What are we supposed to? Hush? Because of some mysterious reason that they don’t feel obliged to share?
They lied. And they did not show up for a training camp. Those are facts.
A truthful response to all of this would paint a very different picture as it pertains to those on the other side, revealing that side of the story would result in “them guys” being shown up a bit. The most telling example of the discipline that these kids possess is reflected in the fact that they will remain silent going forward – they will take the hammering and humiliation…speaking out and creating conflict will serve as a distraction…and no one benefits from that especially the coach.
These two players are great kids and for the 5-6 months that they travelled to Couva from as far as Mayaro and Santa Flora 3 times weekly, their discipline and desire to play for T&T was never questioned…
By the way, if the training camp was in Las Vegas, New York or Florida, those two players would have been the first to reach in Piarco Airport eh!
I’m pretty sure when Machel Montano passed his O and A levels he was performing in carnival fetes during the preceding carnival season. It’s all about structure, time management, discipline, attitude and focus.
Smh they give up national team to go play school football very smart Smh
This is very elementary. The be the best of the best of the best. there’s hard work, sacrifices that have to be made, discipline, and attitude. It appears a lot of folks think it’s unattainable to juggle both school and high level sporting involvement at the same time. Backward me thinks. I know a few sportsmen and footballers who represented the country while preparing for O and A level exams and aced the exams. I agree with Lasana that those who are afraid of progress need to stay home with mammy and eat their cereal and milk & cookies and watch other youths their age who has the discipline and focus do their thing on TV.
I do hope that the coach sticks to his decision. For too long being soft on our sports people because they are talented, and not pulling them up for the indiscipline, has resulted in the creation of primadonas who believe that they are greater than the team and even the sport.
INDISCIPLINE KILLING US IN TRINIDAD
Good move. Kill one, scare a thousand
Well done Brian. These youngsters need to understand that their decisions have consequences. My bigger concern is WHO is sitting down with these boys and getting them to understand respect, selflessness, pride in your country and commitment to your fellow players.
Parents and school should be ashamed that they have not been a POSITIVE DECENT influence on their youngsters.
This is a good example of why our country is in such a state.
WAKE UP MY PEOPLE.
Very true
But is anything going to be done? A player lying to his National coach about playing at home when he should be in camp? Parents are REAL PROBLEMS. NO EXAMPLE BEING SET FOR THESE YOUNGSTERS. Sports psychologists must be brought in to work with the players from the Under 15 level. They must also be part of a team of psychologists who have a HIGHLY QUALIFIED SUPERVISOR who reports to a PROPER Technical Director.
We need a PROFESSIONAL SET UP.
The thing these boys dont understand that playing for your National team is not only about pride today, for modern sportsmen it is not so much about National pride etc, it opens doors for you, College scholarships, look-in from clubs abroad and so on. The parents are so insular.
I agree with Bran Williams decisions, but I’m curious about Shiva’s boys School role in all of this. The principal of the School as well as Shiva Boys team have to let us know the truth, since I dont believe this was the boy’s own decision. I beleived they were put in a cromprisng postion and had to choose. How come the mothers ensured pssports and dicuments were ready and suddenly they were hedging, We need to know the truth
Kelson Figaro Anthony Lopez Shaquille Tull have a read
At the moment a lot of sports going thru this
Never hear the players opinion
Do what you have to do Coach Williams. This is National duty involved. All the best!?
How to throw away your future by choosing to be the big fish in a small pond. It will reflect bad on perspective colleges recruiting them if they go that way with their careers as well.
Steupsss allyuh talking and must be can’t kick a lime who influenced the youth to stay n play ssfl sum ppl hv influence on players and I not vex if his mom hv no money to send him sometimes u go on trips n u mite want something they will not buy it I find allyuh should shut up ik I was in that position already Steupsss allyuh feel allyuh know #Asses
That has been done in other administrations especially if exams are close or the trip is lengthy.
BIG match versus Juve and Inter coach de Boer drops one of his key players for “unprofessional behaviour”. People like to talk and call for hard measures EXCEPT when it affects THEM. Drop all who can’t abide by the team code of behaviour..
Every action has repercussions. To let anyone feel otherwise is to do them a disservice and to give them a false impression of what life is about.
They have not been dropped for life, just for the upcoming tournament.
Of course the team may not necessarily advance past the next tournament. So misfortune all around.
Don’t judge from the surface. Trust me
Gordon …. no player could undermine a coach unless he allows it. I don’t know the kid or how he train or interact with Brian. So I can’t just go with the masses. I’ve never mentioned the disciplinary aspect of things because it goes without a doubt. If he is as indisciplined as is being insinuated ….he shouldn’t be there anyway. Something that Bertil St Clair and company would never tolerate.
Malik Johnson i ain’t know d youth either but i have dealt with special players with attitude and common thread is ppl give them a false sense of security
Malik Johnson its not just two kids its a culture of bad discipline!! And ppl making these kids think they are better than they really are!! If you only know d problems u have coaching these youth not because of their talent level but because of their mentality!! Adults and to it by undermining d coach authority even at senior level d problem exist note coach hart first move as coach he got rid of d trouble makers men who up to day could make valuable contributions on d pitch but disruptive in the dressing room!!
Gordon ,breds we in trouble with some of the youth but I continue to try to guide who around but sometimes I dont know if they are listening …hearing or understanding….
When I watch the level of development in T&T today and the quality of play from our national youth teams I would support and encourage our young athletes to take advantage of the time they are given on national duty. The quality of the SSFL is very poor at the moment so I cant understand a decision to choose that over National football. The SSFL may bring some short gratification only to be dismantled by the likes of Haiti, Jamaica and Panama in the youth age groups
Pretty simple ….. the proper thing to do is for Brian and the parents to have a sit down. No way it as cut and dry as we think and talk it out …. but this aint no life and death situation as we making it out to be. Brian stance understood but I refuse to believe is just two ratchet kids with bad discipline.
Sherdon Ifm Pierre i watching some of ur comments eh!! As one i looking at as a future leading sports administrator i only hearing weakness!!
Well that means I will get stronger later on… I jus looking at angles and exploring
A few days ago people here was wondering where Damani went wrong now we could see where these guys going wrong… Papy is the best player in the team so instead of all.these couch commentators jus talking… maybe some of them should chat to the youngsters because the problem is attitude
Great new age philosophy but i am old story get d rid of them let life wake them up!! Damani is a whole different case and i wouldn’t get into that on social media but if u could tell ur coach u have chest pain and play a ssfl game same day u on real shit!! And d coaches involved by shiva too no coaching solidarity is always a fight!!
Well that’s where the problem lies with guidance and attitude something we have been battling for years…
We had players who came.home from contracts because it was too cold..
So then there must be a revamped in system because it will never end
I want to hear solutions not highlighting then problem leave that for Baptiste and corneal
The solution is simple u know but d new age make it complex if all coaches stood together on discipline across d board things will begin to change pappy know he could blank d national and still play for shiva and b a star national!! D shiva coaching staff must b will chaining up d boys Judah gracia get drop u17 he brother when Jamaica with d u20 last time ain’t get play better u win d league yes see how they begging for levi now?? D ssfl games live on tv scouts will c u all kinds of crap
Well that’s where the experience guys comes in
Wow. That was really disrespectful. If they or their parents didn’t want them to go to Guyana all they had to do was decline. Other offers to play for Trinidad might be forthcoming if they so talented. They probably figured visiting Guyana wasn’t an exciting prospect. That’s all well and good but don’t agree to go and then bail on the team after they made preparations for you. As a parent that is something I could never imagine doing. I don’t think money was the issue for one and for the other a missing passport and faking sick sounds like an excuse a primary school child might use. It sounds like these guys are really immature and the parents really irresponsible to have allowed that to happen.
All I will say is this….. Parents and coach need to have a face to face with these young boys. The REAL REASON must be put in the table, dealth with and an understanding reached. They have already faced the consequences of their action. An opportunity for getting back on the team ought to be provided. I do not need the details. WHATEVER comes out of such a meeting, a statement from coach on the way forward, is good enough for me.
Where are their parents? Where are their fathers? Whose guiding their careers? How does kids with such great talent be allowed to make critical decisions like these on their own? Youth and youthful folly needs the wisdom of adults to cease opportunities like this. I keep saying talent is not enough. . .discipline is required. The coach did the right thing.
These youths may not understand they have to play for their national team before they can get a work permit to play in another country .
Reading the comments … Anthony Sherwood ….. you know a little more about this scenario than we do? The lads touched base …. ?? Message if you prefer 🙂
Quoting Johhny Cochrane in the OJ case. If you lie about the little things…
I WILL criticise someone for lying. I think lying is wrong. Maybe that’s just me.
I will not criticize them just for lying if i don’t know the whole truth and the whole situation behind the issue. In the coming days you will hear why things happened the way it happened. I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion i hope there is no hard feelings. Goodmorning.
I don’t see why the onus is on anyone else. If they mind the public backlash, explain their side. If they don’t care, well then, carry on.
Just to be clear Adrian Mufc Rampersad… The boys lied, got caught lying, still don’t want to tell the truth… But you think nobody should criticise them?
What motivated their reasoning why don’t we want to know what made them lie and they did agree to go and then change their minds last minute. People are missing one of the facts here that these are young teenagers their decisions are not always of their own making. As we like to say everyone is entitled to their opinion doesn’t make it an intelligent one to be considered.
Regardless of their reasoning (rightly or wrongly); at the end of the day, if you don’t want to go, say so! If you lie and get caught, I’m sorry but you are then unlikely to garner any public sympathy. Our society is full of sheep who are incapable of opening their mouths. They are just as bad (or worse) than the wolves who do the obvious damage.
Yuh inno sports in trinidad is shit. Govt only want recognition when a gold medal, championship trophy or profit involved. Meem.blame them…they are entitled to a freedom of choice, be it national or club.
They made their choice and the coach made his. And that’s that.
People make mistakes we are only human and we are not perfect, I am not protesting i think they should be administered some form of punishment to set boundaries however i think there is more to the situation than we currently know why would two players suddenly make excuses and lie if they had agreed before to go it’s not like they went on a boat ride they played football for their school team maybe they felt reluctant to say that they preferred playing for their school team instead of the national team, maybe somebody threatened them to do otherwise, maybe they don’t like Guyana maybe they just lost interest in playing national football. None of us know why it happened so until an investigation is done you shouldn’t treat them like they are criminals they are young boys. What do we really know we are not in their minds we are not walking in their shoes the most we can do now is simply ask the question why did ya’ll lie. Another thing Mr Colin”you don’t have any sympathy” for the young men they don’t care trust me! they would prob curse you up if they saw what you wrote, what have you ever done for them they don’t owe you anything and you shouldn’t be so highly critical because for a young person to change their minds all of a sudden and even resort to lying there must be a reason. So often we sit behind our computers and are quick to criticize and talk negativity but do we know about the whole story.
They would probably curse up Colin if they saw him because he criticized them?
That doesn’t sound good either.
The public is offering opinion based on fact. And the fact is they were selected for a tour, agreed and then didn’t show.
That’s why people are disappointed. Maybe there is more to the story.
But the public is not making this whole thing up either. There really was a Guyana tour that they didn’t show for. And the reasons they gave the coach were not good enough.
Yes they are offering their opinion based on what they read which is the insubordination of two teenage boys and everyone is entitled to their opinion but then why don’t the public ask the question why would these boys change their minds all of a sudden and resort to lying to get out of a training camp which they agreed to attend we don’t know that bit of information we don’t know the facts and reasoning behind their decisions to make poor excuses and if we don’t know that then we must not lash out some persons may get angry but maybe just maybe someone should just say hey guys we know you lied and your excuses were poor so what’s really the reason. You know what maybe i’ll ask Quinn why he did it and let you all know latter today 🙂
The boys erred and the onus is on them to clear the air if they wish. But that responsibility lies with them and it is up to them to take it or not.
Meanwhile the national team will carry on with the players they have.
Yes but what if clearing the air on the situation puts them in another harmful situation we have not begun to discover the many avenues that brought about such a behavior from the boys so maybe if we show them support not for their actions but support as human beings and show them that we are interested in their reason rather than burn them at the stake. But as you said the national team will carry on with the players they have and leave the issue just like that and not inquire or investigate the situation because that’s generally how we do things in this country be it sports,culture, politics and everyday life everybody flames at an issue target who they want to target and that is it we never look analyze situations thoroughly how do we know the boys decisions were totally in their control. Right now a man could be holding a gun to my head to type what he wants but ya’ll wouldn’t know.
Another way to look at it is in our society everybody wants a better life but also want someone else to do the work for them to get it.
If they speak up about perceived injustices, things might improve. If they don’t speak up, things definitely WON’T improve.
I’m not burning them to the stake. I wish them well with Shiva and wherever else they might play.
I’m not going to Brian Williams and say: “somebody on Facebook thinks two young players might be having a rough time… Is it true?”
That doesn’t make sense. Hopefully one of their advisors can find a solution for them. But they have clearly not done a good job so far.
Maybe Brian Williams should be smart enough to not only analyze his players on the pitch and start thinking about what these players go through on and off the pitch what are the psychological impact on these young minds what are they going through in life and believe me i know personally about clubs who really get know everything about their players and when there is a problem they just don’t punish players they analyze the situation and speak with the players they go the extra mile the extra mile is something that is missing. I would speak to Brian Williams but he’s mad right now so he doesn’t even want to analyze the situation cause he so mad he just say it’s a great disrespect i don’t care about the reason you lied i will just exclude you from the team and that is that i will not investigate I am a Trini coach i might even go all Ferguson on you and throw a boot at your face. Football has evolved you really have to pay more attention than just tactics and player abilities to name a few these are young men it’s not just about their football career its about their overall development into young men through sports punishment is not the only thing required and Mr Brian Williams has to be better than just be mad has he been taking advice from Courtney Browne.
But think about it for a second Adrian Mufc Rampersad and Anthony Sherwood. How could the best option for young men be to lie to their coach? What are we doing to these kids if we let them feel that a combination of dishonesty and silence is the solution?
This is still being debated? They made a commitment, reneged and in at least one instance was caught outright in a lie as to their reason for doing so. I can’t speak to the role their guardians played in this but these young men don’t have my sympathy, especially after the recent foolishness with the senior team.