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Does one glass of Bailey’s on New Year’s Day constitute excessive drinking for a professional athlete?
Phyllis Andrews, the “aunt” of 26-year-old Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team defender Daneil Cyrus, insisted that national head coach Tom Saintfiet has defamed the Soca Warriors player. And she is urging Saintfiet or the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) to clear Cyrus’ name.
(Courtesy Nicholas Williams/Wired868)
Saintfiet dropped Cyrus and 22-year-old national midfielder Jomal Williams and told the media that the players missed their noon check-in at the Cara Suites hotel on New Year’s Day and smelt of alcohol.
“Two of the players came one and a half hours too late in camp and had still decent smell of alcohol around him (sic),” said Saintfiet. “That was Daneil Cyrus and Jomal Williams. Both were immediately sent home, back to party—but are replaced in the squad.”
Aunt Phyllis admitted Cyrus was late for their residential camp in Claxton Bay. However, she is offended by the insinuation that the versatile W Connection player turned up for national duty reeking of alcohol.
“If [Saintfiet] says the other fella was drinking, he has to prove that too but that is their business,” said aunt Phyllis. “You can drop [Cyrus] for any other reason but don’t say he was stink of alcohol. That boy never came in my house stink of alcohol. And I open the door most of the time for him because he always loses his keys…
“So I want them to clear that up.”
Cyrus did, she admitted, have a glass of Bailey’s. The national defender told Wired868 yesterday he did not touch alcohol that morning. However, he confirmed that he had one drink.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/CA-images/Wired868)
She insisted there was a social context that should not be overlooked, though. It was New Year’s Day and just one glass of “weak” alcohol. Don’t players in England, Belgium and other European countries, she asked, have a drink to celebrate too—once they do not end up drunk?
“He slept by me that night and he left from my house to go to camp,” she told Wired868. “We had a family lime and my children don’t get to have much time with him anymore, so they are always happy when he is around.
“He had just one drink and they were laughing at him and saying ‘Bailey’s boy?!’ I have all the alcohol in the world in house and he would hardly drink. All he would say is ‘Ms Andrews, I am taking a shandy’.
“So I really, really take offence to this. This is tarnishing the boy’s name.”
Aunt Phyllis first opened her Santa Rosa Heights home to Cyrus a decade ago when the Plymouth-based teenager needed a place to stay in Trinidad to train with the National Under-17 Team.
She was friends with the mother of National Under-17 forward Stephen Knox. One day, Knox’s mother introduced her to then National Team manager Chris De Silva who asked whether she would give a place to stay to a teenaged boy she had never met.
(Copyright AFP 2014/ John Amis)
“[Knox’s mother] asked me if I could take him and then Mr De Silva and Daneil’s mother came and met me,” said aunt Phyllis. “Daneil was 15 and he has been with me ever since. I have two younger children and everyone welcomed him with open arms, so we are all like family.
“If anything, my children felt I spoiled him. But they are like brothers and sisters.”
Cyrus went on to play in two World Youth Cups for Trinidad and Tobago—the Korea Republic 2007 Under-17 and Egypt 2009 Under-20 World Cups—and cement his place in the National Senior Team.
Aunt Phyllis gave her account of what happened on New Year’s Day, as Cyrus set off for his noon check-in time with his national teammates in Claxton Bay.
“He left [Santa Rosa Heights] about 11am and, when he was in the back of St Helena, he got a flat,” she said. “So he had to call another partner [to come and help him since he did not have a jack]. He called and spoke to the manager [Azaad Khan] and the manager said: ‘Okay come… The coach is really upset but still come’.
“[Cyrus] wasn’t sure of the time [he spoke to Khan] but he thinks it was before 12… I know he left by me a little late and he could have been earlier. But he would have been on time, if not for the flat he had.”
Looking on is new general secretary Justin Latapy-George (far left) and technical director Muhammad Isa.
(Courtesy Wired868)
Aunt Phyllis said she called W Connection co-founder and TTFA president David John-Williams to complain today.
“I called John-Williams and he said he is not charge of the team and that is the [coach’s responsibility],” she told Wired868. “But he said that could be fixed. He said: ‘you know he has a reputation of being late for Connection practice’. But what does that have to do with this? I am dealing with the defamation of character with the [coach claiming the] boy was smelling of alcohol.
“I don’t have a problem with him being dropped for being late. But not for alcohol.”’
Wired868 asked John-Williams to confirm if he said said Cyrus’ issue could “be fixed” and what he would have meant by that. But, although he read the message, he did not respond up to the time of publication.
The website was unable to get further comment from Saintfiet, Jomal Williams or national team manager Azaad Khan.
The Soca Warriors face Suriname from 7pm at the Ato Boldon Stadium on Wednesday in the first game of a round-robin series, which also includes Haiti. One of the three nations will advance to the next Gold Cup playoff round against Central American opposition.
Edwards is the captain of the current Soca Warriors team.
(Copyright AFP 2016/Odd Andersen)
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Lasana Liburd is the managing director and chief editor at Wired868.com and a journalist with over 20 years experience at several Trinidad and Tobago and international publications including Play the Game, World Soccer, UK Guardian and the Trinidad Express.
Now who living? He say no alcohol is it still not considered alcohol? He aunt may see Bailey’s but when he left he Parang.
They not serious at all
The coach is laying down the law…there must be discipline. That is what is required if we want to board that plane for Russia next year. Professionals must behave like professionals. Let’s hope those young men learn from that experience and that their team mates take note.
Thought he didn’t touch alco and had a flat?
Ent is ah flat he said, now is only 1 drink
So Keith Look Loy where is the problem with the Coach?
Waut from not having any to one glass lol alyuh on real shit
He was a good boy!
For your time of enjoyment see what a good time could do. Finely.
..The whole reality show melodrama. TTFA. Players. Coach. Ringling Bros. ain’t got SHIT on we!. Forget Russia..
Aunty did what any other blood (relative) would do..make a bias assertion in defense of her nephew regardless of the indictment. What she has done, although innocently is prima facie admissible against him, the “innocence” of her statement makes it all the more plausible that he smelt strongly of alcohol. This combined with his late arrival is however not mutually exclusive, the coach’s decision is justified. Cyrus is actually one of the better plays..hope he learns from this.
What is the bullshit u refer too ?
Deh lie, trini’s don’t have one glass ah nuttin
One Bailey’s, one beer, same fucking thing. You eithere serious about pulling on the T&T jersey or you are fucking around. This is the big league. This isn’t five-a-side fete match football. You want to lime and drink there ain’t no room for you. Get out and make room for people who are interested.
It may be a good thing that Coach Hart is out of this mess, but all this is not unexpected as we continue to put mediocrity on a pedestal and excel in coming up with excuses and explanations for any shit that we do as a people. No wonder top class teams of Europe stay away from TnT players due to their PARTY ANIMAL mentality. So let the ‘BIG MAN’ fix it just as he has fixed other similar situations, it is a pity his job does not have a ‘two strikes and you are out’ clause. Goodbye Trinidad and Tobago Football as we continue to defeat ‘Baseball’ teams and feel that we have turned the corner.
They didn’t say how big d glass was eh Sheldon
True
Was a shot glass
Yeah…ah 100 ounce shot glass?
We always falter over discipline and professionalism. I remember reading about Paolo Maldini ending an interview early because if he was late for training he would be fined. Ibrahimovic and some of his national teammates were sent home from a training camp because they went out for cake and coffee for a player’s birthday and missed curfew by a bit. The coach’s rules are law.
Wow just wow; 100% agreed!
Well researched Donna..relevant, accurate, impressive!
Just as u said lady!!
It went from no drink, to 1 glass of baileys ………. where will it end
As a track field coach I implemented a philosophy used by Tom Coughlin, former two time super bowl winning coach of the New York Giants! “If you five minutes early you ten minutes late. ” 100 % of the team came 15 minutes early. Discipline and order is sorely needed in TNT and not just in sports.
Even at a normal job,anyone turning up on time or 5 mins early, then going to make coffee, is not serious
This anything goes is unacceptable.
No excuses yuh late lack of discipline seeing de same ting at work here as a supervisor
Steups.
Who lying the aunt or the player.
Aunty eh easy..
she sell him out
Aunts like that society needs
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed too!
Want to bet all players going to be showing up 1 hour before practice now?
Boy, for alcohol to last that long on his breath he had to have drunk the whole bottle of Baileys or he had a new type of Baileys… 150% proof, maybe!
I am puzzled tho do we or don’t we wanna go to the WC,every pro sportsman is required to have DISCIPLINE, I guess everybody is comfortable with our third world mentality,this ain’t no fete match this is about representing your country which BTW has as one of it’s national watchwords DISCIPLINE
Indiscipline ruins progress … Grow up and take responsibility
Depends on what you consider”drinking”.
Again….the response when ‘enough is enough’ is to throw out the baby with the bath water?! Let me repeat…the players are not blameless but we cut out the symptom and leave the cause? The rot starts at the head. We cannot hope to truly ‘eradicate’ this issue and keep morale at the same time by ‘sacrificing’ players at the alter of expediency. There are other ways to deal with this matter….the result against Nicaragua in the second game shows what? Does it provide vindication? I’m curious about Cyrus tho….to me – I may be wrong, maybe Lasana Liburd can shed some light here – to me Cyrus has never had any disciplinary run ins….where does this indiscreation come out from just so??! If this is his so called ‘fist infraction’ does he deserve to be hrown out? Peter paying for Paul is how we propose to inculcate ‘professionalism’ in our players?? That’s just enforcing compliance thru fear and only reinforces the ‘Daddy with the big stick’ mentality….a throw back to our colonial days. Surely, this cannot be a long term solution going forward.
This is turning into a farce.
Same shit different coach. When will they learn.
Tiany Physilis that is all you could teach him
No discipline. Be more responsible. Set examples for the young people
Real shame that so many on the original post actually making excuses for the indiscipline.
Alcohol or not he got there one hour and a half late… unacceptable… lack of basic discipline
I can’t imagine what would happen if these guys were really world class players.
If I remember correctly, didn’t Cyrus say it was only Jomal who was drinking? Now his Aunty is saying something different? And you can bet she’s not telling the truth about how much he drank. The amusing part is if he didn’t publicly say why he sent them home we would be all over him for not leveling with us. The man can’t win for losing. He did the right thing. Get rid of the knuckleheads. Some standards are required no matter who you are.
Thank you. Some are saying it’s unprecedented to be so open with the public, I bet if we had done that from the beginning, they wouldn’t be leaving to go to no boat cruise, or drinking Baileys either.
Seriously now drinkers real drinkers only one glass Liqueur can’t sell you out Korrek?
Indiscipline has to be stamped out if we wish to court success No excuses
I understand all of that….I’m saying the reaction is as usual a ‘knee-jerk’ reaction to a mundane issue. If we make dismissal a precedent it will become as useless as curfew recently adopted by the last govt. What now after curfew??? Ergo, what now after dismissal….will that now be the default strategy/tactic/sanction for everything? Players will break camp now and in the forseeable future…it happens…., this is an administrative matter, put your sanctions in place and lets move on. This side show solves nothing and helps noone, particularly players who WE have failed despite the fact that they have failed themselves. Whether they are of EPL level or not is irrelevant in this instance. The matter at hand is about discipline and commitment and maturity etc etc….you can’t engender commitment with ‘reactions’ such as this….the ‘result’ will only be temporary.
Adam you making too much sense, the mob wants to see “heads” roll. Unfortunately, they do not want to accept nor understand the short term nature of this coach’s one trick pony of discipline. Any simpleton can send people home, that lacks creativity, ingenuity and shows complete ignorance of how to motivate people much less athletes
Adam McKell I understand your point but a few things to consider (1) if he was in camp on time the one drink or two would nut have mattered. When you are winning or doing the right thing, you can buy yourself some favors (2) this coach is probably using this to set the tone for what is acceptable under his stewardship. All coaches do that.
Had the players been on time and given 100% in practice and performed well in the field, after a while the coach will gain respect and become a supporter. Had there been a track record, the coach could then make the judgement that he’s always here and always 100% and so I believe him when he gives a reason for being late. The players also have to take some responsibility because this is the big league
I’m in agreement with you here also, but I still question whether Cyrus falls into that category of ‘repeat offender’.
Irresponsible behaviour is just that. Late and having a baileys mouth wash so potent to last so long is really not even fifth world. Can we get serious please.
these guys are not EPL level …neither in fitness nor talent so drinking being late breaking camp when games are upcoming should be a no no .
Adam cant both be late and be drinking …pick a struggle …
Eat ah dinner mint
There’s discipline in every sport….. Good going Coach!
Sigh, our team lacks so much discipline smh ?
George would never want his name associated with late arrivals for important camps, whether, Mas or football – game on Wednesday and all hands need to be on deck. I am not optimistic about Saintfeit but this is what caused us the rapid decline just a couple of months ago – the three camp breaking Musketeers before the Guatemala game and allowing them to play that very Friday. Serious people for serious times. Congrats Tommy! Prove me wrong come March though. Prove me wrong by advancing to the next Gold Cup qualifier at the end of January 8th, though. You come from trying times but little to show; maybe this time, this set of trying times will be what the doctors ordered for both you and us, T&T.
Thanks aunty
Tanty Phyllis must have some large Coca Cola Promotion glasses at her home!
Wow, she through him under the bus. I guess she was watching him the whole time he was there.
It’s a great thing this coach is doing . But we all know the players are all party boys and they will get back at the coach . They will not give a 100% on the field and they will railroad the coach to make him Quit. Let’s be positive and see if they can adapt to proper discipline . Maybe Trinidad can become a force to be reckoned with in Football . It will take time to develop the right team
Well that was a good approach by the Coach. If they want to party, them send them home to party the nights away. GREAT JOB BY THE TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO COACH. HE HAS MY FULL SUPPORT.
Good start to cleaning up that bunch of misfits