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Can someone tell TTFA president David John-Williams they were only joking when they said the Soca Warriors should quit football for underwater golf?
With the Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team having no chance of progressing for the Russia 2018 World Cup, the local football body has just two priorities for its remaining matches: to set the tone for the future; and to not get embarrassed.
Eh… So much for that.
After setting a new national record for consecutive defeats last Friday—their 3-1 loss away to Mexico was the Warriors’ seventh in a row; all under current coach Dennis Lawrence—local football fans faced fresh indignity on Monday morning, as NBC relayed images and video clips of the bemused United States team trying to train on the “underwater” Ato Boldon Stadium venue in Couva.
One video, shared on the official US Soccer Twitter feed, showed technical staff members providing players with piggy-back rides to the field, so as to avoid the treacherous two inches of water on the running track.
Mr Live Wire can only assume that the USSF officials also dice up meat and vegetables for their macho players, cut the ends off their sandwiches and tuck them to bed too. How sweet.
In Trinidad and Tobago, players don’t even get a visit from their football president when they are nursing gunshot wounds or hospitalised for massive heart attacks.
Of course guests usually have the good manners to wait until they are safely back at their own homes before they start sharing clips of “that crazy lime we went to the other day.” But then that’s the level of respect that Trinidad and Tobago football demands at present.
With the state the Warriors are in, the TTFA’s tagline should read: “Come for the smiles, the sunshine and the three points… You won’t even notice we’re here!”
This is not to minimise the Sport Ministry’s role in this debacle, though.
The Ato Boldon Stadium belongs to the Trinidad and Tobago government and not the TTFA.
What exactly have Sport Minister Darryl Smith and Sport Company chairman Dinanath Ramnarine been doing to minimise the fall-out since the government sent eight executive officials on leave, including CEO Adam Montserin, facility manager Anthony Blake and senior manager facilities maintenance Raj Ramtahal?
Who will take responsibility for getting the waterlogged ground ready in just 24 hours? Will they send Smith to Couva with a straw?
What sense is there in wowing us with the Budget allocation for sport without the foresight and know-how to prepare a ground for an international match? How is it that there are school grounds under regular use that look in better shape than the national stadium?
Sport Minister Darryl Smith (right) makes a point to Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) president David John-Williams at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on 26 March 2017.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
And what will those images of the Ato Boldon Stadium, being beamed across the region by US Soccer, do to Trinidad and Tobago’s fanciful dreams about sport tourism?
Not that there is no silver lining to be had in all of this. Maybe US coach Bruce Arena would send for Michael Phelps.
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Mr. Live Wire is an avid news reader who translates media reports for persons who can handle the truth. And satire. Unlike Jack Nicholson, he rarely yells.
all that and they still lost : }
So proud to have won two games in our failed bid to qualify for Russia 2018.
#BringDMotorcade
Who shame now??? Now all of ah sudden everybody proud lol…. trinis is d best
When Trinis laugh last, we does laugh the best. Swim your ass back home now.
Look at the bigger picture, when we beat them all you who dont know strategy hush your mouth.
..Flood caused by poor drainge was match stategy. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA..
Dem should be the last ppl to talk bout flooding …..like dey ain’t remember Texas, Florida,New Orleans, Alabama ……..shall I go on…….
When USA flood what is the problem with nature..is the same here….it rained….
Perhaps we should concentrate on Water Polo. What say you big mouth Dinanath Ramnarine? Ah shame.
These blokes are likely to go to Domonica and complain about the state of housing!………..I hope that they are not making an excuse for anything in advance!
Bruce Arena said its like survival of the fittest. So disrespectful lol
The genuine die hard football supporters….will buy their tickets….arrive early at the stadium….with their coolers.If the game has to be played on a wet field…they’ll enjoy it. Mother Nature respects…no one…if she has to rain in the stadium….she will. Mankind will blame mankind for the drainage which they didn’t design to take the volumes of water which will come during hurricane season. Some of them who are fussing….never go to support any sporting activity….at the Ato Boldon Stadium.
Hard part is as someone who lives next to this stadium the rain on that day wasn’t any normal kind of rain…#justsaying #iwasthere
You can say this is one true trini pitch as it reflects state of affairs on the ground
Them is babies awa!!!! they have to get jockey bk!!! steupessssss!!!
Football in trinidad needs help from the private sector… These ppl need to stop think about profits n just have something inside u that just wants to see our football team reach somewhere n sustain a level of performance.. If the the team was doing gd it Wud have united the country in these troubled times n kinda act as a reprieve from all the chaos.. Sigh.. Ik in the business world it is all about profits but sometimes a Lil patriotism goes a long way
Football actually get enough money for too long and no results to show other than a 2006 World Cup appearance! We are in 2017.. Eleven(11) years of continuous failure after failure in every Tournament. But remember we live in a fiercely competitive world and performance is demanded! No private company is going to sponsor a losing team! Out of all the matches played including friendlies T&T has lost 10 and won 1 out of the 11 encounters for the past year! Absolutely Poor! They can do well! But football in T&T have become just like politics! Is a “who knows who” will get you on the team. Too much Favoritism and Nepotism in selection of players! If the guys at the top actually selected the best players in the country and stop blaming every coach that passes through Trinidad we would actually be qualifying for World Cup every four years. But those guys have an extremely poor and lazy attitude on the field! How can you expect Patriotism from the public when they see defeat on the faces of those players after they concede one or two goals! If you give the coaches shit to work with! Is only shit will be the end result! The evidence is there with the results! If the Private sector must invest it should be in Athletics and Cricket! Football should get nothing until that entire system is purged and reconstructed!
ESPN accuses TTFA of “fake news” over state of Ato Boldon Stadium ground: http://www.espnfc.com/team/united-states/660/blog/post/3225097/pitch-will-be-far-from-perfect-as-united-states-aims-to-lock-up-world-cup-spot
So, this game could not be reassigneded to play at Another one of the Stadii that we have that are already underutilitized? im sure not ALL of the stadiums are in this condition, or are they?
Just the other day the state of Texas was flooded no one made fun .all designed to distract
In the spirit of comradery my cohort has planned a watch party at a nearby bar. I’m like no guys it’s ok I know you’re very busy. Let’s not. There’ll be others.
They didn’t have a problem with putting Costa Rica to play in ah blizzard!!!!
Ent America great??
Have a drainage system that works and is maintained….
Football is often played in rain. Man and boots does get wet but them taking ride on man back to go and play in The wet and Trinidadiams talking spit. We have some kinda disease called hateweselfitis.
True
So dem TTFA c*** an dem still going an keep dis match here after d failure from last time… An dem know dey does flood smh ting to shame we boi weyyyz
https://wired868.com/2017/10/09/were-not-blaming-anyone-ussf-official-denies-sportt-account-but-keen-to-soothe-tensions-over-couva-venue/
” all time low”
We were not trying to take a shot at anybody! USSF official denies SPORTT account about Ato Boldon Stadium training session but keen to soothe tensions over Couva venue
https://wired868.com/2017/10/09/were-not-blaming-anyone-ussf-official-denies-sportt-account-but-keen-to-soothe-tensions-over-couva-venue/
Human beings disgusting this is probably the worst ive seen that stadium so okay they cant train at that stadium we have others bruh people just wine and cry to much at times thats jus ah poor drainin system how does the government of either parties have anything to do with that..
There was extra heavy rain yesterday
The drain by me filled up with the extra heavy rains and it was dredged. Steups.
WE have to leart to invest a bit more and build the field level at least 4 feet above the surrounding land level and allow for drainage out of the stadiums. Our vision is too shortsighted.
Our Hasely Crawford Stadium has excellent drainage but needs major renovation.
Then again, training is on the field, not the track.
They don’t remember allowing our footballers a snowfield which was also occupied by a different sport. to do their practices?
Stupes. Hull USA cudders munt…we make all the teams real comfortable when they come here. They never make us comfortable by them. Natural causes did our job.
Folks WCQ done. I want a personal favor, send positive energy up for my friend George Weah who will contest the President of Liberia tomorrow. He is the only African player to be Fifa Player of the year and has great plans for Liberia. if you know one Liberian tell them to vote for George, if not send positivity in the universe for him. Yes TnT getting licks tomorrow, walking on water or snowed in or out. Plus ihs wife Clar is Jamaican, a Caribbean women. Oppong all the way.
DJW’s tenure as TTFA President has been nothing short of disastrous, thus far. He needs to do himself a favor and resign.
I am not sure if poorly constructed as I believed it was done up to international standards as it’s first event was a FIFA Youth World Cup. Our problem in T&T is a policy of proper maintenance of our public infrastructures. We have a very poor record. We wait till it’s has stop operating or fallen apart before a strategy to maintenance.
Devinesh Neeranjan this is my biggest issue with that whole image it is not whether or not tactically people do that and this one has a bad picture or not it’s the fact that this is one of our national stadiums that was recently built within the last 10 or 15 years and what we see there seems to suggest for construction engineering thoughts and maintenance of the facility so I’m not into any excuses about other countries and their issues this. was taxpayers money used to build a stadium where we can see it’s poorly constructed. we turn to take everything for joke and there’s no accountability yet still we want to act as though we are some first world country
I am glad they have ceased and desisted from ads taken from movies – ” This is where they die !! “
This time, the ad is an American getting a jockey back over two inches of water! Hahaha
Who know more about water than the Americans. 3Hurricanes in a stretch. Sorry for them though.
We have had a lot of severe weather with flash flooding, really heavy showers of rain. This situation also was on Yahoo. https://www.yahoo.com/sports/trinidad-stadium-heavily-flooded-one-day-u-s-s-crucial-world-cup-qualifier-photos-160005845.html
..And contemptuous..
I’ve learned that one should not give his/her opponent ammunition. The USA now pissed off and further knowing that they need 3 points will drop 3 or 4 in us. We also know that they beside hungry are physically fitter and stronger than us . The TTFA Just gave them another reason to be aggressive and combative
I’d think it might be the opposite though. We were more likely to go through the motions until they dissed our field. And now our players have more motivation.
Whether the Warriors have enough about them to hurt USA is another question entirely though.
Lasana Liburd and you think that matters to our players and the TTFA, moreso than playing with pride in some of the matches we gave away.? You believe that Trinis give a shit about the way we are viewed. I love your optimism
Actually I think Trinis feel embarrassed pretty easily and often about the wrong things. But the most they would do is make a Facebook comment. Lol. We shrug our shoulders and move on way too much. We collectively lack fire in our bellies.
Lasana Liburd there you go my friend. This will not give us any fire except maybe the spark of a firefly
Well last time Kevan George said they were going to play for the honour of the TTFA, they got their biggest whopping of the Hex so far!
https://wired868.com/2017/09/04/kevan-we-have-not-given-up-warriors-vow-to-fight-for-ttfa-and-tt-as-panama-await/
In recent times a good day of showers would flood out the perimeter and onto football pitch. Recall opening of 2017 SSFL over a month ago.
Very poor drainage of stadium football pitch and running track. Embarrassing.
I know there maybe the strategy to make it difficult for the US football team, but it can be embarrassing for our country in terms of Sports Tourism.
A man really comparing this to snowstorm?
..Warning about training there but the match is due to be PLAYED there. Capital! Hell, if we playing there I would want to train there too..
Keith “shut up”. Stop making sense
SPORTT: USA coach Bruce Arena ignored our safety warnings! State body insists it warned Americans about unsuitability of Ato Boldon Stadium for training session; says ODPM on stand-by but ‘assures fans’ of memorable World Cup qualifier
https://wired868.com/2017/10/09/sportt-arena-ignored-safety-warnings-before-ato-boldon-stadium-training-session/
Keith as a nation high standards seem alien. That’s what these defenses are about
..Of course. Correct..