Ball is Life (Video): Fenwick on facing Maradona and why he fears Spain for 2018 W/Cup

Former England World Cup defender and four-time Pro League champion coach Terry Fenwick on facing Diego Maradona, the best T&T player he ever worked with, the Soca Warriors’ biggest hurdle and why Spain could be the fiercest outfit at the Russia 2018 World Cup, in the fourth edition of Wired868’s five-part series, “Ball is Life!”

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About Lasana Liburd

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.

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54 comments

  1. look allyuh padna Larry Boodoosingh Neil Remmy

  2. Great interview that is healthy for Trinidad Football.

  3. Shoulda been coaching the national team now imo…

  4. Terry Fenwick isn’t my favourite coach particularly but i do think we need his type of attitude or even him to lead the nation’s young footballers. I know he has a no non sense approach

  5. Terry Fenwick hated by the crabs in d barrel..Trinidad a calabash alley of football. Leadership is d issue destroying d yutes future

  6. Mr Basdeo yu dont know nytten abt fball he played for England n 86 n 90 wcups n reach d semi final n 90 but yu taljn abt d man mixing up dates! He is n was d best Technical director for San Juan Jabloteh n Central FC n chk his development for youth fball n TnT since he started d Milo n Coca cola youth programmes! Yu ent know nutten abt fball

    • Where has football in T&T reach to. Go and check your stats and you would see how many foreign base players Beenhackker brought into T&T squad for us to get in Germany. How many players came through the academy?

    • Surindra, Kelvin Jack, Dennis Lawrence, Cyd Gray, Marvin Andrews, Densill Theobald, Aurtis Whitley, Collin Samuel, Carlos Edwards, Cornell Glen and Kenwyne Jones all started their professional careers in Trinidad and were in that 2006 team.
      Gray and Whitley were both Pro League players even while at the World Cup. And I’d say they did us proud.

    • Only 4 players were local base on that squad but, please don’t confuse my point with respect for the need of sporting academy and “Terry being suitable for a director position on the TTFA”

    • Surindra of the four local based players, three were at Fenwick’s Jabloteh. Ironic eh?
      I’m not arguing about the technical director bit. Just I don’t understand why you think he is incompetent. But everyone is entitled to an opinion. So fine.

    • Surely! Argumentative Discussion are extremely important for every sport. I don’t think English style football is suitable for us and further that it is also failing the English National team.

    • Surindra that’s a fair point. But then Venables is not a traditional English coach. And also Fenwick has coached here for almost 20 years already so it’s a bit late to say his style won’t work here because he won titles with his style.
      And his “English ways” certainly didn’t restrict Aurtis Whitley’s talent.

    • Some individuals have natural talent and the developmental process could work either way (Take Judah for example). 20 years but to little accomplishment to show for it. I have given consideration to the fact that there are little investment for the stakeholder that supposed to be contributing but we must get over that and find ways to achieve.

    • Surely if someone can say playing for England which btw has the most successful domestic league(not gate that would be Germany) But high profile league in the world is not achieving anything, that is seriously flawed. The odds of any individual playing in the world cup is millions to 1 ,that mathematically puts that person in a different category of achievement. So he maybe bad at everything else,I dont know… but as a footballer he has achieved the highest level of national play

      the WC

    • Surindra Basdeo no. Do not shift the goalpost now. Your initial idiotic comment is that he did nothing as a footballer. Shows your ignorance in the sport

  7. He achieved nothing as a footballer and a very poor analyst. His intervention would do much more harm to local soccer than good and by extension any Englishman. In this interview, you heard how much dates he was mixing-up and forgetting. BIG WASTE.

    • He only won a European title as a player, captained two England Premier League teams, represented England at a World Cup and won four Pro League titles and a Caribbean title as coach…
      Other than that? Nothing whatsoever. :-/

    • That CV better than Yorke one? No! hence I could say according to what you are putting forward as the criteria to influence T&T football Yorke would be a better fit.

    • Surindra, the series also included Cornell Glen, Mariah Shade and Sean De Silva. Are you saying I shouldn’t have spoken to any of them because they didn’t win a Champions League?
      What’s your point exactly?
      (I won’t mention the fact that Yorke is not a coach)

    • I have listened to him many time doing analysis before and after game and in my opinion he is incompetent or I should his analysis make no sense. How and individual like that hold a technical position.

    • I was responding to the post that one individual suggested that he should be give a technical post in TTFA

    • In your opinion he is incompetent. Terry Venables took him to two or three clubs and made him captain of all. And Venables got him his first job too.
      Venables is considered one of the most visionary coaches England ever had. You’re saying that you’re a better judge of football IQ than Venables?
      Surindra everyone can have an opinion and that’s fine. So you’re entitled to yours. But I hope you consider the possibility that you might be wrong.

    • If I can just add..Great players don’t automatically make great coaches…in any sport..particularly football…
      Re: Madonna.

    • John Ashmore I agree with you. He is a football commentator, I have heard done many games and half time show and his analysis of games are poor. I you cannot properly analyze a game not just football but in any sport. How can you become a coach?

    • Well Surindra Basdeo..You are certainly entitled to your opinion from the data in front of you.
      And I have heard arguments for and against Fenwick.
      Believe it or not, I have a close friend who’s view I totally respect, who thinks that Steve Kerr is a totally overrated coach. ( G.S.Warriors).
      So opinions will be just that..

      I personally find it hard to argue against the results he has produced throughout his career.
      Also, if you are linked to a man with the pedigree of Terry Venables, that says a lot in my book.

    • How can you represent England in the world cup and not achieve anything Surindra Basdeo? There are thousands of players every four years aspiring to be among those 11 who take the field for England at the world cup. It is the highest level of national representation a footballer can achieve, to play in the world cup. His interview was brilliant.. I found it to be honest and revealing. Whether he’s a great coach or analyst,I have no information,however as a person who played in the WC his story and insight about how he got there and his opinion on Trinidad’s hurdles as to maximizing its potential are valuable. Comparisons to Yorke also aren’t valid because Yorke can only share his insight as a Tnt player and an EPL player from 17… So its a different perspective just like had the question being “what does it take for an outsider to play in the Epl” Yorke would be best suited to answer or one would expect that.

    • Neil Franko Just expressing my opinion on individuals that suggested that he would be a good fit for a technical position in the TTFA. 1) I don’t thinking English Style football would be good for T&T soccer. 2) I think he is not capable. Football has evolved (Total Football, Tiki-Taka and the Germans play with a different style last WC it was almost like a combination of both) England continue to play that “long ball style” for the past 20-30 years and it have been failing miserably, even for there own country.

    • Surindra Basdeo well I can’t disagree, in fact in the absence of evidence, I have to agree with you,although I may suggest in terms of systems for development he maybe of use. I would say that what you just expressed is valid or debatable at worst, however your previous expression maybe because of some emotion on your part, clouded these points.I think we all need to understand that with public expressions people may not know you and just go on what you express word for word. I get your view now.

    • Yes I may have been a bit clouded but you do not have to necessarily agree with me because sports is all about “agree to disagree” good that you got my view.

    • Surindra Venables’ team never played long ball football. If you think that then you just don’t follow English football as closely as you think.
      Which one of England’s top teams play long ball football?
      You have to do better than this if you’re criticising Fenwick’s analysis eh. Cause you’re not sounding too good on this one.

    • He was as at Barca for a period(3 years) but after was all English teams Spurs style is different so was Leeds but other than that cannot see any other style.

    • Surindra go online and search for England games when Venables was coach. Like when they flogged Netherlands.
      You’re stereotyping. I lived in Britain for two and a half years and covered games all around the country. And there are teams in all divisions that play differently.
      You would go to lower level teams like Rushden and Diamonds and Scarborough and see them keep the ball on the ground and try attractive football.
      There are many English coaches who had attractive football teams. Venables isn’t even the only one.
      In any case, it is incorrect to say that he is a longball coach or that England plays long ball football. You haven’t seen his teams play obviously. And you don’t watch much English football.

    • I would look at it and yes I watch English football. Watching re-run of qualifier game as we speak. Sky Sport.

    • I just look at the squad and immediately recollect. That was a team with enormous amount of talent. Platt, Gascoigne, Shearer, Sheringham, Wright etc

    • http://www.soccerhelp.com/soccer_tactics_advanced/coaching_terry_venables.shtml In this excerpt from his autobiography he spoke much about changing the style of play and reference to Johan Cryuff, Hiddink therefore , he acknowledge the need for change but he did not stay on and I have not seen that significant change he spoke about. Now that bring us to the question has Terry demonstrate he can deliver that change?

    • Why not describe the style of Terry’s football teams? Because Venables wanted to change England’s style in 1996 is proof that they play long ball in 2018?
      Sigh. Let’s just agree to disagree.

    • OK! we would but they unpredictable they did it many time during the qualification. We would wait to see the outcome.. lol

    • Someday we may me face to face and trash this out..lol

    • What s your views on Sachin Tendulkar.be honest.this time.

    • Surindra Basdeo yup. He only played for England in the World Cup. Skippered and played for several teams in the highest level of English football. Scored in the FA cup final. Won the Pro League here 4 times. I am sure you can better that.

    • Surindra Basdeo and you are more qualified to know what makes sense ? So because it is beyond your ability to understand, that does not make it senseless

    • I kept mentioning that I don’t think he has the technical ability to coach or manage based on the way he analyze game during commentary, half time show and post-match analysis. If it is based on his accomplishment as a player only to select a coach/manger that CV is nothing compared to Yorke. I have already “agreed to disagree”.

    • Gary Griffith He has been given credibility for his alliance with Terry Venables but, Terry mad mentioned in his autobiography that England had to change there style of play making many references to Johan Cruyff and Hiddink,he did not stay to long for that to materialized. If we are going for a manager and we had one (Leo) that have proven himself and a style of football that took us to WC. Go to the source no need for a coach/manager who played English style football and now in transformation period.

  8. We definitely need to invest in the youths from a tender age in order to produce professional players that drive is so important but again no one sees it from.that point of view most kids start football.at the age of 7 to 8 and so much can be done before these age ….

  9. Great interview Terry let’s hope England show the same commitment

  10. Terence William Fenwick ‘crabs in a barrel’ = ‘bad administration’

    A nice analogy…

  11. I always say to give him a technical director post of t&t football.. but what do i know

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