So Barbados is trying to call on players with Barbadian heritage to play for them in the upcoming WCQ's. I doubt it'll cause us any major concerns, but it should be noted and maybe even merit some discussion. This Marlon Harewood that they're attempting to call in seems like a pretty decent striker. Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marlon_Harewood He's scored two EPL goals this season and had a whopping 47 goals for West Ham from 2003-2007. He never broke into the England squad and Barbados is hoping he'll play for them. That's not the only Premier League and English born player Barbados is going after. They're also seeking a defender Emmerson Boyce of Wigan. Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson_Boyce Again, I'm expecting a goal fest for the US but this is worth keeping an eye on.
Sounds not too different from facing Grenada then. Remember, the lineup Grenada fielded against us consisted of two guys who were better than anyone we had at their respective positions, both of whom were born outside Grenada (Jason Roberts was born in London, Shalrie Joseph in New York)... and their third-best field player was playing NCAA ball.
Actually I think Joseph was born in Barbados and moved to New York in high school. On topic, it sounds like Barbados is taking the Jamaican "Deon-Burtonization" route. If our center defenders can't handle one Premiership player, we're in trouble. I have noticed a natura tendency for these British raised players to be utterly baffled by CONCACAF refereeing that blows fouls for any body contact.
Looking at what Guadeloupe did in the Gold Cup with some imported French players, a few quality additions can make a difference in terms of how far a team gets in CONCACAF. I don't think Barbados will be a threat to the US, but it may make for a better game and it certainly couldn't hurt their chances against Dominica.......
i think you meant to say joseph was born in grenada, not barbados..... usa will want to control the match, control tempo, prevent barbados from any good looks, get a 2+ win at home, and have barbados forced to attack, and slice them up when they commit forward...
I'm really not afraid of Marlon Harewood, at all. His main action for Aston Villa this season has been planting his ass on the bench for Aston Villa. Besides, he really is the perfect mark for Gooch- Harewood's big, tall and fat, I mean muscular.
I'm not overly worried either. It seems like good players from these small Caribbean countries never seem to either make that much of a difference for their national teams, or show that much commitment to them. Wikipedia lists Shalrie Joseph as having only 11 caps for Greneda. Jason Roberts, an established Premiership squad player, to my knowledge hasn't made a huge impact for Greneda. Marlon King is probably the best of the naturalized Jamaican forwards, and he's lit up the Championship in the past. I think he has less than 10-15 caps for Jamaica. Ricardo Fuller has scored bags of goals at Preston, Southampton and now Stoke over the years, and yet has only 4 goals in 32 caps according to wikipedia. Jason Euell is a very talented player IMO, yet has only about 5 caps for Jamaica. I'm sorry to keep using Jamaica as an example, because they're obviously at a higher level in terms of talent than Barbados or Greneda, but I'm much more familiar with the Jamaican player pool as a source of examples.
I don't think anyone is saying its wrong. Countries like Barbados should do everything they can to make themselves more competitive if its within the rules. If a player like Marlon Harewood can play internationally for a Caribbean nation it can only strengthen the Confederation.
Marlon King has been banned from representing the Jamaican national team for the last two years by his federation. Teams like Grenada play very few games. Hence, the low number of caps by Roberts, Joseph.
as was said Grenada don't play very many games and King is suspended. Fuller has had persistent knee problems the last 4 or 5 years that have pretty much derailed his career. Euell is another one that's had some injury problems. He held out in hopes of representing England and didn't accept a Jamaica call until the US-Jamaica match in November 2004
Gotcha. Thanks for the info. I'm assuming Greneda don't play often because their federation lacks resources? Also, why was King banned?
lack of resources and they pretty much only play a handful of meaningful games every few years. as for King http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/24/sports/CB-SPT-SOC-Jamaica-King.php King is back with Jamaica for a friendly next week against Costa Rica.
Don't remember that, but do remember that typhoon they had during the away leg in '04. That and people watching the match from the mountain tops over looking the stadium. That would have been quite an experience -- not a bad match either.
Harewood turned down Barbados. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=507098&cc=5901 He basically said 'not now, maybe later.' I don't think he understands Barbados' standing in CONCACAF and how few meaningful games they play --- but, whatever, he's out.
Barbados called in a number of players for the 06 cycle. The Head of their Fed even talked of making the Hex. They had a couple of preety big names called in. One or two players IIRC played at Millwall. Naturally Barbados fell flat on there faces and didn't make the Semi Final round. Just no team Chemistry.
As a side (footsitter) note, Jason Roberts abused Eddie Pope in that 2004 series and it was becoming pretty clear even then that Eddie didn't measure up with the top level strikers (Roberts was then with Wigan in Colaship). Two years later ... and Bruce still didn't get the memo.