By Nodley Wright, Freelance Writer 
Tivoli's Fabian Davis. - File
THE ANXIOUS wait for action by local football fans will end today with an almost full slate of matches kicking off the 2004-2005 Wray and Nephew National Premier League.
All 12 teams but for last year's beaten finalists Harbour View and lucky survivors Invaders will be in action today. That game has been set for Wednesday but the Under-21 games, which usually precede the NPL matches will go ahead as scheduled.
At Seaga's Sports Complex, defending champions Tivoli Gardens could not have asked for a better match to start their season when they host the promoted Wadadah and favourites to head right back down.
Tivoli's only concern today will be whether the likes of last season's star, Fabian Davis, Lenworth Hyde Jr and Christopher Jackson return early enough from the United States and whether they are deemed to be in suitable enough condition to play following last night's game against Guatemala in Florida.
ENOUGH POWER
Christopher Nicholas is still not fully fit and may not take the field but in Roland Dean and new recruit, Markino Gillings ironically from Wadadah, they should have enough power to coast home.
Wadadah are now a youthful team and the fact that they are being captained by Fabian 'Lexus' Blake does not say much for the team as he is a player more suited to gallery football or the beach variety. New arrivals Pete Campbell and Kendrie Quarrie are filled with flash but, like fellow newcomer Jermaine Anderson, they are not proven winners nor leaders.
The Spanish Town derby between Arlington and Rivoli should make long-time St. Catherine Football Association president Lincoln Surtherland happy as he has been trumpeting the merits of the parish's football talent.
THE BEST TEAM
Arlington looked to be the best team of those which competed in the playoffs from the different confederations but the NPL is still a step up. Kemar Munroe is an exciting young prospect but recruits Richard Henry and Greg Gardner are journeymen.
Coach Bradley Stewart managed to get Rivoli looking like the unit he wanted last year but they will be missing Garfield Reid who along with fellow departee Allien Whitaker were the real talents in the squad. Rivoli should still be able to come out on top.
At Constant Spring, coach Braxton Hyre with be trying his best to get his team to replicate their performance in the beach football competition when they host Portmore United. Constant Spring looked to be the best team in the beach football competition before they were battered out by Village United. Grass football is a different thing altogether and Constant Spring will not be helped by the loss of defender Marlon Bennett and the outstanding goalkeeper Leighton Murray. In addition to that, none of their new signings have lit up any stage on which they have played.
Portmore, despite losing quite a few players and the fact that Roen Nelson, Wolry Wolfe, and Tyrone Sawyers are still in Trinidad and Tobago, have enough quality to get the better of Constant Spring. In addition to the cool head of Grenada captain Anthony Modeste, the experienced Chris Dawes has returned. With their experience combined with the ability of the youngsters and top goalkeeper Shawn Sawyers
a perfect start should be in the picture.
Of all the matchups though, the one which is most mouthwatering is the Village United-Waterhouse clash at Elliston Wakeland. Both teams are rich in talent and have recruited new coaches to take them to the top of the pile.
Dr Dean Weatherly is the new man at Village United and he knows that if he is to fulfill his mission a great start is in order.
"This is like a thermometer, a tester. It will be a litmus test," offered Weatherly who has presided over two practice matches so far. Those matches were a 0-0 draw with Harbour View and a 3-1 win over Wadadah.
With today's game being the real thing, Weatherly said that it will afford his team the opportunity to see if it prepared adequately and what if anything needs to be changed. As such his approach will be one of caution.
"We still start cautiously for the first 10 to 15 minutes and then make adjustments based on our observations," Weatherly said.
His team, Weatherly said, is talented enough to adjust to any situation and as such he believes it will have the desired start.
"I believe we can take it (the game). We are at home. We have to start out that way," he said matter-of-factly.
If this is to be a reality then he will count on players Fabian Dawkins, Damian Williams, Daniel Ricketts, captain Mark Williams and goalkeeper Alrick Henry to deliver for him.
Waterhouse's Peter Cargill is known for his methodical approach and he was no different in his view of today's game.
"I will take things in stride. I think we have a good base. We started out slowly but things have picked up and we are looking forward to our first game away," he said.
The opposition, he said, were a good side and Waterhouse would have to take care of the job at hand. They will have to take care of that job without their captain, Irvino English, who is injured. Damion Powell is not 100 per cent fit and his status will be decided on match day.
New signings Richard McCallum (goalkeeper) and Richard West (forward) could feature.
The typically tough matchup between Reno and Arnett Gardens which takes place at Frome should go Arnett Gardens' way.
TODAY'S GAMES
Tivoli Gardens vs Wadadah at Railway Oval
Constant Spring vs Portmore at Constant Spring
Rivoli vs Arlington at Spanish Town Prison Oval
Village vs Waterhouse at Elliston Wakeland
Reno vs Arnett Gardens at Frome
All games begin at 3:30 p.m.
