Brown, left, and Downswell
Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
A NUMBER of football coaches and administrators in western Jamaica are divided in their opinion whether former national technical director Carl Brown, who was fired from the position earlier this week, should have been let go by the Jamaica Football Federation.
Most however are happy for the promotion of Wendell Downswell to the position as head coach but agree that he will have a tough job and some even went as far as to say he might be "getting basket to carry water", a situation where he cannot succeed.
Dr. Dean Weatherly, coach of Premier League strugglers Village United and a former national youth coach said Brown failed in his mandate when he ignored the younger local based players and continued to look to England and the United States instead of developing what was at home.
Weatherly, who was a part of the coaching staff with the national Under-17 team that played in the World Championships in New Zealand in 1999, said Brown was guilty of the same things he criticised former Brazilian national coaches Rene Simoes and Clovis de Oliviera for.
"He heard what the JFF was saying about wanting to go to the youths but he did not listen and read between the lines and he who was so opposed to Rene Simoes and Clovis de Oliviera, criticising them for the dependence on the foreign-based players, he came and did the same thing," Weatherly said.
SHIFTING FOCUS
"He did not help his cause at all when he did the same thing that he was so opposed to. The JFF thought they needed a change in philosophy in terms of shifting the focus to the youth programme. I don't think Carl really focused a lot on youth development as he went the same route as the former coaches who he himself had spoken out against," he said.
In addition, Brown needed to help develop good local coaches who could carry out the 'blueprint' for the national programme and this was another area in which he failed, Weatherly said.
Brown could have saved his job, Weatherly said, if he had implemented "a nationwide youth programme" adding "this was the way to go and if he had done that and said to the JFF 'although we want to qualify for Germany but this is what I want to do' he would still have a job today".
Weatherly said he had no problems with the hiring of Downswell but said, "In the short term I have no problems with Downswell's appointment but what he needs to do is put his own stamp on the programme and not follow another person's footsteps. He needs to put his own character on the team".
Emerson 'Diggy' Henry, another former national youth coach, applauded the appointment of Downswell saying: "We heard what the (Jamaica Football Association's) president (Crenston) Boxhill said and I understand his point of view. I think (Wendell) Downswell would be the logical choice to take over as he has been the person in charge of the Under 20s for a long time.
"Plus, with the Under-20 team having an international tournament coming up soon, this would be good practice for them," Henry said.
He described the firing of Brown as "a tricky situation. All over the world when you hire someone to do a job and you figure the job has not been done, you clean house. It is just one of those things and we understand this is the business part and one of the hazards of coaching, it goes with the territory.
These decisions can't be made with too much sentiment and while the decision might be seen as a rough one, the JFF said they wanted to go in a new direction then you have to get someone new and they might not have the money to hire an overseas person right now so they went to Downswell as the interim coach and I am happy with that."
Coach of ISSA Pepsi/Sports Plus daCosta Cup champions Frome Technical and Premier league club Reno, Boysie Nicholson, a teammate and protegé of Downswell, hit out strongly against the firing of Brown.
BAD DECISION
"I don't think it was good decision to fire Carl Brown as he has done a tremendous job with the team and Sebastiao Lazaroni should take all the blame as he was the one calling the shots," he told The Gleaner.
Nicholson, who worked alongside Downswell at Reno for a number of years, said: "I think Carl may be fired for other reasons. Reasons we don't know, reasons only the JFF can say right now. I think Carl has a big role to play in Jamaica's football and should still be in the set up."
He said: "I am not sure what kind of message the JFF is ending to the youths in the country as until the football is completely professional and the programme starts from the bottom, there will not be any serious system in place."
He said Downswell would have his hands full with the responsibilities.
"It will be a difficult job for Downswell but we will never know as when one is faced with a challenge he can rise to the occasion but it definitely will be a big challenge," Nicholson said.
Anthony 'Follies' Williams, who has won titles at both the schoolboy and Premier League levels as a coach and player, said Brown should have been given another chance.
"I think Carl should have been given another chance to take the team to the World Cup and if he failed then the JFF should look elsewhere but at the same time I learnt that it was Carl who had asked for help (when Lazaroni was brought in) and if that is so then the thinking might be different," Williams said.
"It is my opinion however that he should have been kept in the programme and the JFF might have blundered a bit in that Lazaroni's role was not stated clearly as we saw him being in charge of the programme when Carl might have wanted him as an assistant. If I am in charge of a programme and I asked for help then obviously the person coming in would be there to help me and not take over completely and not the other way around. I am a bit concerned as I am still not clear on all the facts and I can only say it the way I see it.
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
"The removal of Carl Brown comes down to a decision of corporate responsibility as if you are in charge and the team fails then obviously the leader must take responsibility but up to this point I am not sure who was in charge if it was Carl Brown or Lazaroni," he said.
He was fully in support of the appointment of Downswell saying he had no doubts he would do a good job.
"I believe the appointment of Downswell is a good one but it is going to be a tough task from the get go. This is the second time he has been appointed to take over the national team and in the first instance it was a situation of him being given a basket to carry water as the team had just been knocked out of a qualifying tournament but it is good that one of our own can step up to the plate and it is also good that the JFF has confidence in a local person to take over the programme."
