I MUST be the most unfortunate person alive. For the second time I have had to give my views on the fortunes or misfortunes of the Reggae Boyz before seeing their latest exploits.

The results of Jamaica's game against Honduras and Canada are not my concern though, because I think Honduras, and this is unfortunate, will do well against Mexico at home and we might be in some trouble even if we win.

What irks me is the fact that one bad decision could have set Jamaica back quite a long way.

Let me explain. Many, many months ago, I begged Captain Horace Burrell not to fire 'Bora' Milutinovic and then I begged him not to bring René Simoes here. I know the man dubbed 'el professor' is loved greatly by Jamaicans and there are those who say, and they have good reason, that the Brazilian is the best coach Jamaica has ever seen.

Professional unit

However, my reasons for not wanting him to return were sound. Simoes had taken Jamaica as far as his abilities as a coach could when he left, or was asked to leave.

While most didn't agree with me, Jamaica's football is far better today than when Simoes left (the first time).

At no other time in our history have we had so many players in the best leagues abroad. We can almost afford to have 11 locally grown players who now ply their trade abroad on the field at any one time - a very professional unit, which, unbeknown to Simoes, should have qualified for the World Cup relatively easily.

After Simoes left on the first occasion, Jamaica's football hit the pits. While the local game had seen some improvements, a reliance on foreign-grown, overseas-based players meant our football remained stagnant.

So, while Simoes achieved the task of getting us to the World Cup and getting two youth teams to the 'big stage' as well, he never left a legacy of growth.

It took 10 hard-fought years for us to achieve that growth and local players are now showing their class overseas and spreading the hope that a future in football is bright.

Simoes' 'second coming' seems to have damaged us yet again.

Hogwash!

Filling us with the euphoria of past glories, he charmed the nation and pulled the wool over many a pundit's eyes.

We couldn't see our heads from our toes, and he didn't know what he was doing.

So blinded were we by the past that we thought a draw with Canada, because it was in Canada, was a good result. Hogwash! That drawn game may have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.

It could take another 10 years before we have nine players who all play in England on the field at the same time. This team of different ages, perhaps the best we have seen since 1998, will not reconvene four years from now.

Tyrone Marshall will be gone, Ricardo Gardner will be gone, Jermaine Hue will be gone, Ricardo Fuller will be gone and we'll have to find their replacements before we can, once again, say we have a strong team.

This was the chance for this generation of players to not only qualify for another World Cup, but to announce Jamaica's arrival as a dangerous team once they got there.

That chance may just have passed because Simoes, with the aid of Burrell, decided to ignore that talent and try to make men out of boys.

Now we'll have to wait for the next generation of players to come of age.

While I don't want to sound like a pessimist, things look grim. However, I hope our recovery job is successful.

Send feedback to Paul-Andre.Walker@gleanerjm.com