|
Bizarre
times for Birchall
English-born
midfielder Chris Birchall is still trying to come to terms
with realising a World Cup dream in less than 12 months away.
When the 21-year-old Port Vale player joined the T&T squad
last May, he was aware that the team was trying to get to
a World Cup but never did he think back then that by November
of the same year, he would be celebrating a World Cup qualification
and subsequently being named in the squad which will travel
to Germany in June.
“It
still feels bizarre but I can’t wait,” Birchall
told BBC Sport.
He also let the listeners and readers know that he has all
the confidence in Leo Beenhakker and he is also keeping fingers
crossed that none of his teammates will get injured before
the big tournament.
“It’s
a massive five weeks but the coach Leo Beenhakker knows what
he’s doing as he has managed some of the top teams in
the world and he will get us ready and in the right frame
of mind.”
“We
all get on well. I keep in contact with Ian Cox and Brent
Sancho—they’re good pals who are doing well at the
moment at Gillingham,” he said.
“Also,
Stern John is scoring goals at Coventry, Kenwyne Jones has
come on at Southampton and we’re all getting games.
“Touch
wood, none of us will get injured before the end of the season.
It was a relief for those of us who play in England when the
squad was named, as it hasn’t really changed—he
hasn’t brought in any new players, apart from Tony Rougier
who used to play here at Vale.”
Glen
ready to rip
Cornell
Glen is beaming with confidence after scoring a double to
lead LA Galaxy to a 3-2 win over Chivas USA in his first match
for his new club on the weekend in the MLS.
A couple days before his debut performance which earned him
MLS “Player of the Week” honours, Glen was also
smiling over the news that he had been named in T&T’s
World Cup squad.
“He
has that something extra that you need in your team sometimes
and he has shown his ability as a player,” Leo Beenhakker
said as he referred to Glen’s extra speed.
Glen couldn’t even continue his rest when he got the
news that Beenhakker had selected him.
“After
hearing that kind of news, I don’t think I could have
gone back to sleep,” Glen said. “It’s a really
big boost for me and I’m hopefully going to be keeping
my game up and getting the goals once the chances come by.”
He certainly took his chances well after being set up by American
captain Landon Donovon on the weekend. “I made up for
a couple misses earlier in the match but we kept playing well
and thankfully I was able to convert the other chances. I
hope we can keep this up and I am anxiously waiting the new
set of games with the national team,” Glen added.
Sydney
will take bargain on Yorke
A
few days after Dwight Yorke’s agent Simon Bayliff confirmed
that the national team captain would be returning to Sydney
FC to complete his two-year contract after the World Cup,
the club’s management has indicated that they would grab
at the opportunity to make a profit by selling the former
Manchester United star.
Sydney FC chief executive Tim Parker said that his club made
crucial decisions such as keeping Yorke before last month’s
A-League final but he couldn’t guarantee whether they
would keep Yorke if in fact an offer came from another wealthy
club.
“We’re
playing a global game that has a global value on it,”
Parker said.
“If
Dwight was to star at the World Cup in a way that suddenly
made him a very very valuable proposition for somebody else
and another team was to come to us then we would have to review
it. The economics say you would simply be daft from a business
perspective not to look at a serious offer.”
Yorke has in fact spoken of his interest in returning to English
football and time will tell where he ends up after leading
the “Soca Warriors” on the world’s biggest
football stage.
Coventry
boss backs Stern to net on England
Coventry
City manager Micky Adams is delighted with Stern John’s
recent run of form as he netted twice in two matches as his
club defeated Luton Town and Leicester City
“Stern
wants to finish the season on a high for us and he’s
keen on scoring goals and getting ready for the World Cup,
“Adams said. “We wish him well. I don’t mind
him scoring two against England providing we win 6-2,”
Adams added.
John, who netted the equalizer against Leicester on Monday,is
quite eager to carry his form onwards to the World Cup.
“I
have worked my butt off over the last few weeks and to be
fair, I think it’s the reason my performances have been
good with the goals coming too. I know it’s going to
be hard coming off the long season and then going straight
into training for the World Cup but I want to ensure I’m
feeling good and that my form is also in place for our matches
starting off against Peru,” John said. Coventry are 11th
on the Championship Division table.
Luton
excuses Carlos for World Cup
Luton
Town midfielder Carlos Edwards has been told by club management
that he’s free to concentrate on his outing with this
country for the 2006 World Cup.
It is understood that Luton manager Mike Newell has told Edwards
that he won’t have to sweat it too much for the club
as the season nears end.
However, Newell gave a different picture as he told the English
Press that he wasn’t satisfied with Edwards’ showing
in the 2-1 loss to Coventry City on Saturday. “I asked
Carlos if he is thinking of the World Cup because, if he is,
he might as well have the next three weeks off and get himself
ready for it because he is no use to us like that,” Newell
said.
T&T teammate Stern John added that the Luton fans didn’t
like it when Edwards was taken off and booed the decision
by Newell even though he made it look as though the fans were
unhappy with Edwards.
While Edwards is eying his return home for the Peru match,
he continues to attract interest from Norwich City in time
for next season.
“It’s
all good at the moment. The team has been selected and I think
everyone is beginning to focus entirely on the World Cup because
we are all excited over it. I don’t think it’s affecting
our performances with the clubs though because obviously everyone
wants to be on good shape as well,” Edwards said.
Luton is ninth on the Championship Division table.
2006
Republic Cup Youth Football Camp
Hyacenth:
Work hard, play hard
“Work
hard, play hard,” this was the advice given by facilitator
Joel Hyacenth at the opening of the Republic Cup Youth Football
Camp at Republic Bank Staff Sports Club, 8th Avenue Extension,
Barataria yesterday.
Hyacenth, a director of the Skeene/Hyacenth Football Institute,
referred to the camp and its 67 participants as the foundation
of T&T football and complimented Republic Bank on its
vision.
He asked the youngsters to be disciplined through the course
of the five day programme as this was a key factor in the
development of their potential and the fine tuning of their
ability.
Lincoln Phillips, Technical Director, T&T Football Federation
(T&TFF), had a few wise words for the coaches and campers.
“Now
that we have gone to a World Cup, the expectations of coaches
and players have changed,” he said.
A former national goalkeeper, Phillips, who spearheads the
T&TFF’s Goal 2014 development programme, said “the
T&TFF is committed to development of the national youth
teams,” and highlighted the importance of such undertakings
to the national game.
Phillips ended by commending Republic on the work that they
are doing with the youth.
In his address Derwin Howell, Republic Bank General Manager,
Commercial and Retail Banking, said; “I must applaud
the youngsters here today.
“You
have chosen to spend a chunk of your Easter vacation, improving
your football skills - this shows dedication; commitment to
excellence and above all, an unquenchable passion for football.”
“These
traits are the very same ones that our Soca Warriors have
in spades; and will no doubt display for the entire world
come June 10”, he added.
He finished his address by urging the participants to make
the most of the Camp and to enjoy themselves.
Before they began their first day at camp Catherine Ashby,
Project Officer, Group Corporate Communications, left the
young players with the words Chinese scholar Lao Tzu “A
journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
In its sixth year the camp has attracted 62 boys and five
girls from all over T&T and as far as Palo Seco and comes
to an end on Saturday.
Shaun
Fuentes is the media officer for CFU/TTFF. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com
|
