Former CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh duo forward Devon Mitchell and midfielder Michael Celestine, have joined the ranks of T&T Professional League champions VIBE CT 105 W Connection.
This was confirmed by W Connection owner David John-Williams who expressed his delight in capturing the two young players from main rival Jabloteh.
Looking ahead to the 2006 season which is expected to kick off by mid-April John-Williams said: “It’s still early days but I expect us to be involved in another difficult season.”
“Being the defending champions teams will be eager to come at us from the first match of the campaign, but we will be ready.”
Contacted to give his view on the departure of his former striker Terry Fenwick, coach of the Jabloteh club said: “Mitchell’s contract with the club was up and he was offered a three-month deal which he did not wanted.”
“Celestine on the other hand was axed by the club in the early part of last season and spent most of the remainder of the season in the USA.”
“He has since returned home and seems ready to resume life as a pro player which is good for him,” ended Fenwick.
On Saturday at the club year-end awards function, T&T senior team cricketer Sanjiv Gooljar and St Lucian striker Earl Jean were voted as the “Cricketer of the Year” and Footballer of the Year” respectively at the Gilbert Park Ground, California .
Gooljar, a leg-spin bowler, made his Carib Beer Cricket Cup debut for T&T against Jamaica at the University of the West Indies ground in St Augustine and was also part of the national team that played against Guyana at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre.
T&T went onto to beat Barbados by 264 runs on Sunday to capture its first regional first-class title in 21 years.
Jean, captained the W Connection footballers to a very successful 2005 T&T Professional Football League season for which they were voted as the “Team of the Year.”
During the eight-month long PFL season, W Connection won the PFL league crown as well as the First Citizens Bank Cup and the Toyota Classic trophies.
The ‘Savonetta Boys’ as W Connection is sometimes called were also named as the ‘most disciplined team,’ club manager Raymond Mc Lean was named “Team administrator of the Year” and the PFL’s “Most Valuable Player” was W Connection’s Brazilian play-maker Gefferson Goulart.
Jean and Goulart both ended the season with 14 goals each apiece. Matthew Bartholomew was named as the club’s Under-18 Division “Player of the Year.”