U-20 BATTLE
Clico San Juan Jabloteh will allow striker Daniel Joseph, midfielder Kevin Molino and defender Mekeil Williams-all reserve team players-to join the Trinidad and Tobago national under-20 football team for the 2009 Pro League, which kick off next month. But the gloves are off where the immediate future of 18-year-old central defender Robert Primus is concerned.
Jamal Gay will not be expected to break his commitment with Germany second division team, Rott-Weiss Oberhausen, to spend the next six months with the national youth team while Khaleem Hyland, who is a regular with Belgium top flight club SV Zulte Waregem, is also off limits. Fenwick believes that Primus' football education would also be better served by him representing Jabloteh, the defending Pro League champions, in domestic and CONCACAF competition.
Jabloteh, like W. Connection, are involved in the CONCACAF Champions League qualifying rounds and could potentially be paired with top clubs from Mexico and the United States in the coming months.
Fenwick, a former English World Cup defender, suggested that he knows what is best for the progress of Primus, who was just 17-years-old when he made his professional debut with Jabloteh.
"Primus gets better all-round looking after with Jabloteh rather than the national (youth) team," said the former Tottenham Hotspurs and Crystal Palace captain. "He was an ever present for the local national champions and that tells me he is better than anything else out there...
"He will be playing away soon, which shows how good he is and he thinks he is better off with us rather than the national youth team where he is played out of position in any case."
Although Jabloteh are the only outfit to voice their displeasure so far, other Pro League clubs might be paying attention. Ma Pau FC, for one, would not want to lose talented teenaged playmaker Sherron Joseph, whose form could be instrumental to the debut season of their Brazilian coach Ubirajara Veiga Da Silva.
A well-placed source revealed that the Pro League executive committee also had concerns about the national under-20 team's Pro League participation, which Vranes insisted was vital to their preparation.
"We will have a major meeting with the T&TFF to discuss this idea and see if it is workable," said the Pro League source. "There are a lot of things to be ironed out. There are scheduling issues as, in principle, they committed to playing in two rounds but then I assume they will also want to participate in tours.
"Also will they expect the Pro League clubs to continue to pay the salary of the players? And what about insurance?"
Fenwick, who led Jabloteh to three of the six domestic trophies at stake last year, feels that the under-20 team's proposed cameo in the Pro League was "disrespectful" to the integrity of the competition and was not beneficial to either party.
"There is not another association in the world that has a national team playing in the local league," said the Englishman, who first came to Trinidad in 2001. "A national team should be something that you aspire to but, when you are running it like a year-round club, the shine wears off for the kids."
Fenwick said he is "delighted" that the national youth team progressed to the Egypt 2009 Under-20 World Youth Championships but felt they underperformed by finishing fourth.
"We are in another World Cup which (seems to be) how we are gauging success," said Fenwick. "I personally find it incredible that we have two groups of four and the top two (teams) progress to the World Cup. I find the format (of the tournament) was unbelievable and it won't happen anywhere else in the world...
"This team was together for a year and went to Brazil and Colombia and still came fourth. This country has some fantastic young talent and there are even players who were not selected (from the Pro League) that could easily help this team.
"I think we are better than fourth and they are pulling the wool over our eyes. I think that technically and tactically they should be a lot better."
Jabloteh's senior team players, it seems, will not be much more accessible to Vranes than his overseas-based professionals.