THREE of the men who once sat in the "hot seat" as coach of the Trinidad and Tobago national football team are agreeing that the Soca Warriors have a crisis in midfield.
The trio voiced their concerns after T&T's less than impressive performance Wednesday night when losing 3-0 to hosts Mexico in a CONCACAF World Cup qualifier.
Mexico dominated the match before 40,000 fans at the Estadio Cuauhtemoc in Puebla. Jaime Lozano scored twice, while Antonio Naelson got the opening goal for the Tricolor, who remain perfect with a 4-0 record and 12 points in CONCACAF Group C qualifying standings, while the Soca Warriors retain second place with nine points.
Former coach and technical director Edgar Vidale is of the opinion that Trinidad and Tobago may not do well in the final round of qualifying, which runs from February 9 to October 12 next year, when the top three countries will go on to the 2006 World Cup, with the fourth-placed team moving on to a playoff with an Asian qualifier.
"We can't go into the final with what we are playing now," Vidale declared. "I can't see the signs of us going very far."
Vidale said the national team had organisational problems both at the back and in the middle of the field.
He also questioned the use of players on the field, such as Dennis Lawrence in essentialy a left-back position.
"We can't get the ball up to our forwards in any organised fashion," said Vidale.
Alvin Corneal, another who has held the position of both national coach and technical director, saw just 40 minutes of the match against Mexico and felt it unfair to comment on that.
However, having also seen T&T's 5-1 win over St Kitts-Nevis last Sunday at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, he too believed that the middle is a weak point.
Those problems, he said, were not confined to the current squad, but were symptomatic of what has been happening with Trinidad and Tobago national teams of the past 15 years, whenever they face top opposition.
"Chemistry depends on the talent which you have in a team," Corneal said. "We are not gifted with great midfielders in this era... We do not have thinkers such as a Everald 'Gally' Cummings. What we have are some journeymen who pass the ball to the first person they see."
Corneal thinks there are also organisational problems within the team and that players, including Brent Sancho and Marvin Andrews, are filling roles which they are incapable of.
He added that even against lesser rivals such as St Kitts-Nevis, the problems in midfield were visible.
"For a side that won by five goals to one, we gave the ball away too many times without pressure. And then again, we do not have that killer instinct. For 30 minutes we were in total control, St Kitts were not even there, but then we let our guard down and let them back into the game at one point. We have to be as ruthless against these teams."
Corneal suggested that national coach Bertille St Clair may have to do away with players like Anthony Rougier and Angus Eve, who he said are on the wrong side of 30.
He also advised that St Clair must seek out players who can boost the midfield. He said there is a pool of untapped talent in the United States on scholarship and even right here in T&T.
Between now and February, when the final round of qualifying starts, Corneal feels there must be drastic improvement in the weak areas.
"If we think that it's going to be as easy in the second round as it has been in some of the matches in the first round, that is a mistake. We will meet teams that will force us to make mistakes and when we do, they will punish us," said Corneal.
Muhammed Isa, who had a couple of stints in charge of the national team, also thinks that something has to be done in midfield.
"I think the problem with our team is that we are not holding the ball long enough and the midfield is static. We need to improve in the middle...the players up front need to have much better service. The next round we have to be able to compete. And that is what I am concerned about. I don't think we are competing enough," said Isa.