DirecTV W?Connection club owner, David John-Williams, has come out in defence of his club following accusations made against it by national under-20 and senior team coaches Ross Russell and Hutson "Barber" Charles, both former national players, over the last couple of days.
Both men, who are ironically enrolled in the Defence Force, labelled the club as being selfish with regards to players being made available to national team training while they also criticised the timing of sending players on overseas trials when national teams are just about to go into action.
In a response sent via email to the media, John-Williams shared that it has become necessary for his club to make a clear statement, report the facts and clarify issues related to accusations and criticisms that have appeared about his organisation in the press as it relates to his players currently associated to various national teams.
He noted over the years W Connection had kept silent on some of these matters, but it now feels compelled to address a few of the issues at hand, stating national under-20 head coach was particularly critical of W Connection following the just concluded Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualifiers in Jamaica. The under-20 team fail to progress to the final Concacaf Round.
Russell criticised the decision to send defender Neil Benjamin on trial just before the competition but according to John-Williams, "the facts are that the player in question left for a trial in Italy with Serie A team Genoa on the September 10, a full two months before the start of the tournament."
During his first week, Genoa expressed serious interest in signing the player and immediately extended his stay. It should be noted that the under-20's only began their preparation on October 8.
John-Williams went on, "The management of the U-20 team was well aware of the situation and was kept informed on a regular basis. The training at the level of a Serie A club in our view could not have been better preparation for the young man. W Connection ensured that Benjamin returned four days before the tournament at their expense to ensure that he represented the national team, and such timing is quite the norm in International football today."
He also took offense to the statement made by Russell that Benjamin, who has played at left back for the national was not his usual self in the matches. "As a club we feel obligated to defend our player in this regard. Benjamin throughout his football career to date, including representing his club at a senior level has played as a forward on the wing or as a striker and was the top scorer in the Pro League under-17 age group in 2010 with 25 goals while in the just concluded under-18 competition he was again amongst the top scorers, so we are then left to question why this 18-year-old was played as a defender for the national under-20 team."
With respect to senior national player Daneil Cyrus being sent on trial ahead of the CFU qualifiers which begin today, John-Williams advised that his club, which has no fewer than seven players in the current national squad has to strike the right balance in supporting the national team's efforts and his club's financial books by seeking opportunities abroad for its players, while at the same time trying to secure their future.
He noted, "It costs millions of dollars to successfully run a professional club, and not striking the right balance could be disastrous. Clyde Leon, Hughtun Hector and Daneil Cyrus were all scheduled to be in Vietnam since the first week in November, while Joevin Jones was due to be at an MLS club during this time.
"Our club informed the management of the national team of the situation and they expressed their concerns about the unavailability of these players." "We immediately began to seek a mutually satisfying resolution that would placate the situation. We were able to convince the overseas Clubs involved, to wait until the completion of the tournament on November 18 for players Leon, Hector and Jones. In the case of Cyrus, we were not that fortunate to bring about a resolution."