Where have all the goalscorers gone?

Audley Boyd, Assistant Editor - Sports

THERE has been plenty action in the Red Stripe Premier League this season, but too few goals to boot.

In 72 matches, only 121 goals have been netted, with the 12 teams averaging less than two per match - 1.68 to be exact.

The reasons for the low conversion rate are many, in a league where the defensive stats are rivalling those provided for the thrust at the other end of the pitch.

Glendon 'Admiral' Bailey, who led defending champions Tivoli Gardens to the title on two occasions, lists increased tactical awareness as a major contributor.

"I think the coaches have a lot to do with it," said Bailey. "The coaches have got more tactical, they're more wise to the game in terms of how they prepare their team and get them ready for the game.

"We just have to find creative ways to break down the whole organisation of the other team because the teams are more organised in terms of how they are structured, in terms of how they line up on the field," Bailey reinforced.

improved Coaching standards

Coaching standards have improved with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) mandating certification through its courses over the past couple of years, a programme which is ongoing.

Only one team in the competition, Boys' Town, averages more than one goal per game. In 11 first-round encounters, they have netted a league-high 15 goals, which round out to 1.37 per match.

With 11 goals apiece, Tivoli Gardens, Waterhouse, Harbour View and Highgate United are averaging one goal per game.

National player Keneil Moodie, who operates mainly from either central defence or central midfield, says his team is lacking in strikers, a position supported by his Montego Bay United Football Club boss, Orville Powell.

"Lack of finishing, definitely," said Moodie, who started out at Reno and has represented Waterhouse. "Chances are being created, but the sharpness of our strikers has been down."

Moodie's point is supported by the fact that his team has been playing well, but hampered by poor finishing.

"It's a serious problem and right now personally I think we've to look outside the country because right now it (goalscorer) is not here," said Powell.

"For all of the clubs, it is a problem, it's one of our major problems, we just can't find a good forward," he admitted, then pointed to its effect on spectators.

"People come to see goals at football games and ... we want to have exciting football games, but most of the times when you're trying to build that brand, exciting footballers don't really win games, so you have to play this mechanical (style) ... because you're fighting to stay in the Premier League, you know," Powell offered, matter-of-factly.

"But you still have to have a balance. You don't want to play pretty football and lose because the stakes are high here in Jamaica," he pointed out.

It points to the fact that not many teams seem ready to take many risks in attack, which has led to an evenness from some very tough and bruising encounters with a heavy concentration of mid-pitch battles, with clear-cut chances few and far between.

For instance, the team at the head of the standings, Tivoli Gardens, has 19 points, while the team third from bottom, Arnett Gardens at 10th, have 13 - a mere six-point gap.

goal stats

In terms of goal stats, too, there is a slight difference that has made their placing significant - Arnett had conceded 11 in comparison to Tivoli's seven, and scored nine, while Tivoli have sunk 11 of their chances. Then again, it depends on when the goals come, as marked by Harbour View's case, which, though having similar stats to Tivoli - 11 goals for and seven against - are five places lower at number six.

Their coach, former national goalie Donovan 'DV' Hayles, notes there are difficulties many associate with scoring.

"To say to you that I could give a very accurate answer to that I'd be lying. Some of these things are unexplainable, but I figure that ... in Jamaica's football, the coaches might play a part as well, in that most coaches are looking not to lose games and hence, defensively the game has become a little more creative," noted Hayles.

"The challenge is that goalscoring is an art and there is no creativity. To me it (scoring) is the most difficult aspect of the game. Scoring goals is the ultimate and defensively, teams are making it much harder," he added, noting that poor surfaces are also weighing in on the act.

"One of the greatest challenge players face is the quality of the fields, it's not easy for kicking purposes," Hayles observed. "The uneven playing surfaces do not allow for proper striking of the ball and a lot of times, from a distance we see a player kick the ball and it goes way over the bar, but the players will tell you - and at times when you scrutinise it with a microscope - at the last moment of impact, the ball either takes a shift or gets a different bounce and it looks ridiculous to us as coaches on the bench, and in particular the spectators."

One-time national technical director and head coach, Wendell Downswell, argues that quality strikers are lacking and proper incentives must be put in place to encourage added emphasis to this important position.

"Goalscorers, I don't think we possess the necessary (skill)," said Downswell. "I think the clubs will have to continue to work hard to produce quality strikers."

He added: "We could consider it a drought in the competition, many clubs are complaining about the quality of the strikers. We have strikers, but not scorers. This is something we'll probably have to look into seriously, especially from a technical perspective in terms of preparation.

"Scorers don't come by easily so we'll have to work and when we identify those, we've to create the environment for them to make the necessary transition and learning as it relates to goalscoring because that is an art in itself."

Downswell goals

Downswell himself hammered home his fair share of goals while leading the Reno charge back in the 1970s and '80s when most clubs lined up four players on the forward line, two wingers and two central strikers.

"I think in those days we placed a lot of emphasis on goalscoring and this is something we've to start with kids from a tender age," Downswell reminisced. "We need to get them now to play a lot of short-field games, six v six and four v four, create an environment for goalscoring; and rewards for goalscoring too so that a youngster playing will see that as a significant step. I don't think there's much tangible rewards for goalscoring. Maybe the sponsors have to get involved and provide an incentive so that people will attach that real significance to goalscoring."

The Reno man's note about quality strikers has struck a note with Waterhouse midfielder Vincent Earl, who has stepped up to fill the void on several occasions this season.

"I don't think the league has the deadly strikers again like the Kevin Lamey's and the 'Pele' Wilsons, so we're just lacking finishers," said Earl, listing one of the many reasons why there are too few goals, despite plenty action, in the Premier League.