Western Bureau:

Last Saturday night, while attending the 2011 Pepsi Rebel Salute at Port Kaiser in St Elizabeth, I ran into businessman Delroy 'Builder' James, the man whose vision resulted in the formation of Wadadah FC, one of Jamaica's most successful football clubs.

In a brief discussion with James, he seemed saddened by the fact that Wadadah's glorious history appears to be dying with the fluctuating fortunes of a club, which have the enviable distinction of winning the prestigious National Premier League title twice, and producing over a dozen national players.

After speaking to James, I could not help but close by eyes briefly to reflect on some of the glorious moments I have had travelling around Jamaica with Wadadah, an organisation I once served in an administrative capacity. How things have changed! From being Jamaica's best, the club has become so weak that just the thought of returning to the NPL seems remote.

In putting Wadadah's decline in perspective, one can't help but acknowledge that the slide reflects the direction in which western Jamaica's football has been going in recent years. At present, our two DPL teams, Village United and Reno, are looking more towards the relegation zone than towards the title. In addition, we don't have a single player who can be considered an automatic selection for the national senior team.

Interestingly, two days ago I got a reminder of the good old days in a photograph, which former Herbert Morrison and Seba United striker Kentan Clare posted on Facebook. The photograph, a team picture of the Holiday Inn Hotel football team of the mid-1990s, featured the likes of Warren Barrett, Devon Rickettes, Paul 'Tegat' Davis, Hector Wright and the late Winston 'Twinny Bug' Anglin.

exceptional talent

After looking at the photograph, it dawned on me that some of the players from that era, including Anglin, Wright, Barrett, Durrant Brown, and even older stalwarts such as Alton 'Noah' Sterling and Allan 'Creature' Aaron, could easily have ranked among some of the all-time greats in world football, had they got the opportunity some of today's national players are getting.

Looking around western Jamaica today, except for possibly Wadadah's current striker Curtis Palmer, I can't seem to find any player I would consider exceptional in terms of talent. Two years ago, I felt that the St James High School duo of Ricardo Morris and Allan Ottey were poised to come good but, unfortunately, instead of progressing, they both seem to have regressed, especially this year.

Based on my experience with western Jamaica's football over the years, I believe the blame for the state of our football should be placed squarely at the feet of the administrators that we have had in recent years. Instead of building as their predecessors did, they have been destroying everything in sight, including the JFF's Western Confederation. It is my understanding that the 'confed' biannual general meeting, which was slated for last weekend, had to be cancelled because of the absence of a quorum.

While there are regular complaints that I am trying to drag the JFF into western domestic squabbles, I can't help but doing so because, at the end of the day, some of those underachieving administrators are the persons the JFF select to head national team delegations on overseas assignments.

James admitted that he had not been to western Jamaica in quite a while, and though not explicitly stated, I rather suspect that his reason for staying away is the deep disappointment he must feel in regard to seeing the wonderful football product he help to build being destroyed by individuals whose interest in the sport is questionable.

Having personally been a witness to the good old days in St James' football, especially in the era of dominance by teams such as Wadadah, Seba United, Violet Kickers and Reno FC, I can't help but wishing there was a way we could roll back the clock and get stalwarts like Wesmore Thomas, Frank 'Bim' Williams, Sonny Vassell and even Delroy 'Builder' James to come back and repair what is now a badly damaged product.

Feel free to send your feedback to adrianfrater@hotmail.com