But GFF Vice-President, Frankie Wilson stoutly defends the federation's development plans.

Guyana suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat in the first game of the two-way tie in Grenada two weeks ago and was brushed aside 3-1 at the Blairmont Community Centre ground on Sunday, to end hopes of meeting USA in the next round.

Chairman of the Camptown Football Club's Interim Management Com-mittee Odinga Lumumba in an invited comment told Stabroek Sport Guyana's football problem is more than the two-way tie itself "I think it's the organisation of football that failed," Lumumba declared.

According to Lumumba, the GFF needs to look not only to overseas-based players who were born in Guyana, but those of Guyanese parentage. "We need to utilise our resources properly," he added.
Odinga Lumumba

"The money they are getting from FIFA should go to the players' development such as medicine, food and schooling. We cannot afford to have 'small bone' players involved in the sport, that time has long gone. The GFF is trying to keep persons who can do something for the sport, out of the sport and they have failed and will continue to fail. Their method of recruiting players is bad; they are not reaching out to a wider cross-section of Guyana for players. They spend too much time getting into club affairs rather than getting on with the development of the sport."

However, Wilson blamed Guyana's exit on the inexperience of the team. "I think we played better on Sunday than we did in Grenada, but our team did not play up to the level one would have thought.

"It's all part of the youth development thrust that the GFF is focusing on. A lot of people would say more senior players should have been used, but the experience the younger team members got could only do us good. Development costs a terrible price, look at what is going on with the West Indies cricket team."

Former national youth and senior coach Lennox Arthur said he is very disappointed that Dos Santos disrespected Guyana's national captain, Charles `Lilly' Pollard, by dropping him before the warm-up match in Barbados a few weeks ago. "He did not even see Pollard's ability, a man who has been playing professional football for years.

"He actually dropped all the senior players that have been tested and instead played the junior players. There's no way I can see him playing Walter Moore instead of Abassy McPherson or Leslie Holligan, the two most talented left wing backs in the country."

Arthur, who served as senior national coach for seven years and junior national coach for ten years stated: "Dos Santos has been around over a year and still does not know our local players and what they are capable of.

"But he is not the only one to blame, part of the blame for our exit rests with the GFF. They started wrong by making statements to the effect that the national team will comprise under-23 players instead of tried seniors."

Arthur is of the view that Joseph `Bill' Wilson, Collie Hercules, Gordon Braithwaite and former national coach Mervyn Wilson can all do a better job than Dos Santos.

Ardent football enthusiast David Erskine said: "I can't understand the strategy used by Dos Santos. You have to win by six clear goals and didn't start with your best attacking strikers?"

Erskine opined that when Guyana played Costa Rica in the under-23 Olympic Qualifier and lost 7-0, then versus Grenada in the first round of the World Cup Qualifier, Dos Santos would have most likely played a defensive game since the two matches were away from home.

"But losing by 7-0 and 5-0 in the respective games could never be good enough," Erskine stated.