Player turnover affects Cavalier preseason preparation

With every moment that passes before the start of the 2019-20 Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) season, Rudolph Speid knows that he is in a battle to get Cavalier SC prepared for another long campaign.

And the technical director didn't sugar-coat the club's readiness ahead of their season opener against Dunbeholden on Sunday, stating that the team's preseason preparations have not gone as expected.

"I definitely wouldn't be smiling about our pre-season this year," Speid acknowledged.

He stated that the club's plans have been hampered by player turnover this summer with as many as eight players departing the club. Additionally, Speid's summer has been busy taking him across the continents, from travelling with the Under-17 team in their Gothia Cup youth tournament run in Sweden to serving as the chef de mission for the Jamaica Team at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

"Our preseason hasn't gone so good for a couple of reasons. I was away for six weeks during the summer. Went on a tour with the Under-17's this summer to Sweden and then I was the chef de mission in Lima, Peru, for the Pan American Games," he said.

Players leaving the club

"Also we had more than a handful of players going out. We are looking at bringing in seven players so clearly our preparation is not the best. It's not what we would have hoped for. We just played our first serious practice game last Sunday."

Those departures include the sibling duo of Nicholas and Jermy Nelson who have left to join promoted side Molynes United, Jerome Smith and Jerome Johnson who have signed with Vere United. Tevin Scott who joined the club on loan from Harbour View last season and will remain with his parent club. In addition to those exits, Jamoi Topey, Nicque Daley who played in the Gothia Cup final last year, are now playing in the United States with Bethlehem Steel and the Charleston Battery, respectively, of the United Soccer League(USL). Kaheem Parris, who was also part of that team, is expected to leave the club in this transfer window according to Speid.

Cavalier have since made reinforcements to the squad this summer and are hoping that the influx of talent yields great rewards such as Ajay Chin and Marlando Maxwell from Manchester; Brian English and Julian Manning from Harbour View with more to come.

"We have tried to replace those players with some quality young talent. Ajay Chin, Marlando Maxwell, those are from Manchester. We have Brian English and Julian Manning [who] both came over from Harbour View. We are looking at securing the signature of Lenardo Fogarty of Rusea's High. We have a young defending sensation Richard Brown an 18 year old. And we are trying to secure the services of another midfielder from Portmore United," he said.

"All the players we have brought in except for English are really youngsters, exciting youngsters which we expect to set the league alight."