World Cup qualification: CONCACAF
I wouldn't say 'exotic' as such....
The Hogges were really down to one man on island, who funded virtually everything (travel and accommodation for away teams, match fees etc) with little to no support from the BFA. It was intended to act as a National B Team and blood young talent on island; in reality, for reasons many and varied, it was difficult for the Hogges (managed for a while by the Goat with Kyle Lightbourne) to put out a settled and consistent team, hence the indifferent results over a couple of seasons. Crowds were non-existent (I know, I was one of the few and even ran the line at a couple of games) and the soul benefactor lost his mojo so they folded.
Current national team coach Andrew Bascome does indeed still have his dreads; his son plays in midfield for the national side as well. As for the Goat, he coached a local side for a couple of seasons (North Village Rams) and I believe he is now back at Man City doing some youth forwards coaching. I know him reasonably well and he was always very keen to move back to the UK in some footballing capacity. Kyle divides his time between taxi driving and coaching another island side, Robin Hood FC.
Having been UK military for many years, I have a very tenuous link with Belize so I will be looking out for the fortunes of the mighty Jaguars...
TheFourMarys wrote: Thanks for the update, Shorts.
It's a shame one of the more monied residents of Bermuda can't or won't help to fund a re-start of the mostly successful Bermuda Hogges experiment. True, they didn't shake up the world performance wise in the USL but playing regularly as a team in the US lower leagues must have helped squad development and seems to be just the thing the Islanders need now from what you were saying.
I can only assume that coach Balcome has grown his dreads out a lot since his playing days ended. Can't see that much hair being an on-field advantage.
Are Kyle Lightbourne and The Goat still big voices in the local football scene?
I feel like my days as most exotic contributor to this thread are done. It was fun while it lasted, but surely isolated Atlantic outcrop beats tropical Spanish Main every time
It's a shame one of the more monied residents of Bermuda can't or won't help to fund a re-start of the mostly successful Bermuda Hogges experiment. True, they didn't shake up the world performance wise in the USL but playing regularly as a team in the US lower leagues must have helped squad development and seems to be just the thing the Islanders need now from what you were saying.
I can only assume that coach Balcome has grown his dreads out a lot since his playing days ended. Can't see that much hair being an on-field advantage.
Are Kyle Lightbourne and The Goat still big voices in the local football scene?
I feel like my days as most exotic contributor to this thread are done. It was fun while it lasted, but surely isolated Atlantic outcrop beats tropical Spanish Main every time
The Hogges were really down to one man on island, who funded virtually everything (travel and accommodation for away teams, match fees etc) with little to no support from the BFA. It was intended to act as a National B Team and blood young talent on island; in reality, for reasons many and varied, it was difficult for the Hogges (managed for a while by the Goat with Kyle Lightbourne) to put out a settled and consistent team, hence the indifferent results over a couple of seasons. Crowds were non-existent (I know, I was one of the few and even ran the line at a couple of games) and the soul benefactor lost his mojo so they folded.
Current national team coach Andrew Bascome does indeed still have his dreads; his son plays in midfield for the national side as well. As for the Goat, he coached a local side for a couple of seasons (North Village Rams) and I believe he is now back at Man City doing some youth forwards coaching. I know him reasonably well and he was always very keen to move back to the UK in some footballing capacity. Kyle divides his time between taxi driving and coaching another island side, Robin Hood FC.
Having been UK military for many years, I have a very tenuous link with Belize so I will be looking out for the fortunes of the mighty Jaguars...
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