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Tegat and MBU, the right mix
February 20, 2016
Western Bureau:
In my opinion, the decision by the management of Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL) outfit Montego Bay United (MBU) Football Club to employ former national striker Paul 'Tegat' Davis as the team's new head coach is a very significant move as it has the potential to finally heal whatever lingering wounds that might have been caused by the 2011 name change from Seba United to MBU.
While many original supporters of Seba United have flatly refused to transfer their support to MBU, arguing that the name change had technically destroyed the legacy of the club, which was the pride and joy of the impoverished North Gully community, in Montego Bay, since its inception in 1972.
In changing the club's name, which was a business decision by the entity's new owner Orville Powell, the aggrieved fans are contending that, ultimately, the legacy of stalwarts such as Tegat, Alton 'Noel' Sterling, Allan 'Ply' Latty and Devon 'Kid' Dunkley, who guided Seba United to its historic 1986/87 premier league win, will be relegated into insignificance.
To me, the fact that Tegat has now joined the MBU family is an indication that he too has bought into Powell's vision that, like world renowned clubs such as Barcelona and Hamburg FC, which have adopted the name of their home cities to great commercial benefits, MBU could benefit from Montego Bay's global exposure as top-flight tourism destination.
In fact, based on the way Powell and the management of MBU has managed to intertwine Seba United legacy with the club's current realities, it seems quite clear to me that all reasonable efforts are being made to protect the full history of the club as from a personnel perspective, the heart that is beating in MBU is a mixture of the old and the new.
When I look at what MBU has accomplished since the 2011, it would be very difficult for anyone in western Jamaica, who really loves football, not to be proud of this outfit. Its general infrastructure is second to no other club in Jamaica and in terms of management, organisation and professionalism, the club stands head and shoulders above even the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF).
WINNING THE LEAGUE
Personally, I am delighted that Tegat is now at MBU and my hope is that he will lead this team to the RSPL title, which would see him joining the ranks of the special band of individuals, who has won the premier league as both player and coach. If that should happen, I believe create yet another unshakable bond between the present and the past since Tegat is a sacred name in Seba United's history.
What I particularly like about this new arrangement in having Tegat as the coach of this MBU team is the fact that, like club owner Powell, the former striker is a very ambitious man, who generally sets very high standards for himself and whatever team he coaches. I believe that once the desired synergy can be found between himself and Powell, they could well become an unbeatable force.
It is against that background that I would like to urge all the former Seba United supporters, who have been boycotting MBU since 2011 to bury the hatchet and like the team's ever-growing network of new supporters, throw their support behind the team as it seeks to bring more glory to Montego Bay.
When I look around the western region, except for the Westmoreland based Reno FC, which has been a struggling unit for most of the past decade, football is basically dead. The parish domestic leagues and even the JFF Western Confederation Super League are really nothing to write home about and in opinion, a grand waste of time and resources.
In fact, in looking back at the past four to five years, with the region's schoolboy football product steadily declining to an all-time low, had it not been for the recent exploits of MBU, football in western Jamaica would have long gone over the cliff with little hope of redemption. That is why I am desperate for Tegat to succeed at MBU.
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