“Our chances are as good as any other team” – Gilhuys

President of B.K. Intern-ational Western Tigers Gordon Gilhuys says his team’s chances in this year’s 19th Annual Kashif and Shanghai (K&S) tournament are as good as any of the other team.

Gordon Gilhuys

“Our chances in this year’s tournament are as good as any other team. We have beaten all the top teams in Georgetown for the year even though we were relegated, whilst at the same time we have not lost any match in the Georgetown Football Association first division competition and now we are back in the Premier League,” he told Stabroek Sport in an exclusive interview.

“Having said that, I must mention also the final of the Fruta Conquerors/NAMILCO Football tournament  where  even though we lost to Alpha United, I must say that we played a high level of football but needed more commitment.

“Under the guidance of the new technical advisor and former national coach Mervyn ‘Pug’ Wilson and former national defender Leonard ‘Dentist’ Williams, football fans can expect the once dominant Western Tigers of the 1980s to return as the dominant force they are known for, especially during this tournament,” Gilhuys said.

The head of the West Ruimveldt-based club also stated that despite the inclement weather hovering over Georgetown, his team’s preparations have been sound.

“We have been training hard for this tournament even though the weather has set us back a bit.

Our ground is soggy at the moment but we have two alternative venues in the Independence Park (Parade Ground) where we train in the afternoons whilst the St. Pius ground is being used in the mornings.

“We are looking at utilizing the East Ruimveldt Community Centre ground and a letter has been sent to the National Sports Commission (NSC) seeking permission to use the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue. Hopefully, we should get a response to that effect very soon,” Gilhuys said.

“All in all, I think we can do well in this tournament and go one step further than in the 2002/2003 tournament where we lost out to Fruta Conquerors in the final 1-0, courtesy of a Gerald Gittens 77th minute strike.”

Bad decisions
Like many other sporting organizations locally, at some point in time or the other, the officiating of the men in charge are questioned, especially when certain decisions are made, and Gilhuys had no hesitation in highlighting this with the K&S 2007/08 tournament.

“I am very concerned about the standard of officiating in this tournament, especially last year where I felt we were given some harsh decisions by the official in our game against Topp XX and I made no bones in highlighting this to the two top men in the organizing committee.

“In that game, we had some decisions blatantly going against us and one of the points I highlighted to the organizers was that these officials have affiliations to clubs and they would be harsh on other clubs, especially those that would be a threat to their club,” stated Gilhuys.

“Hopefully, the officiating in this year’s tournament would be better thus giving the players an opportunity to showcase their skills to the paying football fans who expect nothing but their monies worth in return.”

Guest players but no Stanton
With the tournament organizers granting each club the privilege of using four guest players, BK International Western Tigers, like every other club, is utilizing this opportunity to the fullest.

“Our guest players will be emanating from football clubs right here in Guyana. We have submitted a list with 21 players for the tournament. The other player to complete the 22 will be added prior to our first game, that is, with the permission of the tournament directors.”

He added: “The reason for this is that we are looking at an overseas player to complete our list of four guest players whilst there are other alternatives we have in mind should this one fall through.

“But with a line-up that includes national striker Devon Millington, Edison Gomes, Sherman David, captain Dellon Fraser along with Vasil Kanzalar and custodian Peter Miggins backed by a host of our developmental players, I don’t think we should have a problem in rounding off our 22-man squad for the tournament.”

When asked about the possibility of former national striker Anthony ‘Lambada’ Stanton representing his former club, Gilhuys stated that such an option was toyed with by the executives, and a unanimous agreement was reached but in the negative.

“We wanted to bring him back into the team when he returned from his overseas sojourn. But he went straight to Uprising Football Club and now that they are facing relegation from the GFA Premier League and we are going back up there, he has signalled an intention to return.

“However, such insularity will not occur with BK International Western Tigers. Even though some of the club members are not in favour with our decision which was made at the executive level, but after careful explanation, they are standing by our side.

He added: “We have youths who are developing and have shown their commitment to the team, even when we were relegated to the first division level and it would be unfair to push them aside now and bring back a player who despite being talented did not display such commitment when needed.
“It is clear that he (Stanton) wants to continue playing in the Premier League and now that Uprising has been relegated while we are being promoted, he is looking at making a comeback with us, but as I said such insularity would not be encouraged at our club.”

BK International Western Tigers will open its  campaign for glory in the 19th Annual K&S tournament when they oppose Linden’s Blue Berry Hill United at the Tucville ground next Friday, with the aim of repeating their 2002/03 performance and  going one step better, winning the title.