Fruta Conquerors Football Club has named Calvin ‘Fluman’ Allen and Jevon Rodrigues to fill the head and junior coach vacancies existing within the club.
Following the departure of head and junior coach Sampson Gilbert, Allen and Rodrigues were formally introduced as the individuals tasked with charting a new course for the famous orange side.
Speaking via telephone, Allen, who was the head coach of the Western Tigers outfit prior to his appointment,
stated that the decision to rejoin his old club was based on multiple factors.
“The club has not been doing as well for the last couple of years as I thought it should be,” he noted.
“I always got the love for the club as I started coaching at 17 under Deryck Whyte who, I give a lot of thanks to. I thought about it for a while before I took the job. It’s a more of a career and personal based decision.”
Questioned about his intentions, Allen said: “My aim is to put Fruta Conquerors where it once was or, if possible, better it. If you look at the legacy of Fruta Conquerors, you would see Whyte’s name there because of the work he had done. My sole intention is to put the club back to where it should be.
“The first thing we need to do is to bring the fans back. It’s a tough job with some of the big spending teams to compete with but our aim is to work and get up there,” added Allen.
“I still got a lot of love for Western Tigers. It is a team that I had two stints with and I believe that we did well. I would like to thank the past and present executives of the club and wish them and the players all in the best in the future.”
Club President, Wayne Forde said: “The club is a dynamic one and as a consequence we explore different options. Exploring the difficulties of 2013, we decided that we needed a change. We would like to inform the stakeholders that the return to glory won’t happen overnight, that this is a work in progress but we are very optimistic about the future.”
He declared: “Fruta Conquerors for the past two decades has been producing quality football players for the national programme at every level. With the investment we have made in our youth programme, it’s disheartening that clubs with deep pockets have been preying on our players.
“It’s a matter that should be addressed by the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) and some measures should be put in place because clubs like Fruta Conquerors in every transfer period are being weakened by the clubs who promise large financial incentives,” added Forde.
“Why is the GFF allowing the bigger clubs to operate without a youth programme? Seventy five per cent of our club’s total operating costs are invested in the youth programme. Had it not be been for the Guyana Beverage Company and Namilco, we wouldn’t have been able to pursue such an aggressive and purposeful youth programme.”
Allen will officially commence his second tenure with his first training session set for today at the Tucville venue.
