AS I pen my meandering thoughts I, unlike you, have to deal with the fact that I don't yet know the result of the Honduras/Jamaica World Cup qualification game in San Pedro Sula.

What I do know though is that despite all the disappointments faced by the Jamaican public, the Reggae Boyz have done what was expected.

They have never had good results against Mexico, especially in that country, and a draw against Canada, though fortuitous, was also not outside the scope of expectations.

The problem for the Boyz is the fact that Honduras have done so well in the past few years. They are a dangerous team and, based on their line-up, are expected to qualify ahead of the Reggae Boyz.

Please also remember, before we malign them too much, that they have had to deal with a change in coach at a late stage and have not had as much preparation for this qualification round as have others.

If they do qualify, their achievement, bearing in mind their level of preparedness, could easily be compared to Usain Bolt's remarkable feats at the Beijing Olympics.

The Boyz are, however, hamstrung by the fact that Rene Simoes does not have the same ability as the coaches that sit or stand across from him.

And here I get to the crux of the matter.

Planning your way through a World Cup qualification is fine, but not rocket science.

Play conservatively

Everybody knows that you should play conservatively away to make sure you don't lose, and attack at home to make sure you win.

Fine. But when Sven Goran Eriksson sits on the other bench, then you must come up with something more.

Sven started with five midfielders while Jamaica had four, two of whom could not have been any more inexperienced.

On a number of occasions Demar Phillips, admittedly a player of some ability, and Evon Taylor, admittedly a player of very little, did not know what to do.

They were clueless because they were outnumbered. There was always one more person to mark and spaces were always opening up.

Simoes made two changes and things seemed better in the second half, but what was he doing in the first?

Urging his players to show heart and willing them to try and get forward some more, in other words, nothing.

Sven didn't utter a word. He had his plan and it was working.

I don't know much about the credentials of the other coaches in the group stage, but against Canada, save the result, Simoes was again outcoached.

Very organised

Sitting back and hoping the Canadians would over-commit and give the Reggae Boyz the opportunity to counter was not going to work, the Canadians were very organised coming forward and so the Reggae Boyz needed to play some football, keep the ball.

They started to do that, again in the second-half, after Rene's coaching let us down in the first.

I sincerely hope he doesn't continue to be outcoached in any more first halves, the campaign trail can't take it. Then, of course, there is the fact that Simoes has for some unknown reason chosen not to pick strong squads.

Keniel Moodie, no disrespect to him, and Wolry Wolfe, certainly a player I hold in high regard, should be somewhere further down the pecking order in terms of getting a run for Jamaica.

This tells me the squad is weak. If that is the case, we are in for some trouble.

Send feedback to Paul-Andre.Walker@gleanerjm.com.