BOYZ SNUB 'BLACK PEARL' BOYD JAMAICA coach Rene Simoes is set to risk the wrath of the entire nation by leaving controversial striker Walter Boyd out of his final 22-man squad for France 98. The Brazilian, who has taken the Caribbean island from obscurity to their first-ever World Cup Finals in just four years, has ommitted 26-year-old Boyd and another local hero, defender Gregory Messam, from the party that has travelled to South Korea for two warm-up games. Time is now almost up for the skilful but temperamental Boyd to force his way back into Simoes' plans and it is looking increasingly likely that his place will go to Wimbledon striker Marcus Gayle, and that could cause ructions at home. The Jamaican public have embraced the original 'Fab Four' English imports - Portsmouth pair Fitzroy Simpson and Paul Hall, Robbie Earle of Wimbledon and Derby's Deon Burton - but the island's media don't want to see any more home-grown players losing out to bandwagon jumpers. Boyd, known as the 'Black Pearl', is the squad's top scorer with 17 goals in 54 appearances for the Reggae Boyz and netted five times on the road to France but his ill-discipline and love of the high life has led him to fall out with disciplinarian Simoes. The Arnett Gardens striker has tried to patch up their differences but the hard-line Brazilian is sticking to his guns, fearing that Boyd might upset the team spirit he has worked so hard to create in recent months. Messam, 25, was the David Beckham-style pretty boy of Jamaican football but has lost his place in the team and in the hearts of female fans to Burton. Simoes used the left-sided defender as a second half substitute in a friendly against Brazilian club Santos last week but didn't pick him for the Korea trip. Simoes has claimed that he will not add any more players to the squad, but the Caribbean rumour mill suggests he wants to enlist one more English-based player, possibly a goalkeeper, before the team leaves for France. When they return from Asia, the Reggae Boyz will train at home for seven days before playing their final warm-up match against a Caribbean All-Stars side in New York.

WORLD CUP NOTEBOOK   ENGLAND Richard Branson has offered the England and Scotland squads a week's free VIP holiday on his private Virgin Island, Necker, if either wins the World Cup. The Virgin boss, who is predicting an England v Germany final, normally rents out his house on the island for £13,000 per night, but would turn it over to the winning squad for nothing. FRANCE World Cup defences had better take note if they want to avoid becoming part of the latest entry in French striker Stephane Guivarc'h's little black book. The Newcastle United target makes a note of every goal he scores in a notebook he takes everywhere and he is aiming to fill in a few more lines during the finals. Although you'd expect full descriptions of each strike, Guivarc'h actually lists only the dates and opponents, but he is confident each entry will jog his memory later in life: I want to keep it for my old age, to explain to my kids what I did as a football player. NORWAY Liverpool's Oyvind Leonhardsen believes that Norway can shock a football world which was bored to tears by their negative performances during USA 94. People look at the last World Cup and say we are very defensive, he admitted. But, at that time, we had few attacking players and some very good defenders. Now we have people, like Tore Andre Flo, who can attack. We know we are not like Brazil with their skills, but on the day we can beat anyone - as we showed when we beat Brazil 4-2 earlier this season.

top