Football Association not to renew technical director Clyde Best's contract, the reaction to the decision was mixed ...some for and some against.

The BFA's decision has initiated a plethora of opinions. The question of Best's future and the timing of the announcement met with mixed reaction when The Royal Gazette conducted a poll during Tuesday's Dudley Eve semi-final match at Bernard Park.

"I think he should still be there. It doesn't make sense changing the technical director now if he has a programme going on and the cup (World Cup qualifiers) is only a few months away,'' said PHC president Edward (Beaver) Burrows , himself a former player.

"If you bring in a coach, it is going to disrupt the programme again. They should leave him until after the World Cup campaign and then make a decision,'' continued Burrows.

"I don't think we need a coach from outside, No! Give the man a chance. You can't blame him for the way soccer is in Bermuda and he needs time.'' Equally adamant is former national squad midfielder Randy Bean who is also against Best's dismissal.

"As a former player, I am very disappointed with the issue. Here's a man that has a good record. Bermuda is getting ready for the World Cup in which we have a good draw and to undermine a situation like that is wrong,'' said Bean.

Southampton Rangers striker Janeiro Tucker disagreed.

"I think it was a good change for Bermuda football. I don't think Clyde's the man for the job. We should get a foreign coach,'' Tucker said. "I think more players would play for someone other than Clyde. I don't think the timing makes a difference. We have to think about football in general; it (football) is not that sharp and we are going backward right now.'' Lou Matthews , 30, an official of Boulevard Blazers, was anxious to see a succession plan.

"I was surprised at the timing of the announcement considering our plans for the upcoming World Cup,'' said Matthews. "I don't know how this is going to affect our plans, I just hope a contingency plan is in place. I don't blame Clyde for the problems in football and anyone who does is a fool.'' Matthews questions if Bermuda knows what they want from football and believes that the problems in the sport are deeper than they appear.

"Bermuda football is not just about football. If it was just about the technical game, (Burkhard) Zeise would have been perfect. It is a grassroots sport that involves so many other sectors of the community. "We need a technical director who knows what he is doing but also we need a social statesman. The problems in football are a mirror image of the social problems outside in our society and we cannot separate the two.'' Vasco defender Wayne Augustus believes we need a foreign coach who can be objective.

"Bermuda needs to go away and get a foreign coach,'' Augustus insisted.

"Best came to offer his help as a player and he has experience, but not experience in coaching. There is too much familiarity in the game today.

Because the Island is small, we need to bring someone down who doesn't know us and let him guide us.'' Another avid football fan who did not wish to be identified believed that the BFA made the right move.

"I think Bermuda needs an outside technical director like a European or South American. Burkhard Zeise came and was able to reach a certain level of success because he was able to choose a team objectively.'' PHC youth coach Jack Castle , who has just been appointed by Best as one of the national youth coaches, expressed his disappointment with the timing of the announcement.

"It is very unfortunate that it had to come down to that, especially after the BFA made so many changes in the scope of the criteria to suit Clyde,'' said Castle who has been critical of Best in the past.

"I think it is unfortunate because Best started to dig in and do some things.

The timing is way off.'' Janeiro Tucker: "BFA were right.''