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Big boots to fill - Cavalier’s Speid predicts tough 2025-26 season after transfer of top trio
July 22, 2025
Following the recent sales of top trio, forwards Dwayne Atkinson and Jalmaro Calvin and defender Richard King, Cavalier Football Club boss Rudolph Speid is predicting that the 2025-26 Jamaica Premier League will be a tough one.
Speid pointed out that in the two previous preseasons they lost numerous players and key pieces, but not of the calibre of King, Atkinson and Calvin, who he thinks will be irreplaceable this term.
"Every year we lose players. The year before we lost (Ronaldo) Webster and Colin Anderson and we still won. Last year we lost eight players and still won. So it is not like we have not lost players before. But it is the first time we are losing our three best players at the same time.
"We have lost the best centre back (King) in the country. He is also one of the best players in the national team and he was captain of the team and a very good leader.
"We also lost Jalmaro Calvin, who, playing as a winger, scored 21 goals. Atkinson was voted the best player in the Caribbean for 2024. Then when you add up the goals between them for the season you are talking about 40 to 50. So you are talking about 40 to 50 goals and a number of assists," he stated.
He revealed also that attacker Kaile Auvray and defender Alexavier Gooden will also move on.
"Those are five people who would usually start and we could lose more before the season starts.
"But I don't think it will be easy to replace those players. The reputation of Calvin, Atkinson and King would have been developed over years. The young players will not be able to reach the level that those players would have reached this season so they will be difficult to replace."
Nevertheless, Speid said they will always find ways to compete and will be sticking to their policy of bringing young players through.
"There are always different ways to do things. Normally we look into our youth system to see if we can fill the positions. But it will be difficult to replace them from our system based on the level of the players that have left.
"So definitely (for next season) we will be down in quality. But we still have a strong system and Cavalier will not self-destruct. That is not going to happen.
"There are more ways than one to be competitive in games. So we might find we have to go to a new strategy or a new game model for this season," Speid said.
The Cavalier sporting director said there will be no changes to their usual transfer policy.
"Our transfer policy is we look inside first or we take in developing players and not finished players. And we will stick to that, as it has served us well over the years.
"There is no need to change. It is a work in progress but I think we will be in the top six. We know this year is going to be difficult but let us see what happens," he said.
