Following
the fourth consecutive loss that the Kaizer Chiefs Family Business (KCFB) have
suffered, many of the Khosi faithful
must be thinking this is a dream – a bad, bad dream. 4 losses in a row… Never before in Chiefs’
rich history has the club lost 4 matches in a row. This bad run of results is hard to digest
even for the neutral. This is unfamiliar
terriroty for The great Phefeni Glamour
Boys, also known as Amakhosi amahle, also known as the Gold and Black, also known as the Cup Kings of South Africa, also
known as the Miiiighty Zebraaaas (I
kid, I kid!). Unfortunately, for the Khosi
faithful, this is not a dream. And if
you read my previous blog, you know who I think
is responsible for this sad situation. When
I officially left the “family”, Chiefs was not dishing up consistent
performances but I am pretty sure nobody
expect this poor run of results to follow (maybe I was the lucky charm, eh? Okay, probably not. Sanity prevails).
As the
club’s football manager, I think it is safe to assume that Bobby Motaung had a
hand in the not-so-smart idea of firing a coach when the team was due to play a
Nedbank cup quarterfinal match within 48 hours.
That was not the right time for change.
After the application of such
brain-dead management techniques, I feel the family business football
club deserves the results that have come its way. I recently tweeted that: “if the boardroom isn’t organized
neither will the ppl on the field of play be.” The results speak for themselves. Sadly, Doctor Khumalo and Donald Khuse will be the ones showered with
insults and anger (and water bottles and rubbish judging by the events a FNB
Stadium on Saturday night).
Having grown
up watching Doctor “16V” Khumalo dazzling fans and opponents alike with his
silky skills on the ball, I - like many other South African football fans - was
glad to see that he would be sharing his knowledge and experience with the
current generation of footballers through his role as a coach. I don’t have too
many memories of Donald “Ace” Khuse in his prime, however, but it is clear that
he was a delight to watch in the center of midfield in his heyday. “DK and DK” have already had a stint at
coaching Chiefs, a brief one at that (holding the fort while Operation That Zonke as crumbling under
Mushin Ertrugal), and this occurred at a stage where they were still very raw
and still regarded as coaching novices.
Now, they have been handed a huge privilege of coaching Kaizer Chiefs,
again. This was an opportunity which they found too hard to resist – understandably,
some might say. However, this was an opportunity they should have refused to
take. Having to handle a team with deep
issues, a team that contains players running low on confidence, with six crucial
league games to go, and the Nedbank Cup
quarterfinal to deal with within 48 hours is what most people would describe as
a poisoned chalice.
DK and DK had far more to lose than there was
to be gained. Firstly, DK and DK were
never going to be appointed on a permanent basis – Kaizer Motaung has
consistently stated that a local coach cannot handle being the Head Coach at
the club (that makes no sense if you don’t mind hiring a local caretaker coach,
though.) Secondly, a clear mandate was
never stated by the suits at Naturena.
The line “to prepare for the new season in good time” is pretty much all
that Bobby Motaung communicated to the public in terms of what would expected
from management of the young coaches, DK
and DK. Thirdly, the quality as far
as players goes, is not too great. In my opinion, a third-place finish was
realistically the best position that Chiefs fans should have expected at the
beginning of the season, due to the lack of investment by you-know-who. Demanding
the league title with such lack of investment can only be described as being
overly ambitious. Lastly , another disadvantage of taking over a team so late
in the season is that DK and DK have
no time to implement their own philosophy and system of play, neither can they
add or sell players at this stage of the season (for obvious reasons). There is no time for experimenting and finding
the right mix of players for the style of play which the coaches prefer. Some claim that at least Kaizer Motaung is
giving local coaches a “chance”. On Twitter (13 April) I asked a fan what would happen if
they (DK and DK) lose all 6 (league) games, would DK and DK still get another “chance” in the future? Excuse the
spelling, but I also tweeted that, “u cnt giv a chanc wit 6 games left. Dats
not fair to ace,doc or de team eg wat do we dtermin as failure (bobby also
cudnt ansa).”
The only way DK and DK could emerge from this
situation with their reputations intact would be to pull a De Matteo and surprise the SA soccer fraternity and win the Nedbank cup and maybe finish 3rd
or 2nd in league after a close finish. Bear in mind that all of that
would all be for nothing due to the fact that a foreign coach is likely to take
over the job for the 2012/13 season. So,
the two DKs were a taking a major risk - early in the young coaching careers -
for very little reward. They now have the undesirable record of being the
coaches who were in charge when the (not-so-great ) Amakhosi suffered four consecutive losses for the first time in the
club’s history. With PSL fans being so
fickle, some are already wishing Vladimir Vermezovic back (for the record, I
believe Vermezovic did a decent job with the resources he had despite his
weakness at handling various personalities within the Chiefs camp. He should
not have been dismissed). I must state,
however, that I do not have as much
sympathy for Doctor Khumalo as I do for Donald Khuse due to the scathing comments Doc wrote in his weekly column for
the SoccerLaduma
newspaper following the Soweto Derby loss (talk about kicking a man/coach when
he’s down!) At the moment, Doc will know
exactly what “VV” was going through, and one can tell through the interviews that
Doc gives that the pressure is starting to take a toll. The strange decision to
play Wilson Katsande at right back instead of his usual defensive midfield
position was puzzling to say the least. Are we running out of ideas already, Doc? In
the post-match interview, following the game between Chiefs and Supersport United,
he was (disturbingly) beginning to show Vermezovic tendencies and blaming the
players for the loss (even though he tried putting a positive spin on it near
the end). That is the effect of pressure. Neither would it have helped his
stress levels when the “Love and Peace” fans became violent (how’s that for
irony, eh?) and were seen throwing all sorts of objects at the Chiefs players
and the technical staff as they headed into the tunnel at Soccer City. Nelson Mandela
is regarded as a brave man for his long walk to freedom, but even he must have quivered
at the sight of Doc’s long walk to safety!
Poor guy. It is never nice to see
that happen, it is worse when it happens to a legend like Doctor Khumalo,
however, this is the PSL, and that is how the fans make their voices heard (as
if only 4,237 fans showing up wasn’t voicing their dissatisfaction enough).
Stability is
underrated in the SA game. VV might not have been everybody’s cup
of tea but he had a system of play that was understood by the players (maybe
not wholly accepted by those who prefer some AfricanFlair, no names mentioned), and everybody knew their role. It was silly of the Chiefs management part ways
with VV at this crucial stage of the season with 6 league games left to play in
close title race sprint. Ruud Krol was given the full three years of his
contract to lead Pirates to silverware.
Such patience and professionalism from the Pirates management reaped rich
rewards. DK and DK, however, have been thrown into the lion’s den and will
be made to shoulder the blame when the problem actually lies in the boardroom.
My advice to
DK and DK would be for them to try
their luck and coach a “smaller” team in the PSL (like Clinton Larsen for
example), and gain the necessary experience in a less-pressurized environment. They
should learn the ropes and earn the privilege of coaching Chiefs or any of the
other successful clubs in South Africa.
They have the qualifications, but now is the time to gain the experience
and respect. For these relatively young coaches, it is indeed, time for change.
At the
moment, this is a depressing situation for the millions of Chiefs fans in the
country. DK and DK can still end this
“adventure” of sorts with a few positive results, starting with the huge
midweek match against Pretoria rivals, Mamelodi Sundowns. A victory in this
encounter could ease tensions within the club and amongst the supporters. However, management must wake up and smell
the proverbial coffee. That only 4,000
fans decided to pitch up at the 90,000-capacity stadium to watch the team is
not only a tad embarrassing, but extremely worrying (I touched on this issue in
my previous blog). From the 4,000 who pitched up, many still felt the need to
show their displeasure in such a violent manner. That display of frustration
and anger should also start ringing alarm bells at the club. Bobby? Kaizer? Are you there? Stop the rot
while it’s still early. The situation cannot be fixed only by moving certain
players on, certain big “players” in the boardroom will also have to moved on.
Tough decision need to be made for the sake of the club and for all the hard
work that has been invested to make Kaizer Chiefs the most popular team in
Southern Africa.
Kaizer Chiefs in the PSL is like the African National
Congress (ANC) in South African politics (I have your attention now don’t I?) Most
people who are not happy with the ANC’s performance, would rather not vote at
all in elections than vote for another party.
A similar rule applies in South African football. Those who support and
watch Chiefs (mostly during the good times, it must be said), are unlikely to
switch allegiance to another team no matter how bad performance on and off the
pitch is. These fans would rather not
watch any local football at all. For example, Supersport United won three
league titles in a row, but, their support base is still embarrassingly low
despite that successful period under Gavin Hunt. Therefore, for interest in PSL football to be
kept alive, the PSL actually does need a relatively successful “big two” of Kaizer
Chiefs and Orlando Pirates to keep the (largely) fickle fan base interested in
the local game. Let us not forget that
these major sponsorships and TV deals currently fueling the SA game only come
about because of the massive viewership numbers. If not for the fans, do it for
the money, Kaizer. The ball is in your
court… It is time for change.
Thomas Monyepao
Follow me on
twitter @Tom_18Yards
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