7 expen$ive football questions

This post orginally appeared on the sport24.co.za site on May 20, 2012.


This weekend’s events will have been analyzed and dissected in a million different ways b various websites and journalists. So, this week, I will give you guys a short blog post. I want you all to think about the 7 questions that I have decided to put out there, a lot of the addressing the power that money brings in football. Some questions will remind you how “expensive” some decison can be, as they sometimes end up costing certain people their jobs. Discuss and debate these issues in the coments section, or amongst your colleagues at work or, of course, on twitter.

• So, what have we learnt from the English Premier League kids? You spend a lot of money, you will win a lot of trophies. Manchester City are now Premier League champions. Chelsea FC are now UEFA Champions League winners. Is this only the beginning of the sugerdaddy era in top-level football?

• ·Chelsea fired former coach, Ander Villas-Boas, in March 2012 during his first season in charge. Roberto Di Matteo, AVB’s assistant at the time, takes over and goes on to lead Chelsea to an FA Cup and UEFA Champions league double (along with automatic qualification for next year’s UEFA Champions League). Orlando Pirates, suspend and then fire coach Julio Leal midway through the season due to most probably their bad performance in the CAF Champions League. Augusto Palacious, takes over and goes on to win the Premier Soccer League title, thereby ensuring that Pirates win the domestic treble for the second consecutive year. Is stability overrated? Can we assume that firing the coach in the middle of the season isn’t always a bad idea? Should we ask the Family Business FC (Kaizer Chiefs) for their advice?

• Most of us watched the UEFA Champions League Final. Most of us were almost about take a trip to dreamland due to pure boredom (no thanks to Chelsea). Was that Chelsea performance a great display of defensive football, or was that a display of anti-football? Is there such a thing as anti-football?

• Alessandro Del Piero is 37 years old. One of my all-time favourite midfielders, Paul Scholes is 37 years old and is still pulling the strings at the most successful club in English football. Didier Drogba – a beast of a striker -is 34 years old. Big-Benni McCarthy is also only 34 years old. Siyabonga “Bhele” Nomvethe is 34 years old. So, at what age is a player “too old”? Pitso, I am looking at you, sir.

• And, finally. ONE BILLION RANDS. One billion Rands to be spent on only TWO soccer clubs in South Africa. Really, Vodacom? Really?

That will be all.

Thomas Monyepao

What lies in store for the Chilli Boys...

Local soccer’s latest fairytale, the newly-promoted Chippa United have hardly been in the PSL for too long  although that did not stop the team from taking part in South African football’s favourite pastime – changing coaches (also commonly referred to as “redeployment”).

The Chili Boys, founded in 2010, have experience a rapid rise up into the elite league of South Afrcian soccer, achieving promotion in every season of their existence.  Their owner, Siviwe "Chippa" Mpengesi, has come a long way and after hearing his rags-to-riches story on radio recently one could not help but have a bit of a soft spot for Chippa United. Mpengesi is not like most owners in that he is not aiming for mere survival or a mid-table finish.  In a live radio interview, he stated that Chippa United is here to compete for the title. In a print interview, Mpengesi said that, “In five years' time, I want Chippa to be the third-best supported team after Chiefs and Pirates”.   The club’s story (or short history) and the owner’s ambition almost tempt a neutral soccer fan, like myself, to lend them my support but let’s take look a few worrying “tendencies” shown by the Chilli Boys.

 

A brand new Coach

“We have a coach who understands our team culture; I can't afford to have someone that will come with a different philosophy.” – Chippa Mpengesi

 

 

 

The Chilli Boys have already changed their head coach before the PSL season has even kicked off, hiring Manqoba Mngqithi (only giving him a one-year deal) to replace Roger Sikhakhane, who the club claim is sick (Sikhakhane has denied these claims).  As far as the PSL goes, we are now used to hearing “questionable’ reasons for dismissal (no, Pitso! You don’t fall under that category), I am however surprised that Chippa Mpengesi decided to hire the experienced Mngqithi and replace Sikhakhane after repeatedly stating that he had faith in Sikhakhane and would back him throughout the season.  Considering that the Chilli Boys are aiming for the PSL title, one can’t help but think of what will happen should Mngqithi lose the opening three or four games.  Will Mpengesi stand by his man? Or will the Chilli Boys head coach be “redeployed”? And what happens should the next coach after Mngqithi not manage to achieve title-winning results? This makes me wonder about how realistic Mpengesi’s goals are and the stability of the tea.  If the Chilli Boys become one of those teams that have four or five coaches in a season they could easily find themselves relegated at the end of the season and quickly forgotten. We may yet get to know the full story behind Sikhakhane’s redeployment but I say that when it comes to changing caches the Chilli Boys should just “chill”.

 

Becoming a dumping zone for the bigger clubs

Although Chippa United are yet to unveil all their signings for the upcoming season, the season-long loan deals for Orlando Pirates’ Cyril Mashego, Linda Shiba, Sibusiso Mnguni have been confirmed with reports also claiming that the Chilli Boys are interested in loan deals for fringe players from Soweto giants, Kaizer Chiefs. 

For newly-promoted team with low expectations, the “we-are going-loan-every-reject-from-big-teams” strategy is usually a good way to avoid relegation while trying to establish the team in the Premier Soccer League. However, Chippa United are no average team and their owner does not have average dreams.  Chippa Mpengesi’s goal is to challenge for the title. He has made unequivocal statements on radio platforms stating his intentions. With that being said, no team has ever won the league with a team loaded with loanees from the big teams. Signing an experience player who has played for a big team and for Bafana Bafana would have been a better idea.  Does the name Katlego Mashego ring a bell, anyone?

The club’s actions in the transfer market have so far not matched the owner’s stated ambition. If other clubs, and, more importantly, the masses that fill up Philippi stadium are to take the team seriously, actions must match statements.  If you are going to act like a feeder club or a dumping breeding ground for the likes of Orlando Pirates then their public statements should not sell us a different idea. We all know how fickle South African fans are, and I hope that Manqoba Mngqithi will not have to be escorted out of Philippi stadium due to less than satisfactory results when the transfer dealings have no given him a platform for a title challenge.

 

Playing home games, away

This will not necessarily affect the team’s league standing at the end of the season as much as the above-mentioned factors but it is an issue that annoys me.  Besides  bigger gate-takings, I do not understand why smaller teams give up their main advantage and practically give up 9 points in a season against the Big Three (Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, and Kaizer  Chiefs) by playing these “home” games at bigger venues. To my knowledge, Bidvest Wits is the one of the only teams that has been willing to play Kaizer Chiefs at their very small home venue.  In the English Premier League, one will not find Blackburn Rovers, for example, playing their home game against a heavyweight like Manchester United at bigger stadium.  At end of the season those 3 points could mean the difference between relegation and survival. More importantly, how do you expect a loyal fan base in a certain area when you only bring games against the smaller teams to town yet take away the real treat of the season to another stadium? 

 

 

 

The PSL season only begin in August. Can Manqoba Mngqithi work his magic and get the team to buy into his philosophy within a month? Will Chippa United surprise us in the transfer market while also scooping the free agent, Katlego Mahsego? And will the Philippi stadium become the new Independent Stadium (remember Umtata Bush Bucks’ “slaughter house”?), a venue where PSL teams struggle to get away with any points?  Time will tell. As a neutral, I am happy to see another fresh face in the PSL and d hope this season will be as exciting as the 2011/2012 season.

 'Til next time!

 

Thomas Monyepao

Do followme on twitter @Tom_18Yards

DRAWing attention to Pitso

This post originally appeared on the sport24.co.za site on June 5, 2012.

“I gave Vision 2014 and I have always called it Vision 2014 when I was appointed, it was not Vision 2012 or 2011.”


I thought it would be best to start this piece with one of Pitso’s many quotable quotes. The man knew how to get the nation talking about Bafana Bafana and about " the best coach", Pitso Mosimane. He always managed to draw the match attention to himself.




At this moment in time, every South Africa soccer fan (and part time fan) will know that Pitso Mosimane has been relieved of his duties (and most will now have found out what the former Supersport United coach was earning as national team coach).   Most of the people that I have spoken to are of the opinion that he should be fired and/or should have been fired ages ago. This is football and we are all entitled to our own opinions but I do not feel he should have been fired, especially at this point in time with important matches coming up.

Pitso Mosimane’s record in the hot Bafana Bafana seat was pretty average, it must be said. He managed to win six matches, lost three, and, as many will point out to you in the coming weeks, he drew seven internationals. He also failed to take Bafana Bafana to the 2012 African Cup of Nations. However, I feel there were other factors that led to his dismissal besides results.

Pitso failed to convince most South African football fans and his bosses due to (1) unsatisfactory results (2) his reluctance to select older players such as the 2011/2012 PSL top goal scorer, and finally, as I have mentioned, (3) his public outbursts.

If “Vision 2014” really existed then the issue of failing to qualify for AFCON 2012 would be ignored or dismissed as a pothole on the road to success by the suits at SAFA House. The South African Football Association (SAFA) kept faith in their man, rightly so, and kept him in the job despite the fact that he had failed to get Bafana to play in the continental competition. Bafana Bafana then proceeded to only manage three draws and one loss (to Zimbabwe) before the Ethiopia game. If SAFA decided to keep faith in their man despite him failing to qualify for AFCON 2012, does this mean that he was fired for unsatisfactory results in the four friendly matches and single 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier that followed? I don’t believe that this was reason enough to dismiss the coach. In South Africa, we cannot be judging our national team coaches on the results of friendly matches. Some people on social networks also claim that if one draws against Ethiopia, one then deserves to be fired. So are we now going to be judging coaches on a game-by-game basis? No “Vision 2014”? No focus on the long-term goals? I recently watched the French national soccer team struggling to beat Iceland in a so-called “meaningless” friendly. The game ended 3-2 in favour of Les Bleus in a match in which they were expected to dominate from start to finish. The French supporters were already booing the players after 30 minutes of play! Now, let us for a moment imagine that the French football association then decided follow public opinion and fired the coach, Laurent Blanc, due to one (or a string of bad friendly match results). How would that help the team in the long run? What message does that send to the next man who will be in charge? What happens to all the “building” that preceded the coach’s dismissal?

There are examples of similar situations in world football. The Brazilian World Cup-winning team of 2002 struggled to even qualify for the 2002 World Cup in South Korea. Once they got there, they won the actual event with (the original) Ronaldo ending up as top goal scorer. In 2006, Germany went into the World Cup that they were hosting, low on confidence. The team had not been performing as required and tournament had been struggling to build up hype amongst the public, but, yet again, when it is absolutely necessary to perform, the Germans gave a good effort and lost to the eventual champions in the semifinals. My point here is that fans cannot judge coaches on a game-by-game basis. If Pitso Mosimane, for example, is the head coach when the qualifiers begin, allow him to coach until the end. One can only judge the coach based on the final outcome based on whether he qualified or not (this deliverable should be clearly stated in the contract agreement). As Pitso Mosimane correctly pointed out, Bafana Bafana still have 15 points to play for. Why did SAFA feel the need to make a knee-jerk reaction? Did public pressure influence this decision? South Africa will be hosting the African Cup of Nations next year, yet Bafana Bafana will now have to prepare for the tournament with a coach who will have been in charge for less than 7 months by the time the tournament arrives. Who will the public blame in 2013?

The second issue was Pitso’s reluctance to select older players. I prefer not to discuss this issue too much. The Carling Black Label Cup is available for those who think they can make the best selections. I prefer to let the coach do the selecting. I judge all coaches, and will judge the next Bafana coach based on results not on whether my favourite player is playing. The coach is entitled to choose whoever he thinks will help him achieve his goals. I feel that some of the national team supporters have been unfair on Pitso Mosimane. I say this because it was the very same fans were calling Benni McCarthy “too fat” when he signed for Pirates and described former Pirates man Siyabonga Nomvethe as a “has been”. This also shows how fickle South African soccer fans can be – today you’re a legend, tomorrow you’re clueless.


The final issue, Pitso’s terrible handling of the media, attracted unnecessary negative attention from fans and, ultimately, led to his downfall. He put unnecessary pressure on himself by declaring himself “one of the best coaches in Africa” and such a display of confidence or arrogance requires great results if one wants to keep the Bafana Bafana coaching job.


Pitso reminds me of former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers. When given the microphone, these two gentlemen always provide good value for money as far as entertainment goes. Pitso, though, has the added problem of making too many excuses and resorting to blaming individual players for bad results – Siyabonga Nomvethe being the most recent example. The most recent post-match interviews was, as Neal Collins would say, “a Phokeng disappointment”.
 
So, Pitso Mosimane is gone and Steve Khompela will become the caretaker coach (we do love those two words in SA soccer don’t we?!) and journey to AFCON 2013 and Brazil 2014 (hopefully) is going to be bumpy ride. The development structures that Pitso kept mentioning may eventually be successfully built up in the country but unless our fans and soccer bosses change their mindsets as far as focusing on the deliverables and long term goals, Bafana Bafana will keep changing coaches and the result our nation deserves will forever be a distant dream.

Thomas Monyepao

Follow me on twitter for more football debates, @Tom_18Yards