The target man upfront is the guy that most South African
soccer fans (unlike the English) love to hate, and absolutely hate to love.
Like rain in the summer, he is sometimes described as a necessary evil, at best.
Often providing an outlet upfront for long ball-playing defenders
lacking in the confidence to provide incisive passes or deep runs into the
pitch, or acting as the side-kick for the short, nippy little fella in a classic 4-4-2 - or modernized
4-4-1-1 - the target man is necessary to provide balance and ensure the system
works efficiently but rarely offers an enjoyable experience for the South
African viewer.
I happened to be at the Orlando Pirates versus Ajax Cape Town
game at Orlando stadium on Tuesday night and calmly sat and observed many of
the Pirates faithful booing and heckling the new Pirates signing, Takesure
Chinyama, even before the Bucs substitute had managed to get a touch of the
ball. All of this changed after Takesure - you’ve got to love that name - provided
a great finish to a neatly worked goal. The “supporters” all left the stadium
mimicking his winding up celebration. All
seemed to have been forgotten.
Having also watched the recent Kaizer Chiefs games against
Wits University and Premier Soccer League rookies Chippa United, I noticed how
the crowd was getting on the back of Kingston Nkhatha, The Glamour Boys’off-season
signing who plays up front as the sidekick in the ongoing Bernard Parker
show.
Nkhatha enjoyed a relatively good start with two goals in
his opening two league games. But, as is the rule for target men in the local
game, as soon as the goals dry up, the fans put their hands up and the
substitution sign can be seen all over the stands. Just ask big Philemon
Masinga – boo-boys favourite and the man responsible for scoring that great World-Cup
qualifying goal against Congo in 1997. Had Siphiwe Tshabala not scored THAT goal in the 2010 World Cup, we would
still be forced to watch replays of that thunderous strike every time the
national broadcaster plans to show a major soccer event.
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| The boo-boys' favourite,Philemon "Chippa" Masinga, in his prime |
It almost seems like the target man is seen as the antithesis
of the flashy diski “style”. This is the guy that rarely, if ever,
provides an exciting step-over, or a tsamaya
that provides our friends at Supersport Football
with thrilling highlights-reel material.
The local game is full of short, nippy players full of pace,
skill and whole wardrobe full of tricks and flicks. As I
saw in the Pirates game, your Oupa Manyisa’s and Tlou Segolela’s of this world
tended to provide the trickery and, unfortunately, when the ball came to the
target man, he was either too slow to get past the man or to latch on to a
through ball. At other times he intentionally slowed the game down, holding up
play and waiting for support (which is probably why the coach brought him on in
the first place). This usually causes a
lot of frustration for local fans.
Holding up play is not attractive – it doesn’t quite go
along with images an average South African visualizes when thinking about diski. This usually leads to calls for the big guy
upfront to be taken off for a more graceful player, regardless of the whether
this replacement will be as effective.
This mindset has probably contributed in arguably the best
target man in the League, Mame Niang, playing for PSL rookies, Pretoria University. Tuks, as the Pretoria-based team is commonly known, plays beautiful football while Niang diligently
provides a different route to goal and is almost unstoppable in the air – just ask the
similarly tall, Mathew Booth.
Should the coach bows under the pressure and answer the
fans’ prayers and decides to put in the flashy player and fails to achieve the
most desirable result, fans then blame the coach for either (a) putting Mr
Target Man in the starting line-up to begin with (b) having favourites, or (c)
wasting “talent” on the bench (whatever that means). And as we all know, in the
PSL, job security for a coach is all but a dream.
This is where coaching team with a very small, calmer fan
base is to a team’s advantage in South Africa. Gavin Hunt, coach of the
three-time PSL champions Supersport United, is never afraid to tinker with his
line-up from tactical or disciplinary reasons and put in the likes of Glen
Salmon or in the current setup, Nathan Paulse. This is because the small band
of supporters is not as demanding and I should think it is a bit easier to
resist pressure from 1,500 or so fans rather than 40,000.
But that’s South African soccer for you. Beautiful soccer is
at times more important than winning soccer. For some time after he left
Orlando Pirates, Kosta Papic was a firm fan-favourite in South Africa simply
because of the how he managed to get the Pirates team of that period playing
silky, speedy, and slick football unlike the more successful Gordon Igesund and
Roy Barreto (both whom were let go by the club despite winning a league title).
As a consumer of the game, think to yourself: what’s more
important to you, champagne football
football or championship football?
Thomas Monyepao
Thomas Monyepao
Bear in mind that I wrote this piece a week ago. It was also good to see another target man who has experienced the anger of the boo-boys, Collins Mbesuma, scoring a brace in the game against Pretoria University.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the fans have a point. Maybe where a static targetman gets one goal, a mobile technical striker would score or create more goals and not lose the ball more often. And maybe, these are the sort of strikers coaches in SA should be aiming to develop as it fits in very well with the strengths of the local players overall. I doubt that it's all about champagne. Sergio Arguero (read Nomvete, Villa, Manyathela) for example is not a shibobo player but he cuts it at the highest level, but it takes more intelligence to play like that, and a big targetman offers (often lazy) coaches a ready-made shortcut to play direct and get results. Fans are not stupid.
ReplyDeleteOn point number 1 you make that a mobile striker would creat more: With the demise of the classic 4-4-2 formation and use of 4-4-1-1 and 4-5-1/4-3-3 variations the target man will be surrounded by a host of mobile, tricky players. Tuks do this the best in the league. the have a giant of striker but he is not the target of every forrays into the box but does provide trouble for opposition defences and knock-ons that also create chances while still allowing the likes of Ngoma to provide chances in and around the box with their direct running style. I do agree on point number 2 about SA developing those nippy type of players. That is indeed the strength of lcoal players and a similar football philosophy to Barcelona would benefit the resources we have. But the same Barca also tried (unsuccessfully i must admit) to have a Plan B type of target man in Ibrahimovic for tough organised defences. Their successful philosophy failed againts tough teams like Inter Milan who blocked the centre of the pitch and although number of passes by Barca was high, breaking through that defence without variation seemed to be the cause pf their demise. Point 3 that it's not all about champagne, unfortunately in SA it is, for most fans, about champagne. The late Scara Ngobese, great player on his day, but quiet wasteful in most games is regarded as a legend. The highlight package tsamayas stick in the minds and not general effectiveness. Benard Parker at Chiefs also got booed last year (similar player to Aguero, floats around as a 2nd striker). While being effective and intelligent while getting into the right positions, he doesnt have a big range of tricks to get the fans on his side. A few chances gone to waste and before you know it, fans are waving their arms calling for a sub, similar to what the target man goes through in many games. point 4: Yes maybe some coaches are lazy and play percentage football of merely aiming to keep the ball in the opponents half for as long as possible taking the quickest route. But that is more the exception than the rule. Being a target man is a special skill on its own for which the reqards usually go to those around you. if you look at the stats for target men in Europe, they have low pass accuracy rates and dribbles, but are effective in directly or indirectly contributing to goals and getting fouls. They are not he saviour of the team, and neither am I saying that fans are "stupid", but I do hope that through reading this blog, some fans appreciate their skill and contribution.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm sure you're aware that your average stereotypical PSL targetman is a foreigner, and this cannot be a solution (except of course a short term one for a coach trying to save his job!). Take Parker for example: with better development he would be an outstanding player, but coaches are generally happy to get by on what a player brings, always with an eye on the transfer window when things dont work out. My point about fans not being stupid is only in reference to the fact that they know what they want, and as I always argue they are right in that regard (except when they boo of course, which is pretty low IMO). They want to be entertained, and they deserve to be entertained. Fans are the conscience of the game, and any club that puts them last do so at their own peril. The expectations of the fans reflect the culture within which the game is played, and it is the duty of those in charge to ensure that they meet those expectations in the most efficient way. The same will apply to the mentality of local players; they are raised in a culture that places a certain emphasis on entertainment value. This is why coaches for example cannot simply import foreign methods and expect players to carry them out and be successful. A few examples come to mind but history will be the judge of that. Scara Ngobese comes up often as an example but if it were not for the brilliance of Mbesuma at the time he would have swept the boards with individual awards, and the Chiefs fans were quick to voice their disapproval if he elaborated too much on the ball, so they cannot be accused of only caring about shibobos. It is also significant that Ngobese played probably his best football under Dumitru, who is always making the point about developing the natural talents of local players, and the need for coaching methods that recognize the unique attributes locals have. Needless to say, your point re. target men is taken in so far as the modern game is all about quick results, and less about the long term.
DeleteYip, the average target man is a foreigner. This also might be because of how scouting is done and what they are looking for. A young target man might get lost in the system. Parker example is on point. As far as fans knowing what they want, I disagree. If you hate target men, for example, one or two goals here and there should not result in total 360-turn where fans are all mimicking his celebration and singing his praises. As far as "culture within the game goes" judging by the amount of foreign coaches who have graced our shores, especially at crowd pullers like the Chiefs and Pirates, one cant help but think that culture and entertaining the fans has been high up the list of priorities (think the German coach, Ernst Middendorp), but that's a subject for a blog of its own, haha). As far as mentality of local players goes, I included the picture of Phil Masinga specifically as a reference to the 1996 team, a team which for many will always be the benchmark for all SA teams, in terms of entertainment value and success). That team had Shaun Bartlett and Masinga, with Pollen Ndlanya later knocking on the door. Also had Linda Buthlelezi and Eric Tinklers, not exactly the picture of beautiful football. It had a bit of everything; the point being that as much as SA produces many short, tricky players like your "Shows" Moshoeus of this world, we are a diverse nation with bigger players from white and coloured communities and from the a sprinkling from the black population too. To say the inclusion of a target man is more about quick results than long term is incorrect in my opinion. Our dislike of the target man is almost similar to some English fans' insistence of kick-and-rush tactics and "bravery" being the ingredients to success - this mindset resulting in most Joe Cole- or Jack Wilshere-type players not making it through to professional levels in previous generations because of the national mindset. How many Phil Masinga's or Big-Johnnie white kids don't make it at trials because "he's not so good with the ball at his feet". Even Mark Bacthelor, much-hated player, played for the mighty Pirates team, Chiefs, Sundowns, and Swallows at a time where our focus on style was still huge. Anyways back to the main point, modern tactics are rarely focused on the extreme side of any view (except for Barca and Spain, maybe). Even the Samba Kings, Brazil, have in recent times taken a more European look, even taking a more defensive approach at the recent World cup. Italy have moved away for sometime from catenaccio tactics but are not exactly going for all-out tiki-taka. There is also mindset-shift in the German and English game happening. To try imitate the Spanish model may work but like with most teams in the world, we should not lean to the extreme left or right of any philosophy and SA fans should appreciate skill required by a target man to do his work while allowing your Jerry Skhosanas and Mark Williams of this world to shine. This is not to crush your viewpoint, I like it when somebody offers a different perspective, and we may agree to disagree. Hopefully, I managed to reply to every point you raised. This discussion clearly requires a long chat involving an exchange of ideas of how the local game should grow and evolve.
DeleteFair points
Delete