It’s amazing how the pendulum has swung in SA football in recent years. But it’s no surprise given that some professional clubs, including Soweto giants Kaizer Chiefs, have chosen to stick to outdated ways of conducting business rather than move with the trends of the modern game.
That Chiefs are going into the MTN8 semifinal as THE underdog, is one exampleof how a once successful club can sink to its lowest ebb when it fails to adapt to the moment.
, While the club has been talking up “rebuilding” since the end of a disastrous season in May, the reality is that they haven’t done enough in the market to convince football fans that they are serious about challenging for league honours.
Mamelodi Sundowns have at least three players in each position and they are still going to the market to strengthen their squad. Orlando Pirates are rebuilding as the season goes, signing more attacking players in the last month after realising they were weak upfront. The two clubs leave Chiefs exposed when looking at the lack of depth in their squad.
Even with clear evidence that they were extremely thin in key positions, Chiefs have offloaded more players (13) than they signed up (nine).
When Chiefs take on AmaZulu on Sunday, the Usuthu bench will probably be made up of players who could easily make it into the Chiefs starting XI, while Arthur Zwane’s team will look like they had to do some patchwork — in the defence, midfield and, in fact, everywhere.
This brings up the question of whether Chiefs’ off-season recruitment was about rebuilding or simply reducing the salary bill by firing high-earning but underperforming stars such as Bernard Parker, Leonardo Castro, Lebohang Manyama, Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Daniel Cardoso and Samir Nurkovic.
One could also ask whether this failure to rebuild is entirely of the technical team’s making. Is it not rather the fundamental problem with the club: that its commercial success and continued popularity has made its management lethargic over the years, failing to keep up with the PSL and the football world in general when it comes to putting together strong technical teams, recruiting players and developing juniors.
It was a brave decision to hire Zwane and his assistant Dillon Sheppard, a clear change in attitude for a club whose chairman Kaizer Motaung once claimed the job was just too big for local coaches. But the coaches have not been given the support of a strong technical team, with only Muzi Maluleke brought in as a sports scientist and strength and conditioning coach. Maluleke, affectionally known as “Muz Monster”, is in reality just your normal physical trainer.
Player signings have not matched the ambitious goals propagated by sporting director Kaizer Motaung Junior and Zwane soon after Stuart Baxter was fired before the end of last season.
Yes, Sundowns take all the best players, but what has happened to Chiefs is evidence of poor scouting, lack of profiling new players and the absence of a long-term plan. Pule Mmodi, Ndayithethwa Ndlondlo or Victor Letsoalo were never on Sundowns’ radar, just the type of players needed at Naturena.
In the past four seasons, too many players have been signed only for them to be prematurely released from their contracts. Left-back Sibusiso Mabiliso, signed from AmaZulu before the start of last season, is a case in point. He was released despite not being given enough game time to show what he’s capable of, with Zwane and the club perhaps leaning on Baxter’s comments about the players’ basic understanding of the game.
Having come short in their attempt to revamp the club, it’s clear that Motaung will have to dig deep into his pockets to bring the right players to the club. Failure to do that will lead to many fingers pointing to the usual scapegoat, the head coach — a mistake Chiefs management resorted to with the five coaches before Zwane.
Earlier this week, former Bafana Bafana coach Pitso Mosimane spoke of the importance of being given a clear mandate when one accepts an offer to coach a football club. “It’s not about taking this coach out and bringing this one in,” he said.
“You need an overhaul. It’s a project; and it’s about what do you want? What do you have on the market for the local game and what do you have on the market for Caf? It’s easy to come No 2 (in the DStv Premiership) and go to the Champions League. And then what?”
It is those types of questions that Zwane and the Chiefs hierarchy have to answer — and do it more honestly than they have ever done before.
If Chiefs don’t do that then we may as well just accept that this famous club is nowhere near regaining its former glory. It may well be the start of its demise.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.