Kaizer Chiefs continued their poor start to the PSL season with another deeply disappointing display against relegation favorites Maruma Gallants, a team who are in all reality newcomers to the world of PSL football in terms of history, experience and financial muscle. A 1 -1 draw was not what the Kaizer Chiefs fans were expecting, nor is it what their faithful deserve.
This results begs many questions. Who is to blame for Chiefs poor start? Is coach Arthur Zwane right for Chiefs? How long will Zwane last at Chiefs? Is the Chiefs team good enough? Does Zwane deserve more time and can Chiefs afford to give him more time? Either way, answers are needed now!
When you look at the game it tells the story well; that Chiefs were or are no better than the inexperienced Gallants. While this was technically a home game for Gallants, they in reality were playing away, after moving the game controversially from their home ground, the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, to the Royal Bafokeng Stadium, 620 kilometers away in the North West Province. Only in South Africa is this considered normal but that’s another story. In reality this was a neutral venue for Chiefs, but with the massive added benefit of huge support. On top of that Gallants were playing under the controversy of their coach, Romain Foiz, walking out due to alleged interference with team selection from management. In addition Chiefs spent the last 30 minutes playing against only 10 men after Gallants had a man sent off and Chiefs goal, which came during this period, definitely had a strong hint of offside when the free kick was taken.
From a possession point of view, Chiefs couldn’t even dominate as the stats showed 49% to 51% in favor of Chiefs and the Amakhosi also only having one more shot on goal, eight versus Gallants seven.
Chiefs coach, Arthur Zwane’s after match comments were full of his usual excuses which boil down to blaming the players for not following instructions, for making the same mistakes they always make, that they are still learning, and that they don’t follow instructions.
That in turn asks many more questions. Why were players signed by the club who, according to the coach are either not good enough to play for Chiefs, or not yet ready to play for Chiefs? If that is so, then who made the decision to sign players who are not in Zwane’s view Kaizer Chiefs standard?
Or are they good enough, but Zwane can’t get his message across to them.
We all want the luxury of having local coaches doing well, and we all wish them the time to do so. However, time is not a readily available commodity in the world of professional football.