John Maduka has returned to Royal AM, a club he enjoyed some success with.
Maduka guided Thwihli Thwahla to a third place finish last season, which led to qualification for the CAF Confederations Cup.
But to everyone’s surprise, the 52 year old parted ways with Royal AM, to join their struggling neighbours Maritzburg United, unfortunately things didn’t work out for him with Maritzburg, as he was sacked earlier this season due to poor results.
As he returns for another stint with Royal AM, the big question is, Can he continue with the success he enjoyed with the club?
What kind of a team is he inheriting from Abram Nteo?
Royal AM are 13th on the log, having managed only six wins, three draws, and a whopping nine defeats in eighteen games.
They have scored nineteen goals, and conceded a worrying twenty-six.
What is his immediate task?
With twenty-six goals conceded, which is an average of 1.44 goals per match, Maduka’s immediate task will be to work on the team’s defense.
Royal AM tend to concede a lot of good scoring opportunities to their opponents, which shows in their expected goals against (xGA) stats, which is 1.43 per match, and they do get punished.
They do not have a clear defensive organization strategy during their defensive transitions.
They always seem to be caught disorganized, and Maduka will have to find solutions for their defensive woes.
With the ball, Thwihli Thwahla are not bad at all, they average 53% ball possession per match, their expected goals for (xGF) is a healthy 1.34, with an average of 1.06 goals per match.
If they can shut the back door, Royal AM can find themselves moving up the table.
What may work to Maduka’s advantage?
Maduka returns to a club that has not changed much since his departure.
He is familiar with the players and the systems the club operates under, that means he will not have many problems hitting the ground running.
Royal AM boasts an experienced and talented squad, he will not have much trouble implementing his tactics and get MaMkhize’s boys back to winning ways.
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