ED’S LETTER

Alot of us live in a Fantasy Football world. We are Cinderella managers. From English Premier League Fantasy League to the KICK OFF Fantasy League, the KICK Off Predictor game and the latest PlayStation or Xbox FIFA17 game – we think we know enough of the sport to test our skills on a daily basis. We are Steve Komphelas, Gavin Hunts, Pitso Mosimanes, Eric Tinklers and Stuart Baxters. We are tacticians, transfer mongers, penny-pinchers and strategists. It’s not enough for us to follow the game remotely, we want to make our own purchases, trade Harry Kane for Romelu Lukaku, or Bernard Parker for Gustavo Paez. We want it all. We think we can predict outcomes and we expect to be rewarded for it. It’s years of pent-up aggression at having to sit there and stomach results we have no control over, boiling over into tons of little games and gimmicks that give us some sort of say. But in spite all the data or money we’ve spent playing these games, not a single man or woman can stand up proud and say they predicted the enthralling, topsy-turvy Premier Soccer League season that is about to come to a close. No-one can name an outright winner. The Absa Premiership is at the final stretch and any of five teams – Bidvest Wits, Cape Town City, Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and SuperSport United – can win the league. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it in the domestic league or any other sport for that matter. It’s like a Formula One race where, going into the final lap, there are five drivers that are noseto-rear at each other’s cars, at full speed, trying to pip each other to the chequered flag. Well, that’s what it feels like to be seated watching the close of this year’s league race. Where’s my popcorn? Of the five teams that are vying for the champagne at the end of the season, two have never won the league – that’s staggering. None of the other prominent leagues in the world can provide a finish remotely as thrilling as the one we are about to experience. Chelsea have all but sewn up the Premier League, La Liga is a two-horse race most years and the Bundesliga in a one-trick pony. In Serie A, Juventus are the dominant force at the moment, while in France Monaco, Paris St Germain and Nice are locked in a devil’s three-way. It’s been a rather stop-start season, no thanks to the African Nations Cup and Sundowns’ continental conquests wreaking havoc with the schedule, but there’s intrigue aplenty. Amakhosi’s resurrection, thanks in part to Joseph Molangoane (see page 10) and Gustavo Paez, has helped keep South Africa’s glamour club apace with Wits and City. And it’s players like Molangoane, who has travelled a road laden in booby traps to get to Naturena, who have ignited the second half of the season. You can count Thembinkosi Lorch (see page 16) in there too, even though his stellar contribution hasn’t been enough to bring the Buccaneers close to the title challenge. Wits, of course, have the return of Phakamani Mahlambi to thank for their newfound consistency, while City have had to rely primarily on their captain Lebogang Manyama for inspiration. SuperSport United’s challenge was obviously hampered by talk that their coach, Stuart Baxter, was linked with the Bafana Bafana job. It’s a crazy league we live in and I can’t wait until the teams go into the final corner. We can bring you all the gripping stories, candid interviews, deep analysis of the South African game but even us – with all our 23 years in the game – can never guarantee this kind of photo finish. Can I have a large Coke with that popcorn, please?