LETTERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

I felt when he announced his retirement. Thanks to all the legends. Nation Mabaso, Durban

Bobby Motaung says Kaizer Chiefs supporters are the reason for changing coaches often because of lack of patience. But who hires them in the first place? Why do they hire coaches who don’t meet the requirements? We had mixed fortunes during Hunt’s tenure and they fired him on their own because we understood that the club couldn’t sign players because of the transfer ban imposed by FIFA. They made horrible decisions that cost the team. Zwane tried to play positive football but was let down by the defence’s school-boy errors. He would have never ever played Maart, Mthethwa and Castillo at the same time but was replaced by Ntseki. With the current squad, Zwane would have made progress and ensured continuity had he been given more time. It’s embarrassing to hear of Chiefs’ interest in Nabi after how they handled the whole issue. It exposes their lack of management skills. We need someone with strong presence and personality, player management skills, someone with a clear short-, mediumand long-term plan. Someone with African continental knowledge. Renard comes to mind. Even Ramovic can hold his own at Naturena. Lucky Khunou, Meriting

Quick One-Two’s

I was disturbed by Lucas Radebe’s utterances about his intention to lead SAFA, and then comparing the same SAFA to other organisations in Africa that allow ex-players to lead. As someone we hope to lead this organisation of hopelessness into an era of hope, he must be the first to know that what guides every organisation is its constitution and for him to say what he said, to me, sounded disturbing. If he fought for the constitution to stop favouring its current leadership and favour progress, yes, but don’t make hollow noise. The other thing that confuses me is the EPL and PSL refereeing. How come they differ in a lot of things? A real follower of the game would have seen that. A few examples… An offside player would run with the ball, pass and maybe even score, and only then the flag will be raised in the EPL, yet in the PSL, it is raised immediately. Again, in the EPL, a goal would be celebrated like it’s game over, a substituted player would walk like a bridegroom whilst the referee just watches, a throw-in takes forever, etc., whilst here it’s the opposite with the referee even telling medics treating an injured player how to quickly get that player up even though they’ve got no clue in that field. Not to mention that timekeeping is all they can master. So, if those commentators who always remind us about Monday when issues happen on the field of play, even though they have replays to better inform their audiences, can also learn about the game. Romario Koos Machacha, Emalahleni

Mailula’s agent, who advised him to join the MLS, must be rebuked for being greedy and destroying the player’s blossoming career. The agent knew that the chances of Mailula playing in that league were slim but she nevertheless pushed because the offer was lucrative. Mailula was going to be a regular in Bafana. How can he be selected now because he’s not playing? Agents must sell players in leagues like Belgium, where they’ll play. What’s important is the development of the player, not money, because Mailula is still young. He will secure the bag later in his career. On a different note, congrats to Banyana Ba Style for winning the CAF Women’s Champions League. Peter wa ga Makwela, Klipgat “If you love me, you must also love my dog, a creature which may not always be pleasing to have,” goes the adage. This is with reference to what now seems to be the trend of always blaming the coach for every defeat a team suffers. It always feels good when your team wins, but when they lose, you need to take the good with the bad. If we always want our teams to win, we’ll always use someone as a scapegoat, especially coaches. Sometimes our reasoning is contradictory. A case in point: a contributor in Issue No. 1349 of Soccer Laduma wrote: “I am still not sure why our coach is chopping and changing his selection”, and a few lines further down added that: “The combination of Makgopa and Erasmus is not working for us” and ”Xoki is costing us sometimes”. Towards the end: “Let us be calm and support the team because it is normal for a team to experience a rough patch.” Indeed, irrespective of whether the coach is chopping and changing or not, there is an emotional price to pay for being a sport fanatic. Excitement will sometimes be replaced by agony and disappointment. No team is entitled to please supporters all the time in all aspects. At times, a big dose of luck is needed for success to be achieved. Congrats to Pirates for winning the derby after five league defeats. Up the Bucs! Ephraim Sinxezi, Vanderbijlpark

Lesotho can be viewed as inferior to a number of African giants, but seeing them getting a point away to Nigeria made me happy. In the SADC region, football is improving every day. Lebo Moagi, Reitz, Free State

Do those coaching in SA have a union or association? It’s painful to see coaches losing jobs weekend in, weekend out. Not only that, but sabotaging each other. Some coaches act as opportunists, changing clubs like there’s no tomorrow. It is so painful to see a young coach like Lechesa being sabotaged by Seema, who’s since left Polokwane. Lechesa played a pivotal role in bringing them back to the topflight, then he got sabotaged by an opportunistic who did not last. It’s high time coaches come together and form their union that will support them against unfair dismissal, which seems to be the name of the game. Coaches, learn to support one another rather than stabbing each other in the back. Finally, to coach or “joke” Mammila, know that football is played on the field, not in boardrooms. Your loud mouth will make you an enemy of different supporters and coaches. You are not a coach but a joke, it’s only that your players are hungry to keep Chippa in the elite division. Develop a better way to speak at press conferences to avoid friction between you and other coaches. Enrol for coaching courses because football has evolved. Even if you can say licences are just papers, they give dignity to the league and teams. Mosa “The Blackberry One” Mothobi, via email

While we are applauding Zimbabwe for their spirited effort in the World Cup qualifiers, the draws against Rwanda and Nigeria respectively are not good enough. We understand that the Warriors are coming from a long period of inactivity, playing their matches away from the advantageous home crowd, but let us not allow these excuses to blur our desire to win. The team is in good shape, they only need to be aggressive in front of goal and apply more stamina. Go, Warriors, go! Batsirai Kativu, Johannesburg

The national team is always composed of players from the best teams in the country. What is the best football team in SA right now? Sundowns, as many football fans say, is far better than the national team itself. They can play against any strong national team in Africa and defeat them. Al Ahly, the strongest football team in Africa, has been scared of playing against them as they are convinced that they are now the actual powerhouse in the entire continent. They’ve been the champions of SA football many times. Downs players are not average, even those sitting on the bench. They’ve been the team flying the SA flag high all over the world. Many people outside our borders respect the country of Nelson Mandela and consider it as the nation playing beautiful football because of Sundowns’ Shoeshine & Piano. Therefore, the Bafana coach must take all of these facts into consideration, swallow his pride and eat the beautiful cake (Shoeshine & Piano) which is already cooked for him. In fact, it is always easy to coach a national team in a country in which a national coach is being assisted by excellent local coaches and teams. They invest in players and improve their game before the players are even selected by the national coach. Rest is history! Joao Ngiengo Kimvuana, via email

What Australia did in the Cricket World Cup reminded me of Pirates when they won their only star against ASEC Mimosas in a fully packed stadium courtesy of Legs of Thunder’s goal. When I was still playing for Ga-Maria Peace Brothers FC and we somehow lost a semi-final game, I used to say, “Those opponents must also win the final as we are a very formidable team covered in all positions.” It gave us a consolation and Australia did exactly that after brushing off the Proteas. Travis Head used his head wisely when he demolished the Indian bowlers and silenced the vociferous Indian crowd. Locally, congratulations to Sundowns Ladies. They are on fire and must be very careful ba tla kgama ke lethabo (they will choke with joy). This is too much as we’re talking continental glory here. On a serious note, this is what Dr. Motsepe originally wanted when he purchased the team. The men’s team are only left with the Champions League to seal the Kings of Africa deal and it is only a matter of time. All the best, Yellow Nation! Amos “Tiger” Tshukudu, Ga-Maria