Was Shabba’s goal really the best?

Masuluke stood no chance against the popular Tshabalala

It seemed a great idea for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to give the fans a chance to have their “own” award at this year’s awards dinner, which took place on Monday. As it said when it announced the goal of the season would be decided by public vote, the PSL wanted fans – at most times excluded from decision-making – to be part of the event.

But as with any system involving awards, making fans cast their votes to decide the best goal has its limitations, as we saw with debate that has raged following Siphiwe Tshabalala’s triumph over Oscarine Masuluke in that category.

Kaizer Chiefs’ Tshabalala had two of his strikes in the final list of three, against Baroka’s Masuluke.

Given Shabba’s own popularity, and that of his club, Masuluke always stood little chance, but those of us who saw his goal – an overhead kick at the last minute which rescued a point for Baroka against Pirates last year – thought football sense would prevail.

Not surprisingly, as with most matters in domestic football, it didn’t. Instead, the goal which had the popular vote won against an exquisite, unfamiliar strike which caught world football’s attention.

To be fair to Shabba, he cannot be caught in a crossfire he didn’t initiate. He should be allowed to celebrate his achievement, bestowed on him by fans who cast their votes, in peace.

But for the PSL, this controversy is a chance to reflect on whether, after all, any award should be decided by public vote. Previously, the best goal award formed part of the categories decided by a select panel, and even then it was not without msigivings.

I remember trying to convince a panel on which I sat that Mor Diouf ’s long-range effort for SuperSport against Mamelodi Sundowns, which won him goal of the season in 2013, was not the best of the list we had seen. But I was defeated after some deliberation, arguments and counter-arguments – something which you cannot get from the current situation where fans decided at the click of a button.

It’s not a situation that can be sustained and, as PSL debriefs on where to improve the awards, it should consider devising a more workable system than the public vote.

This one has deep flaws, which would mean popular players, from equally popular teams, would always win.

Imagine if other awards – like coach/player of the season – were decided by popular mandate? What chance could Lebo Manyama of Cape Town City have had of clinching the three gongs he got on Monday?