Flag flying at half mast at Naturena
Not just Komphela must go, but some Chiefs players too
● On a gloomy, misty, cold Thursday morn ing, an Alsatian barked at this journalist when he emerged from his jalopy at the parking venue adjacent to the Naturena Village.
The German Shepherd guards the sheep that graze in the open field next to the headquarters of Kaizer Chiefs, where flags are flying at half-mast.
Head of the village, Kaizer Motaung, must derive more joy from sheep than the playing pack. And the dog has more bark than the players have bite — a tragic reality for almost three years now.
Insomnia must be a constant companion for Motaung, and it is not difficult to imagine that even remedies such as counting sheep have failed to cure sleep deprivation precipitated by the clouds of uncertainty and helplessness that continue to hover over Naturena. Chiefs being lambs to the slaughter for three seasons? Unheard of! Unprecedented!
The usually amiable Motaung declined a request for an interview.
“Mr Motaung says this is a bad week for an interview because things are quite hectic at the moment,” responded his personal assistant Sophia Lebusa.
Tales have been told of how Motaung left FNB a man mightily miffed by a showing of absolute alacrity.
The goalless draw against Bloemfontein Celtic was a disheartening horror display by not-so Glamour Boys devoid of determination and bereft of soul.
Worse was to come, in the form of the 3-0 defeat against Chippa United, leaving the Naturena natives restless on the terraces. Violent, in fact.
On the day, Chiefs were a dishevelled bunch of bodies dishing out an insipid, innocuous display for a beleaguered coach, much to the chagrin of the few fans who bothered to show up.
If Motaung left the Celtic match miffed, he must have been partly paralysed — at least in mind and soul — when Chiefs collapsed to Chippa (who completed a double over Chiefs). Both games were at home, the same venue where they were insipid against AmaZulu and Lamontville Golden Arrows. Factor in Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns. Free State Stars and Bidvest Wits held them to 1-1 stalemates. That is 12 points dropped at home. In each season Komphela’s Chiefs have had 13, 11 and 12 draws.
Woe unto Komphela, a man who — unless he pulls the unthinkable by winning the Nedbank Cup — will have the ignominy of being the first Chiefs coach not to scoop any silverware in three seasons. It’s a dubious distinction to visit on oneself.
Komphela didn’t face any of the cameras and microphones from the media corps in attendance on Thursday and perhaps he has earned the respite after months of facing considerable pressure from the club’s increasingly frustrated supporters.
Such has been the pressure on Komphela that it would not be a complete exaggeration to suggest that perhaps he watches his blood pressure levels more than he pays attention to the Chiefs scoreline these days.
While in the past Motaung has fended off criticism of Komphela by declaring to this journalist that “Steve is a soldier for Chiefs”, he must suspect that there is a coaching problem at the club, a badge of dishonour for Komphela.
“During the review, we noted that we bolstered the team and brought some good players, but things have not gone our way,” he said in a statement.
Sundowns turned their fortunes by bolstering their bench with the best brains in the business on both the bench and on the field. The result? Six trophies in Pitso Mosimane’s five seasons.
Pirates stole part of those brains, with Rhulani Mokwena joining Milutin Sredojevic in the Bucs dugout. They are reinvigorating Pirates from the washed-up ragged rug they were last season. They are far from being a
flying carpet this term but tell-tale signs of recovery are evident.
Motaung is at his wits’ end. The degree of disaster at his club has left him scratching his chiskop searching for answers.
Komphela has reached a cul-de-sac. His tenure won’t extend beyond the remaining four matches.
In 86 Premier Soccer League games under his tutelage, Chiefs have won 33, lost 17 and drawn 36. In his maiden season they finished fourth (46 points), fifth last term (50 points) and currently occupy fourth with 39 points ahead of this afternoon’s encounter against cellar dwellers Platinum Stars at FNB Stadium.
Motaung must ameliorate the untenable situation that has enveloped the Amakhosi faithful in an age of anger.
Who will raise Chiefs from the rubble? In January Chiefs announced the appointment of technical adviser Rob Hutting from Holland. We were told that Hutting would play an advisory role and help with the coordination of the two technical teams, working with Komphela and his counterparts in the youth development.
The impact of Hutting’s influence has been largely minuscule if not downright negligible. That appointment was for six months with the view to extending his stay with the club.
Hutting is already part of team preparations. He has surveyed the lay of the land and his time in the country has made him conversant with players and the approach of the game in this neck of the woods.
This scenario screams Komphela successor in waiting. Stars’ incumbent Luc Eymael has been mentioned in the same sentence as Chiefs in some quarters. But, but, but . . .
It was the manner in which they were defeated: the performance was the most diabolical we’ve seen of Chiefs all season. There have been some dizzy displays but Saturday takes the cake.
That Chiefs have been bereft of imagination and innovation is the unembellished truth. That some players need to follow Komphela to the exit is indisputable. More than a coaching change must be effected for Chiefs to get an Alsatian-like bark and bite back.
Mr Motaung says this is a bad week for an interview because things are quite hectic at the moment Sophia Lebusa Kaizer Motaung’s personal assistant