Poor start, what poor start, asks Solinas?
Since Stuart Baxter departed three years ago, the alarm bells started ringing about the ageing squad
● Most people supporting Kaizer Chiefs are undoubtedly mad about the worst-ever start the club has had in any season thus far. But the man expected to be most concerned appears to be oblivious to the unfolding calamity ... at least for now.
Giovanni Solinas thinks he’s still on track and it’s early days for anyone to press panic buttons even though Chiefs have thrown away nine points in four league ties.
The problem at Chiefs, though, doesn’t start and end with Solinas alone.
Since Stuart Baxter departed three years ago, the alarm bells started ringing about the ageing squad and the need to bolster the team with players who can make an immediate impact.
If you think about a player who’s been signed by Chiefs this season, only Khama Billiat springs to mind.
However, Solinas is so far failing to find the perfect mix for Billiat and the current team in order to deliver the results.
He’s defended his lame start, even looking proud in using his predecessor Steve Komphela’s words that “the league is not a sprint, but a marathon”.
But even if you’re in a marathon, you stay within striking distance so that you’re ready to pounce. So far Chiefs cannot be put in that category, unless you’ re Solinas.
“We create a lot of chances and everything is perfect,” that’s how Solinas responded after their 0-0 draw against a 10-man Maritzburg United in Pietermaritzburg on Friday.
“Only we need to put the ball into the net, but I don’t want to complain about my players because they are doing a good job.”
A good job, really? Solinas must be on something to really want anyone to believe that after the worst start the club has had in the PSL era.
The only time his players “did a good job” was in the MTN8 last-eight match where they beat Free State Stars 3-0, thanks largely to the efforts of midfielder Siphelele Ntshangase, who had a great impact in that match.
The big problem for Solinas is that he is yet to find his attacking formula and the players to implement it. He changes his attacking team far too often, trying new combinations to play alongside Leonardo Castro and Billiat — his two main men up front.
The one thing. though, Solinas has got horribly wrong is the position he’s deployed Ntshangase in. He wants Ntshangase to almost fetch and carry as Willard Katsande does in a central midfield role. But Ntshangase is not that type of a player.
A 4-4-1-1 formation may be better for Ntshangase where he could play right behind Castro with a greater opportunity to deliver those final passes.
So far Solinas is seeing that role being better suited to players like Pule Ekstein and Kabelo Mahlasela on the wings.
The result has been a comedy of errors when in comes to finishing, with even Billiat looking frustrated and average at times.