Ngobe paints a depressing picture of the state of local football

Orlando Pirates legend Dumisani Ngobe (right) has put some of the blame on former Bucs coach Muhsin Ertugral, after Pirates missed out on the top eight for the first time in the Premier Soccer League era.

“Not to badmouth anyone but Ertugral’s departure affected the team negatively, he left knowing it would be difficult to find another coach.”

Pirates were forced to make other plans when Ertugral resigned in dramatic fashion in a post-match interview on live television in November following a 6-1 drubbing by SuperSport United at the Mbombela Stadium.

He jumped ship, leaving Agusto Palacios to steer the ship to calmer waters on an interim basis before Kjell Jonevret was appointed the new coach towards the end of February. While Jonevret has guided Pirates to the Nedbank Cup final, he was unable to get them into the top eight in the league.

“When Kjell Jonevret took over he could have helped the team get into the top eight but he didn’t do much to help. The players also didn’t help the situation, they just gave up and left it to the next coach to help them fix their problems and now they are out of the top eight,” said a disappointed Ngobe.

After finishing well off the pace, some 27 points behind champions Bidvest Wits, it is clear that Pirates will need more than just quality players to compete next season.

“Some of the playing personnel he (Jonevret) used this season will still be in the team next season, so they might struggle again. My concern is there are no players on the market to help change the situation. Locally you can’t find players. You will have to go elsewhere.”

Ngobe questioned the conduct of players on the field as well as their passion for the game, with the former Mpumalanga Black Aces man saddened by the sale of Aces’ status to John Comitis at the end of last season. The sale of the team has left the province of Mpumalanga without a team representing it in top-flight football.

“Someone said football is a business. It’s all about ‘can I get the team into to the PSL from the National First Division, so that I can pocket 10/20 million’. The passion is gone, no one is passionate any more, we have lost people that loved the game,” added Ngobe.