Can Stars dodge a league bullet?
COACH HAS TAKEN A BIG GAMBLE ON CLUB FUTURE
The dictionary describes Russian roulette as a lethal game of chance in which a player places a single round in a revolver, spins the cylinder, places the muzzle against his head and pulls the trigger.
It would be difficult not equating in figurative terms the purchase by coach Roger de Sa and a Cape consortium of bottom Premiership club Platinum Stars for a reputed R22 million with the risky sentiments associated with Russian roulette.
The basic franchise of a Premier League club today is reckoned to be in the region of R50 million – and much more in some instances – which suggests that the new Stars’ owners have come up with a bargain.
But offsetting this more than somewhat is the dire reality that Stars are not only bottom of the 16-team table, but are also five points behind nearest rivals Ajax Cape Town and facing relegation.
If Stars are indeed relegated to the National First Division, the value of their PSL franchise would plummet dangerously with as much as R15 million or more of the initial outlay biting the dust and even leaving the club in limbo.
Former Bafana Bafana goalkeeper and a seasoned PSL coach with clubs like Wits, Orlando Pirates and Ajax Cape Town, De Sa has the credentials to know what the new owners are doing and, what is more, he is not known as someone who rushes in where angels fear to tread.
So it can be assumed that the Stars coach believes the club has a fighting chance of avoiding relegation and going on to bigger and better things.
But there are also other obstacles Stars will have to overcome if the future is to emerge as a football land of milk and honey, for while the PSL has sanctioned the basic change in ownership of the club as a formality, not as straightforward will be the expected request for a change in name and/or home venue.
Meanwhile, Stars begin the challenging task of avoiding relegation tomorrow with a tricky away game against Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth – and with the bullet from the game of Russian roulette pointing ominously at their temples.