Yadah admit in-house fighting
NEWBOYS Yadah FC have admitted they are facing huge in-house challenges after the team suffered probably the worst defeat in the history books of the modern Premiership with the 7-2 humiliation by lowly Bantu Rovers at Luveve at the weekend.
The PSL newcomers, who had flattered to deceive with their sprightly performances in the opening matches of the marathon, have now lost two games in a row since giants Dynamos halted their five-match unbeaten run last week.
Yadah lost 1-0 to Dynamos and the club owner Prophet Walter Magaya, who is notorious for interfering with team selection, was angered by the result leading to the suspension of the coach Jairos Tapera, his two assistants Thomas Ruzive and Themba Sibanda.
But the trip to Bantu Rovers manifested a deeper discord that could harm good prospects in their maiden season. Apparently the club owner, who also doubles as technical director, and his coaching department are at loggerheads largely over team selection with the prophet also claiming that the bad patch they experienced recently was because his advice was not being heeded. As a result Tapera and his assistants were sidelined for the trip to Bulawayo with the side virtually going into battle without a commander as team manager Munyaradzi Sinani, medic Victor Katsande and physiotherapist Mike Mavhura were the only technical officials responsible.
The status of the technical department was not clear by yesterday with indications that Tapera could have been sacked before the Bantu Rovers match.
The former Young Warriors coach could not conduct his duties last week as the team had to wait for the prophet to return from Cape Town where he had a crusade. As a result the side was hopelessly ill-prepared for the match after training for only two days.
However, the club’s chairman Everson Chatambudza said the challenges that they are facing are not insurmountable and promised they will bounce back. He said the defeat had nothing to do with a depleted technical bench.
“I am sure the team had a game-plan in place. It’s just that those guys (coaches) did not travel because of a small internal problem that we are resolving.
“But they are still part and parcel of the set up. If there is anything new we will hold a press conference or publish a statement. So nothing is official at the moment.
“I also don’t think their absence had anything to do with the result because they were part and parcel of the preparations for this game.
“The problem is that the guys trained for two days before they departed for Bulawayo. As you would know the technical director was out of the country and only returned last week.
“So the team trained on Wednesday and Thursday with the Technical Director before the departure on Friday morning.
“Obviously after losing our previous match, there were bound to be a few changes. So some new tactics were introduced but it was unfortunate the guys probably did not have enough time to muster the new things.
“I am sure there isn’t anything huge that we need to do to get back to our good form but only to go back and try and must those things,” said Chatambudza.
However, an audio circulating on social media yesterday purported that Prophet Magaya had made the decision to sideline the coaches because they were not sticking to the instruction he gave them.
The recording also confirmed the bickering in the team selection. Magaya said the coach had disregarded his advice when they went to Chapungu two weeks ago and had to scramble for a point in the 1-1 draw which preceded the 0-1 loss to Dynamos.
Yadah started the season in flying style and were unbeaten in their first five games. They have now dropped to 10th place on the log standings with nine points from seven outings.
Magaya, who appears to be addressing congregants in the audio, confirmed that Tapera has been sidelined indefinitely together with his assistants for insubordination. The controversy centred around the fielding of Tatenda Dzumbunu against the “prophetic word” with the youthful midfielder getting hauled out just before half-time in the match against DeMbare.
“He is no longer with the team, I told him go back to your house,” said Prophet Magaya to an uproar of approval. “If he is going to come back he will come back after I am certain that he is not going to play me like that.
“He did it at Chapungu. I’m giving him instructions to play this player here and play that player there; he goes to Chapungu, he swaps them.
“I’m asking, the guys are saying prophet the game couldn’t flow very well. How come? I was with you the whole week, why are you saying the game didn’t flow very well? They said it was different; one of the players came to me and said we did not have a left back and a right back. I said what do you mean? He said he exchanged them. Yet this consists my name.
“Play this player and that player, he says no I had a dream. What made me to fire him with the assistants is that when he was saying I had a dream you were listening. That’s what made me to say to the assistants please go home. You were listening to a coach who is saying I had a dream whilst you assistants I came with you all the way from Division Two.
“You know how spiritual these games are and you listen to someone who is saying I had a dream and then you take his dream over my prophetic word.
“The funny part about the whole story about his dream is the young man that he fielded saying I had a dream is the one who destroyed us, right? When he took him out of the team he said to the young man I don’t want to see you again.
“. . . He felt it that I have done a mistake, just during the game. He is now firing the young man to say go back home yet the young man is a good player but was not supposed to play. Simple instructions,” said Magaya.