Chaos at Baroka makes taxi rank look like an exemplary well-organised outfit
Picture an inebriated ringmaster trying to force his head into the gaping mouth of a twitchy lion and you have the closest description to Baroka Football Club’s seemingly relentless path to self-destruction.
The above might sound like hyperbole, but believe me folks, whoever coined the phrase “expect the unexpected” must surely have had the Limpopo club in mind.
Their seven-month stay in the premiership has been marked by so much pandemonium that the basement side’s poor performances on the pitch are only matched by chaotic administration that makes Noord taxi rank look like a model of professionalism.
They have continued to push coaches in and out of the revolving door with such alarming regularity that we never know which trainer will turn up on match days. This is no exaggeration! Hell, early this week, we woke up to the news that they have once again tinkered with their technical team and Milton Dlamini has now been appointed as joint-head coach to work alongside the eccentric Kgoloko Thobejane.
Seriously, keeping up with their numerous coaching changes is enough to make your head spin.
Thobejane himself was out in the cold for weeks and was reinstated to the hot seat in February following the suspension of his successor Jacob Sakala, assistant coach Edward Williams and technical director Mark Harrison.
It was suggested the trio were suspended for apparently refusing to sign a letter assuring they would win the team’s next four matches.
The four matches in question were tough encounters against Bidvest Wits‚ Polokwane City‚ Cape Town City and Kaizer Chiefs.
But in keeping with the chaos around the club, Baroka chairman Khurishi Mphahlele issued his own rebuttal and strongly denied that he gave Sakala an ultimatum to win four matches or face scrutiny.
Mphahlele told Business Day that it was actually Sakala himself who asked for four matches to turn things round at the basement club after a 2-1 defeat to Chippa United and following a goalless draw with Platinum Stars.
Mind you, Sakala was only appointed in January after replacing the selfsame Thobejane in a merry-go-round of note.
Small wonder then that Baroka have only managed to win two games all season and now have 10 matches remaining to somehow pull the rabbit out of the hat or face a quick return to the land whence they came.
Their remaining matches should give them nightmares because they will have to find these points in tough outings against Kaizer Chiefs, SuperSport United, Free State Stars, Maritzburg United, Orlando Pirates, Bloemfontein Celtic, Mamelodi Sundowns, Golden Arrows, Highlands Park and Ajax Cape Town.
But how on earth did the wheels come off in such spectacular fashion?
It was only a few months ago that the Limpopo soccer outfit had the neutrals among us blowing whistles when it was promoted to the top flight in one of domestic football’s real-life fairy tales.
This is a club that carved out a deserved reputation as giant killers in cup competitions when it was still campaigning in the lower tier and the romantics hoped that this fearlessness would have a fitting platform when the side ascended to the top flight.
Thobejane, who led them to promotion, could not stop holding forth whenever he came within 100m of a microphone.
At one point, he even vowed to win the league title.
While even Baroka’s most fanatical supporters did not believe his outlandish declarations, the club was expected at least to make an impression and pull off a few surprises along the way.
Their descent into ignominy is truly disappointing because their wins over the likes of Chiefs in cup competitions gave the impression that they were not afraid to go toe to toe with the more fancied sides.
They will need to get their act together fast because at the rate they are going, no one will shed a tear when their coffin is inevitably lowered into the ground in a few weeks.