Downs grappling with the big Brockie question
JEREMY BROCKIE is a square peg in a round at hole at Mamelodi Sundowns, he doesn’t fit. But the technical team has told him not to change, as that will benefit the club in the long run.
The New Zealand forward has endured a frustrating start to his career at Sundowns since his switch from SuperSport United in January. Brockie has yet to find the back of the net for the Brazilians despite making 13 appearances in all competitions. The problem is that Sundowns’ game model doesn’t suit Brockie, who is a poacher and a deadly finisher. But he needs to be in the box to be effective. He needs crosses from the flanks, something Sundowns doesn’t do as their gameplan revolves around their passing game, with short passes and fast movements.
“There are two sides to getting to know each other. It’s me getting to understand the way Sundowns play and how they attack. There’s also the players understanding how I play,” Brockie said. “The coaching staff has tried to introduce how I play to the players as well, but still keep Sundowns’ style of play. They’ve said to me during training sessions, ‘don’t try and be like a Sundowns’ player, we brought you here because of what you bring to the team’. What’s been tricky is finding the balance between playing my own game and mixing that with how Sundowns play.”
Brockie hasn’t been successful in finding that balance, which has seen him try to be a player he isn’t, just to fit in.
“When you arrive at a new club you’re so eager to impress,” Brockie said. “You look at the players around you and you want to be like a Mshishi (Themba Zwane) or Vila (Sibusiso Vilakazi), come short and get the ball. My strength is being in the box and getting into the end of things. When I come short and get involved, that takes away my strength. You’ll see me more around the box this season and maybe not so much involved in the build-up play but getting on the end of things and hopefully scoring goals.”
Brockie could start doing that in Lome today at 3pm South African time in the Caf Champions League clash with AS TogoPort. Sundowns have to make up ground after only collecting two points in their first two matches in their worst start in the group stage of the continent’s premier knockout competition. The Champions League could help Brockie find himself as some of the pitches Sundowns will play in don’t allow their passing game and some of the opponents go toe-to-toe with the Brazilians, which could force them to resort to route-one football as an alternative.
“You have to adapt when you play in Africa,” Brockie said. “The game against Horoya showed that. The conditions, the pitch and the crowd were all against us. Sometimes you just have to do what you need to do to get the result. It’ll be the same thing in Togo. The pitch is artificial which brings its own challenges. At times you might have to adapt your style of play a little bit. Hopefully I can get into the starting XI and make an impact in the club this season.” LONDON’s transport bosses temporarily renamed an underground station in honour of England soccer team manager Gareth Southgate after the team flew home following their run to the last four of the World Cup.
England enjoyed their best World Cup performance in 28 years under Southgate’s leadership, reaching the semi-finals and narrowly missing a spot in the final, losing to Croatia after extra-time.
Southgate proved popular with England’s fans for helping create a renewed sense of optimism and after the team returned home on Sunday Transport for London (TfL) rebranded Southgate underground station in North London as the “Gareth Southgate” station for 48 hours.
“We have to celebrate the achievement, it’s important,” said Patricia Gomez, 44, who travelled from Morden in south London on her day off yesterday to get a photograph with the new sign.
“(Gareth) was awesome, he gave the team motivation, he made them work as a family.”
After winning the tournament on Sunday, France also saw similar tributes on the Paris Metro, where six stops have been temporarily renamed.
Southgate’s popularity led many fans to copy his fashion style during matches of wearing a waistcoat as he watched from the dugout. One retailer said sales of waistcoats had soared during the tournament while the day of the semi-final clash with Croatia was dubbed “Waistcoat Wednesday”.
“Maybe we’ll get a statue next,” said Steve Ingall from TfL.
England captain Harry Kane is confident he can recover from the fatigue of a taxing World Cup campaign as he aims to return to action in Tottenham Hotspur’s opening Premier League fixture against Newcastle United on August. 11.
After 48 appearances across all competitions for Tottenham last term, the 24-yearold forward continued his prolific form at the World Cup, scoring six goals in as many matches to lead England to the semi-finals and win the Golden Boot award.
Kane has less than a month of downtime but is already focused on a stellar return for Spurs.
“I want to be playing in four weeks’ time,” Kane told British media. “We’ll have to talk to the gaffer (Mauricio Pochettino) at Spurs. It will be a couple of weeks (off ).
“The most important thing is mentally (to be ready). Physically, this has been our pre-season. With the season starting soon it will be hard, but that’s something we have to deal with.” – Reuters