Chiefs’ coaching records in last 5 seasons
Hunt has been appointed to try to revive the fortunes of Amakhosi
Gavin Hunt has been appointed as the latest coach to try to revive the fortunes of Kaizer Chiefs, hoping to end the longest barren run of success in the club’s illustrious 50-year history.
Since the glory days of Stuart Baxter’s reign, when the Amakhosi won two league titles in three years, it has been a tale of woe for the Chiefs faithful, who have had to watch on as Mamelodi Sundowns became the dominant force in the local game.
SuperSport.com takes a look at the records of the coaches who have been in charge of the team since Baxter left with a league title under his belt at the end of the 2014/15 campaign.
STEVE KOMPHELA
P 114, W 47, D 42, L 25, GF 137, GA 98, Win% 41,22
Chiefs owner Kaizer Motaung had long said he does not trust local coaches with his club, but brought in one of his former players in Komphela, who had enjoyed success with Free State Stars and Maritzburg United, helping those two clubs punch above their weight.
And Motaung certainly backed his man even when results were not going to plan, with Komphela coming close to completing his three-year contract before fan violence after a 2-0 Nedbank Cup loss to Free State Stars in Durban saw him resign.
His win ratio is below the average for Chiefs in the entire last five seasons, and he will point to too many draws as an achilles heel for the team.
PATRICK MABEDI
P 3, W 2, D 0, L 1, GF 5, GA 4, Win% 66,67
Mabedi was asked to take the team for the final three games of the 2017/18 season and, after starting with a 3-1 loss to Lamontville Golden Arrows, recorded wins over Maritzburg United and Ajax Cape Town.
GIOVANNI SOLINAS
P 22, W 7, D 8, L 7, GF 29, GA 21, Win% 31,81
Former Free State Stars coach Solinas was a surprise pick by Chiefs, with the Italian having done reasonably in his two stints with Ea Lla Koto. But he showed nothing to suggest he was ready for a job as big as the Soweto giants.
Players seemed bemused at his training methods and it simply never worked out for him, becoming clear within a matter of months that he would struggle to get the team to fire.
He was axed after a dismal 2-1 loss to tiny Zanzibar side Zimamoto in the CAF Confederation Cup. Though Chiefs had secured the tie with a 4-0 win in the first leg, it was still one of the most embarrassing defeats ever for SA on the continent.
ERNST MIDDENDORP
P 60, W 29, D 15, L 16, GF 80, GA 59, Win% 48,33
Middendorp was again a surprise pick as he returned for a second spell at Naturena, but the thinking was that he knew the local game and could slip easily into the hot seat without the need to adapt to the PSL.
It took some time for him to get going and implement his long-ball style of football, and it is fair to say the fans never quite took to him.
But when he led the team to 11 wins in their first 13 Absa Premiership matches this season, it seemed he could do no wrong as their potential title challengers all stuttered along.
However, things began to unwind into the new year as the side ultimately let a 13-point lead at the top of the table slip and won only two of their eight matches to surrender the title on the final day of the campaign.
From that moment on it was inevitable he would leave, even though his win percentage was better than the average for the entire period.
OVERALL
P 199, W 85, D 65, L 49, GF 251, GA 182, Win% 42,71
In the 199 matches in all competitions since the start of the 2015/16 season, Chiefs have a win ratio of just 42,71 percent, which would amount to 13 wins out of 30 matches in a single league campaign.
That is generally a number that sees sides finish in positions four to six on the league table and that is probably a true reflection of where Chiefs have been — at least three, but sometimes more, teams better than them in every campaign.
Even this past season when they got so close to the title, they won only six of their final 17 league games, form that ordinarily would see them battle to make the top eight.