Kaizer Chiefs goalscorers
Who have been the top 10 marksmen for Chiefs since the start of the National Soccer League in 1985? We reveal all…
The formation of the National Soccer League in 1985 proved an important moment for the local game as football in the country became more organised and proper record-keeping began. Kaizer Chiefs have been a dominant force for much of the time since then and their leading scorers often heralded as true heroes of the local game. KICK OFF’s Nick Said has gone back through the historical records to see who have been Chiefs’ leading scorers over the last 36 years.
10 Donald Khuse 50 Goals
‘Ace’ Khuse joined Chiefs in 1989 from Mamelodi Sundowns, where he had been a leading figure in the mid-to-late 80s, having also previously turned out for Orlando Pirates. He is one of the rare players to have featured for all three of South Africa’s socalled ‘Big Three’, but not unique with the likes of Marc Batchelor and Collins Mbesuma later repeating the feat.
Khuse left Chiefs in 1993 after winning a move to Turkish side Gençlerbirliği, but not before helping them to three league titles and eight major knockout trophies, including the full sweep of the current domestic honours.
He racked up a half-century of goals, netting some crucial ones to boot, including against Moroka Swallows in the final game of the season that helped Chiefs lift the 1989 league title.
Khuse also netted the only goal as Chiefs beat Sundowns in the 1992 BP Top 8 decider, while his best scoring season was in 1991 when he managed 17 goals.
He re-joined Chiefs after his spell in Turkey, but did not have the same influence on the side and retired in 1999.
10 Pollen Ndlanya 50 Goals
Ndlanya’s goals tally at Chiefs was boosted by one massive season when he scored 29 times in the 1998-99 campaign to finish topscorer in the league and claim the Player of the Season prize in South Africa.
It was not enough to fire Chiefs to the title that year as they lost out on goaldifference to Sundowns, but won him a move to Turkey, though he quickly returned and played at AmaZulu and more famously Orlando Pirates.
His first Chiefs goal actually came back in 1992 when he netted in a BP Top 8 quarterfinal win over Fairway Stars, but he battled to get a regular first team place and moved on to Manning Rangers, only to return in 1996.
He scored 10 goals in the transitional season that year, then another 10 in the 1996/97 campaign, before leaving for his first spell in Turkey, only to return and bang in those 29 goals (21 in the league).
9 Trevor Mthimkhulu 52 Goals
Initially a winger, Mthimkhulu was already an established star name in the Chiefs side by the start of the 1985 season and although he did not have any wildly prolific campaigns after that, remained a regular provider of goals for the next eight years.
He was later converted to a full-back, which narrowed his scoring opportunities, but he remained an important part of the side and a huge supplier of assists with his marauding runs down the flank.
His best scoring season was in 1986 when he netted 13 goals in all competitions, a mark beaten only by the prolific Marks Maponyane (21 goals) and Fetsi Molatedi (15).
8 Siphiwe Tshabalala 55 Goals
Chiefs’ most influential player of the last 15 years, ‘Shabba’ captured the imagination of a generation with his incisive wing play and, later on, intelligent use of the ball from a playmaker role.
He was not one for tap-ins, and a list of the DStv Premiership’s best goals of the last decade is bound to feature a number of his strikes, be it from free-kicks or bits of magic in open play.
Tshabalala was part of the Chiefs academy as a youngster but left to later join Free State Stars, where he made his PSL debut. He returned to Naturena in January 2007 and after overcoming an initial injury that sidelined him for six months, hit the ground running.
His first Chiefs goal came against Lamontville Golden Arrows in December 2007 and his last a superb free-kick against Baroka FC in August 2018, almost 11 years later.
He netted in the 2010 Telkom Knockout final as Chiefs defeated Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates 3-0 in an emphatic victory.
Tshabalala never reached double figures in a single season, but came close twice with eight goals in both the 2010-11 and 2016-17 campaigns.
He remains active in South African football having joined AmaZulu for the 2020-21 season.
7 Bernard Parker 56 Goals
Parker is in his 10th season at Chiefs and in his heart of hearts might have hoped for more than the 56 goals he has scored so far, an average of under six per campign.
That is especially true as he has largely been a regular for his entire stay, missing only a handful of games in each year.
Of course, his game is about more than goals, but it will no doubt be nagging him that he has not netted for Chiefs
who is already 25 but is still yet to make his first team debut.
Teenage prospect Bontle Molefe is rising and knocking hard on the door but not yet ready for the number one spot.
“If you ask me, from a Gavin Hunt and Lee Baxter position, I think Chiefs will have two phenomenal keepers next season because Khune is coming back from personal issues which led to him not performing, while Akpeyi has been solid,” suggests retired goalkeeper Shu-Aib Walters.
“Khune has always known that when he plays, he will always be number one and he is now having a challenger in the latter part of his career. If I was Gavin I would say, ‘if you can get Khune a bit cheaper [in terms of wages], since he is no longer the guaranteed first choice, then keep him’.
“If Khune is going to leave I suggest they get in another keeper. They have always had three good keepers over the years, who can all play at any time. If Khune, Akpeyi and Bruce all stay then let it.
“I think Khune has to be played at Chiefs because he remains relevant in Bafana Bafana and will get minutes at his club towards national team camps,” says Walters.
For Brenden Wardle – another retired keeper – there is no need to point fingers at the keepers.
“Sometimes we blame goalkeepers when what is lacking is somewhere further up the pitch,” he argues.
“Without a good defence you end up conceding unnecessary goals. The defence is also playing a role in the goals being conceded at Chiefs. Having played as a keeper myself, I cannot put the blame on the keepers at Chiefs be it Khune or Akpeyi.
“Khune’s performance has dropped in recent times but that shouldn’t be what defines him because his reputation can still carry him up to now. Akpeyi was the best last season. Keepers always make mistakes but that shouldn’t be what defines them. If I was part of the powers that be, I would keep both at the club. People don’t understand how difficult a position that is and once your confidence is gone, then you will make mistakes.
“Rotating keepers is a sign of a lack of trust and what is worse is that this is a transitional phase for the club during which they have to play younger players as they move out the older guys,” says Wardle.
RECOMMENDED SIGNINGS:
The only local keeper that would suit Chiefs if Khune was to leave would be Ronwen Williams, but the chances of that happening are slim.
Defence
The central defensive pairing of Daniel Cardoso and Mulomowandau Mathoho is considered the best of the options that Chiefs have.
Then out wide there is nothing explosive about the options that Chiefs have as they don’t have any creativity elements down the flanks coming from deep.
Kgotso Moleko, Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Reeve Frosler and Siyabonga Ngezana have all played at right back, while Cardoso, Philani Zulu, Yagan Sasman and Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya have been used on the opposite flank, which demonstrates the lack of stability in those areas.
“Any team that is successful must be built from a solid partnership in central defence, along with a standout keeper, which forms the triangle at the back,” says former Chiefs defender Valery Nahayo.
Nahayo adds: “Can Chiefs confidently say they have that now? I don’t think so. So that is where the problems start. I don’t know if Chiefs are happy with the options they have at the back, but they will find answers in the number of goals that they are conceding.
“Is the backline protecting the goalkeeper? Is the backline able to play out from the back in assisting the forward play? What are the right and left-back bringing to the team and who are the first-choice players in those positions,” asks Nahayo.
“Chiefs have to be honest in answering all these questions if they are to be able to find a way forward next season,” he adds. RECOMMENDED SIGNINGS:
Divine Lunga and Nkosinathi Sibisi (Lamontville Golden Arrows), Njabulo Ngcobo (Swallows FC), Taariq Fielies (Cape Town City)
“THAT AFFECTS THE WAY THE TEAM PLAYS IN ORDER TO SERVICE THEM.”
Midfield
For all the artistry that Siphelele Ntshangase carries in his legs, what has he contributed in three-and-a-half years at the club? It just hasn’t worked out.
In the attacking spaces, Lebogang Manyama hasn’t shone in the way he was expected to after his signing. Kearyn Baccus is turning into a squad player, just like Dumisani Zuma, and while Philani Zulu is a decent footballer, Chiefs appears a club way too high for him to shine.
In the holding midfield position, Willard Katsande is now running on a pair of 35-year-old legs so the reality is that while the effort in his game is second to none, he is not going to be giving as many minutes as he did in previous years, just like utility man Bernard Parker.
It is still a mystery what the purpose of bringing in Anthony Akumu was because he is not in any way different to either James Kotei or Ivan Bukenya.
The younger brigade of Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Lebo Lesako, Happy Mashiane, Darrel Matsheke and Njabulo Blom will carry the hopes of this team going forward.
“Chiefs lack leadership on the field of play,” notes ex-Chiefs man Sibusiso ‘Spoko’ Dlamini.
“It shouldn’t be an issue who is playing. I don’t know what the best starting XI is. This is a phase that they have come across during a time when the ban was on, so the coach has
had to use whatever he has.
“I won’t be blaming players that they are not coming to the party, but I feel they need to put more effort and work together as a team to find a solution, which is defending and scoring without playing, having to always play pretty.
“My experience of working with Gavin tells me that he is an open guy who will be keen to help solve this situation,” says Dlamini.
Former Chiefs star Robert Nauseb is more direct: “If Chiefs want to salvage themselves, they must sign Thabo Nodada, Sipho Mbule, [ Teboho] Mokoena and even Thato Mokeke from Cape Town City.
“I would even sign Craig Martin from Cape Town City as well. Baccus and Castro are a waste of time,” states Robert Nauseb. RECOMMENDED SIGNINGS:
Goodman Mosele (Baroka), Kgaogelo Sekgota (Swallows), Thabo Nodada, Mduduzi Mdantsane (Cape Town City), Sipho Mbule (SuperSport United), Leletu Skelem, Junior Mendieta (both Stellenbosch FC), Given Thibedi (return from loan at Swallows)
Attack
For all the goals that Samir Nurkovic scored in his debut campaign last term, the fact is that he has been slow off the mark this season due to both injuries and his push for an improved contract.
Chiefs could live to regret not cashing in on the offers that were tabled for the Serbian, who arrived on a free transfer at the start of the last campaign.
Nurkovic is a journeyman by nature and so to expect him to repeat what he did last term in a struggling team is unlikely.
Then, for all the intelligence that Leonardo Castro has in his game, the Colombian doesn’t have a lot of goals in him. He tends to fade away in games when he starts.
The less said about Lazarous Kambole the better because he hasn’t delivered on anything that he was brought to the club for and should leave at the end of the season.
He stood on a single goal after 29 appearances – horrible for someone signed to net goals.
“Chiefs definitely need to make changes in this department because they are thin,” says former Chiefs striker Benjamin Reed.
“They need someone with goals in his game because the two strikers Nurkovic and Castro that they have now are a bit similar in the way they play. Both are box strikers with aerial power, and I think that affects the way the team plays in order to service them.
“I THINK GAVIN HUNT CAN STILL TRANSFORM THIS TEAM AND SO HE SHOULD BE SUPPORTED.”
Chiefs need a striker who gets more involved when the team has the ball. The other issue is that Castro doesn’t have a lot of goals in his game and seems to thrive more when [Khama] Billiat plays.
“Billiat must still stay because he has the qualities to make the difference when the team plays in the way that suits him. I think Gavin Hunt can still transform this team and so he should be supported.
“Chiefs must definitely sign Bradley Grobler, but his signing must be complemented by quality arrivals in midfield.”
RECOMMENDED SIGNINGS:
Bradley Grobler (SuperSport United) and Knox Mutizwa (Lamontville Golden Arrows)