Is the pressure too high?
After a disappointing 2020/21 domestic campaign for AmaKhosi and the lifting of their transfer ban, Chiefs were finally able to replenish their squad with a string of signings that included Alexandre Cole, Austin Dube, Sifiso Hlanti, Sibusiso Mabiliso, Njabulo Ngcobo and marquee capture Keegan Dolly.
The hope behind this buying spree was that it would elevate the club to trophy glory, but that has not been the case.
“I don’t think it has so much to do with the quality of the signings but more the culture and confidence around the dressing room,” said former Chiefs and Bafana Bafana midfielder David Mathebula.
“These are players who have not won a trophy in a long time, and they need that winning feeling back. Kaizer Chiefs is a club with high pressure and each season that passes the pressure gets higher. I think they need to string together a few wins first and then that will help build the confidence.
“From there you can speak about winning trophies and start a culture of winning. That’s what Sundowns has, they have a winning culture, they are used to it, and they go into each season with that confidence of knowing that they can win it.
“The confidence and the belief need to come back and that will happen when they can win four or five games in a row,” DVD explains.
“If you play for Chiefs there is always going more noise and criticism than in any other South African club. Sundowns signed [Rushine] De Reuck, who is a fantastic defender, but I promise you that if Chiefs had signed him, he would be getting criticised every day, so it doesn’t matter who they sign. The noise comes with the badge and as a player, you just have to get on with it.
“I trust the technical team and believe that they have signed the players that will fit into how they want the club to play. Once players understand that formation and everything the wins will come and the trophies will come. I think this is a team full of quality players and they have made quality signings,” adds Mathebula.
Chiefs have failed to compete for high profile players in the transfer market in recent years. The most recent one of all was being beaten to the punch by Sundowns for the signature of highly rated Teboho Mokoena.
Former Chiefs legend Fetsi ‘Chippa’ Motaledi feels there has been a drop in standards.
“We have to beef up the squad,” Motaledi said. “Chiefs have the quality but it’s not enough to be a serious league and continental challenger. You need a deeper squad for that kind of push.
“THE NOISE COMES WITH THE BADGE AND AS A PLAYER, YOU JUST HAVE TO GET ON WITH IT.”
“We haven’t had a really top signing in their prime for the past couple of years and the team has missed that. Right now, the club doesn’t have a match-winner – a player who can turn the game on its head and win the match for you.”
When the winter transfer season comes around, Chiefs are expected to welcome AmaZulu’s Siyathemba Sithebe. The midfielder has reportedly agreed to trade KwaZulu-Natal for the Gauteng based AmaKhosi. However, Molatedi is not convinced that the playmaker is the man to return the glory days to Naturena.
“If it’s true then I don’t think it will be enough [to win a trophy]. I think if a player is really top quality, then the team he is leaving would fight very hard to keep him. I think
Sithebe is a decent signing but not the kind we speak about when we mention a high profile signing.
Maybe it’s a question of resources or finances, I don’t know, but Chiefs seem reluctant to spend in the market and it looks like they prefer to go after free agents. I can’t remember the last time Chiefs perused a high-profile player and managed to sign to him,” added Chippa.
Chiefs have long been slammed for a reluctance to spend in the transfer market, and they are ridiculed with ‘buy-one-get-two free’ coined by opposition supporters.
In 2011, Football manager Bobby Motaung indicated the club “had little desire to change its spending [or lack of ] patterns. Zimbabwe, in particular, has been a happy hunting ground for talented players at bargain prices.
“It is funny that people are quick to say we go and buy cheap players in Zimbabwe and also get some for free. The reality is that we bought these players for the same price as it would have cost had we chosen to buy here.
“We went and bought what we needed, not because it was cheap but because it was what we wanted,” Bobby said at the time.