There’s so much to play for G’day On Makhura tournament On the season so far

It is the Christmas break and I wish everyone to have a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Thanks for all the support and feedback in 2018; I really appreciate it. Let’s meet again on January 9th. I’m writing this column from Bochum in Limpopo where I’ve been invited as one of the legends to participate in Premier of Gauteng, David Makhura’s annual tournament, organised by his Foundation. This is a wonderful initiative that seeks to plough back to his community and this is the third year that we’ve been invited to this tournament. We will play against some of the local legends and also to inspire the youth. Job well done to the Premier and his Foundation. There have been ups and downs for different teams in terms of cup competitions and the league campaign. Benni McCarthy’s Cape Town City were crowned MTN8 Champions, which was great for both him and everyone associated with the club. They have a piece of silverware to show for their hard work so far this season. Baroka FC and coach Wedson Nyirenda surprised a lot of people by winning the Telkom Knockout. When you look at their league campaign so far, they’ve not been showering themselves in any sort of glory, as they’re sitting on the foot of the log table. At one stage, City were in a similar position where they were doing well in the cup competition while their league form left little to write home about. Now everyone can’t wait to see what the second phase of the season will bring us. I expect City to fight for a spot in the top four or even fight for the league title next year. If they could win the MTN8, you can’t rule them out of league title contention because not many would’ve betted on them winning the first trophy of the season. If you look at Baroka’s road to the final, they beat three of the most on-form teams in Mamelodi Sundowns, Bidvest Wits and Orlando Pirates, without taking anything away from Golden Arrows who were Baroka’s first victims in the Last 16. No one can say Baroka had it easy at all; in fact, they were deserving champions. Surprisingly, Baroka have not been able to translate their cup performance into their league campaign at all. When you look at them winning the TKO and compare that to their log position, it is chalk and cheese. If someone from outside the country was to be shown Baroka being crowned champions and then show them their log position, they would not believe we were talking about the same club. The position Baroka find themselves in now is not easy to get out of. They will have to go back to the drawing board and sort whatever needs to be sorted out sooner rather than later. When we look at the league, most teams want to get as many points as possible because they know that next year will bring an uphill battle. It is not going to be easy for Baroka and they really have to up their game otherwise they will find themselves in the same relegation zone come end of the season. Remember the past two seasons, Baroka survived through the play-offs after finishing 15th in 2016/17 and then they finished 14th last season, so this is a third season that they find themselves deep into the bottom half of the table. On the flip side, you have Pirates who lost to Baroka in the final but have managed to maintain their number one spot in the league for a long time until last weekend when Bidvest Wits beat the same Baroka 2-1. Pirates have been one of the most consistent teams in the league while everyone below them has been going up and down on the log standings. What they’ve managed to do is not easy, by any means, and they deserve credit for that. Like I said in one of my previous columns, we are getting to a stage where we can do a proper review of the season so far. We only have the Nedbank Cup and the league championship to play for now before the end of the season. The championship is the one I find more interesting because of the three phases that are so demanding – the chasing pack, the battle for the Top Eight positions and fighting relegation. Everyone wants to win the league and finish in the Top Eight so that they can generate income from the first trophy of the season. Football is entertainment, but don’t forget about the business side of it because winning trophies means more money in the bank for the team and the players. So what’s the point of playing in the league when you don’t qualify to earn money from tournaments like the MTN8? The reality is that not everyone will win the league title, but if you still struggle to participate in the MTN8, then you know that you’ve already put yourself at a disadvantage compared to the rest of the league teams. The Absa Premiership is doing all they can to level the playing fields so that everyone can generate some income. They have introduced the Q-Innovation which can be won by anyone and that’s there to enhance the teams’ financial muscles and there’s also the PSL awards which can also supplement the players’ income. There’s so much to play for, but it seems like some people aren’t even aware of these things. You don’t see that hunger at all. I mean, how many players start the season with a clear intention of collecting more awards at the end of the season than anyone else? When was the last time we had one player dominating the PSL awards for more than two years on the trot? Can you imagine how much your life and that of your family could change if you took your football up a notch or two? That’s the bigger picture the boys need to look at. Imagine targeting to be the Footballer and Players’ Player of the Season for the next three seasons. How much would you have made after your third season? Remember there are club incentives as well as from the tournaments, which ultimately qualify you to be considered for the awards I mentioned from the league. So there’s so much to play for. Good night Doctor Khumalo