The sto ory behindd the scenes

Owner has the last say

Ramagalela recently claimed he’d not had a face-to-face meeting with City owner and chairman Mogaladi since June last year. It was a suggestion that the wealthy businessman has been absent while only dishing out orders. The Siya crew has discovered that Mogaladi does indeed rule with extreme authority and that his leadership style is not everyone’s cup of tea. The Rise and Shine offices in Polokwane, the crew has been informed, are run by Tema, the COO, on a day-to-day basis. But he reports frequently to Mogaladi, who never wants to miss a beat. What could have possibly irked the owner is Ramagalela’s suggestion that the boss is distant but still wants to rule with an iron first.

What the crew has been told is that Mogaladi hardly delegates responsibilities and wants to have the last say, implementing what he believes is best.

Rama G’s non-performance

With indications on why Ramagalela has been suspended, could this be a smokescreen on the fact that he refused to sign a new contract? SAFPU could not comment before the verdict from the internal hearing was out, but it is believed the Union has asked the club to prove how Ramagalela has underperformed. After 15 league matches, prior to his suspension, the forward had managed only two goals and two assists. Maybe City coach Vukusic wants more of an input. Last season ‘Rama G’ had somewhat satisfactory numbers – 11 goals from 33 games in all competitions, plus three assists. Sources have informed the crew that questions are being asked on whether the club did in fact attempt to remedy the “non-performance” issue before taking the decision to freeze the player out.

Non-payment refuted

In December, the Siya crew reported that as many as 14 players had approached SAFPU over unpaid signing-on fees and a portion of their salaries at the club, with Ramagalela being one of them. But Makaab, who represents Ramagalela, denied the allegations made by the Union when approached for comment by the crew. He added that none of his clients who are on City’s books have had trouble getting paid at the end of the month. SAFPU also offered the Siya crew an update on their claims from two months ago regarding the 14 players, saying that some payments have in fact been made, but not everyone is smiling all the way to the bank. Insiders suggested that very few players at City actually had representatives to hold their hands when agreeing terms, so a lot of them don’t have signing-on fees as part of their initial contracts. The club, through its COO, said it would not comment on any allegations made by the players or SAFPU.

Players silenced, rule by fear?

Every club in the PSL has measures in place to address misconduct, and the Limpopo-based outfit is no different. Ramagalela argued, however, that City were perhaps taking it a bit too far with some of the fines handed out to players for misdemeanours and a bad day at the office during a match. Ramagalela claimed that the club fines its players 40 percent of their salary for scoring an own goal for instance, an allegation the Siya crew could not verify. But what sources did tell the crew is that the same amount is deducted from a player’s salary if they miss training, are found to have been drinking while in camp and if injured at an event that was not sanctioned by the club.

And there is apparently a worrying culture of that between the players at City.