Is the Khama Billiat show still on?

Granted, Khama Billiat has had to hold a unique meaning to different sorts of people throughout the course of his football career up to this juncture. A hero and a breath of fresh air to throngs of Zimbabwean people on the throes of despair and on the precipice of suffering due to the political landscape in that country. A muchidolised figure at Mamelodi Sundowns during his time there, where he lifted the CAF Champions League. A burr in the saddle for opposition defenders. A target, even, for the uncouth Johannesburg criminals who seem to pop up at the unlikeliest of times and locations. But to one Giovanni Solinas, he was the Absa Premiership version of Lionel Messi. Cynical, some might say, but the 28-year-old attacker repaid the coach’s faith in him with brilliant performances and was one of the shining lights in what was an uninspiring term marked by underachievement under the Italian. Solinas left and, for a time after that, it seems Billiat’s light flickered and then dimmed. Signed by Kaizer Chiefs at the beginning of the season amid much fanfare, the nimble-footed star is yet to show the consistency that was the hallmark of his game at Downs. Why is that so? What do the statistics tell us? Is there something Ernst Middendorp is not doing right that Solinas did to get the best out of the Zimbabwean international? Soccer Laduma’s Celine Abrahams gets to the bottom of the debate.

Could it be a confidence thing that the coach needs to be worked on by the coach? Playmakers by their very nature thrive on confidence and being made to feel the love, and when they don’t feel that love, they become mere passengers on the field, much to the detriment of the team. Granted, the coach has waxed lyrical about Hendrick Ekstein, saying he is one of the best players he has worked with, but are Billiat and Ekstein a match made in heaven? Does Ekstein offer the champagne

ppass? Does he have enough g thrust to cause real danger in the opposition’s half. On the evidence of it, the pint-sized midfielder still has some work to do to convince the Amakhosi faithful that he is a consistent player who can help the team win games week in and week, although it must be said he is a crowd favourite with all the right symptoms of a Chiefs player. But with all the love being showered on Ekstein, is Ntshangase feeling neglected and, as a result, this is hurting Billiat’s game big time? Hmmm…