The story behind the scenes

JZ’s temporary solutions

Josef Zinnbauer appears to have found an alternative in dealing with Mhango’s loss of form and Lepasa’s long-term injury.

The German mentor went the false No.9 route, using Deon Hotto or Linda Mntambo as forwards to try and solve the scoring woes, but they’ve not quite delivered.

Another player who has been tried in that position is Thembinkosi Lorch and the Bafana star seemed to be enjoying it until he got injured in February after tearing his abductor muscle.

Pirates have the lowest goals scored tally out of all their rivals in the top five on the log table, a clear indication that their blunt attack has hurt their title chances.

Although they’ve managed to still spread the load between their midfielders and forwards, Vincent Pule is their leading sharpshooter with a paltry six goals, followed by Tshegofatso Mabasa with just three.

It’s a stingy return for a side that clearly set out to be challengers on all fronts this season, especially after making a late charge for the championship last year when Zinnbauer arrived in December. But they finished third. The coach’s decision to use Hotto, Mntambo and Lorch as focal points up front when Mundele, Mabasa and Dzvukamanja are available sends a very strong message to the strikers – and perhaps to management too.

Door closed on Grobler and Ntuli?

As the Siya crew previously reported, the Buccaneers’ interest in Grobler has cooled off and it’s their bitter rivals Chiefs who are favourites to land the striker next season, though that could depend on whether Hunt is still in charge.

Pirates were in hot pursuit of Grobler two years ago, but somehow the potential move failed to materialise, with the player expressing his disappointment at not signing for one of the Soweto giants.

Ntuli is another player who looked set to move back to Gauteng, this time to join Pirates, having had an unpleasant spell at Mamelodi Sundowns a few years before he moved to Platinum Stars and later AmaZulu.

But the unexpected sale of Bidvest Wits in June last year may have forced the Buccaneers to shift their focus given the availability of high-profile names from the Clever Boys at either a cut price or on a free.

With Ntuli injured at the start of the season, it was then unlikely that he would move on given that Pirates would have needed him to hit the ground running.

Speaking to the Siya crew in March, the chairman of AmaZulu, Sandile Zungu, confirmed that it was the club’s intention to sell Ntuli during the previous two transfer windows as part of the agreement with the previous owners.

Indications are that the fee tabled at the time did not meet the club’s evaluation of their striker, though Pirates were not the club that tabled the bid.

Zungu suggested Usuthu’s added option on Ntuli was likely to be taken, although this would need to happen on the recommendation of the technical team.

The tricky part here is that Ntuli has started just two matches for AmaZulu all season and has contributed very little to their current success – how then will the coaches motivate for his contract extension?

Pirates could be a fresh start, but you can expect criticism from their supporters and the football fraternity if they signed a player who’s hardly kicked a ball so far and has battled a serious injury at a time they need a clinical striker.

Will Bucs follow Downs’ example?

It’s probably safe to assume that Pirates will not be triggering their option to buy Mundele outright from Vita at the end of the season.

His fate is in Zinnbauer’s hands after the Siya crew reported last month that the coach was expected to submit a report and allow the hierarchy to make the final call on what next step to take regarding the player.

Should he leave, as expected, then this would free up a foreign spot for Pirates to look beyond the Mzansi borders for a possible replacement.

The Premier Soccer League only allows member clubs to have a maximum of five non-South African citizens on their books at any given time, and Mundele was the last player to fill that quota for the current season.

His imminent departure could give the club another opportunity to look elsewhere, and not just on the continent this time around.

Sundowns have shown that there are gems if you look hard enough and have a strong scouting network across South America and Europe.

The Brazilians have always had a connection abroad and the likes of Jose Torrealba, Leonardo Castro, Ali Meza, Gaston Sirino and Mauricio Affonso have come to the club and had contrasting fortunes.

For the most part, however, these recruits have been a solid return on investment, hence Downs keep going back.

It’s also expected that next season they will add another forward coming from Europe with Affonso, who has battled serious injuries, likely to make way.

Pavol Safranko is thought to have agreed terms with Sundowns to move to Chloorkop next season for a fee in the region of R12 million, showing yet again that the reigning league champions aren’t afraid to cast their net as wide as Europe.

Chiefs also hit the jackpot with Samir Nurkovic, and what’s most impressive is that the Serbian was signed on a free!

He finished his maiden season at Naturena as the leading goalscorer, but surgery at the end of the campaign kept him out of action for three months and he’s not been able to maintain his form.

Nurkovic’s quality, however, cannot be in doubt.

The PSL also generally has a history of foreign strikers doing better than their local counterparts over the years, Mhango being another example.

Mundele may have not lived up to expectations, but Pirates will still have the option to bring in an international striker as an outright replacement if the DRC forward departs.