LETTERS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

derail their plans. One would have thought that Pirates wanted to reverse the humiliation they suffered at the very same hands (or rather feet) of the same team – how wrong I was.

Lucky Khunou, Meriting

It was clear from the onset that coach Zinnbauer came to the game against our nemesis Sundowns for a lovely share of the spoils. He was exposed for his low block approach to the game after Sundowns was awarded a penalty against us. How can he play without an out-and-out striker in a game of this magnitude while we are still licking our wounds from the previous encounter? The less said about Hlatshwayo and Sandilands, the better. Our opponents’ defence was on vacation because we never had that marauding goal poacher to keep them on their toes and that’s how they easily and comfortably started building their play from the back. What shreds my heart into pieces is the fact that our strikers are as fit as a fiddle and Mabasa has been bulging the back of the net in almost every game he’s been fielded. We’ve not seen the true potential of Hotto and Pule because they are overworked. Yho! I have never seen a coach so terrified of his opponents like this one. Lastly, I think it would be a pipedream to think the coach will take us to the Promised Land. Papi Netshivhale, Bloemfontein and Sharpeville

TOP 8 SPOT IN JEOPARDY

Kaizer Motaung seemed to have hit the nail on the spot when he said no local coach had the ability to coach Chiefs. Our coach is blowing hot and cold. Hunt may have won titles elsewhere, but this Kaizer Chiefs project seems an insurmountable task for him. There’s only four games left for the team to conclude their league programme and the team is still teetering on the brink of elimination from a Top Eight spot, having not featured in any domestic final. Winning the Champions League is just pie in the sky. Hunt is the architect of his own downfall through his favouritism of certain players. Ngcobo and Mashiane are justifiably rotated, yet Blom and Parker are forever in the starting line-up. Despite Nurkovic huffing and puffing, Castro in most cases only gets a second half 10-minute run. Katsande is hardly ever given a look-in. I’m one of those who campaigned vigorously for Hunt’s appointment at Chiefs, but should he fail to make the Top Eight, the team must just sever ties with him. A good coach he may be, but perhaps he is not good enough for the big boys. George Sithole, Honeydew

What is it that the coach sees from Mathoho that we can’t see? After we conceded due to Mathoho against Chippa, the young Blom dispossessed Kwem without any problem. That is what we call defending. I think Mathoho must be relegated to the DStv Diski Challenge. Yeses! Langa Mngqibisa, Vosloorus

Chiefs are led and managed by a bunch of blind leaders – that’s a summary of the situation right now. The team is short of quality players but not entirely. The biggest problem is team selection. For me, Mathoho has served the team with distinction, but the body is now tired, so he doesn’t have a place in the starting line-up, Ditto Ngezana, a very erratic defender. Khune is still the best keeper, but he’s let down by his defence. There’s a very brainy old horse here by the name of Katsande who can easily play in that central role with Cardoso. Since Hunt is so good at playing players out of positions, why is he not trying Matsheke in Parker’s newfound role where he excels with back passes and lack of backtracking to assist in defence? He is simply adding numbers with no positive contribution whatsoever. So that’s a temporary solution for me. Hofmeyr Kwitshana, via email

Kaizer Chiefs has the worst defence I’ve ever seen in a long time. They commit the same mistakes game in, game out. They’ve conceded most goals facing their own goalposts. You cannot defend like that. They also can’t protect their lead. Even if they are in front, they all push forward instead of managing the game. Some players in the team are afraid to take responsibility. They have surrendered the league to Sundowns on two occasions because of the poor defence. I hope the Motaungs are going to sign good and quality players when the ban is lifted. If they are going to save money for the family and not sign quality players, they must forget about the glory days returning. Actually, they can change the whole defence. Let them also get two defensive and two offensive midfielders. At the moment, Chiefs do not have a ball player in the middle of the park or a box-tobox midfielder. Neo Mahlangu, Tembisa

As a Chiefs fan, now I understand why DJ Tira decided to leave Chiefs and support AmaZulu FC. Let me give thanks to Ayanda Dlamini for realising that the mandate of the new chairman is never to fight relegation but to be in the top four. Dlamini saw it coming that this new chairman is different from the Sokhelas and did the honourable thing and stepped aside for the good of the team. Look at AmaZulu now, sitting on 50 points, a first for them in the PSL era. Even if they don’t win the league, its okay because by this time in any other season, they would be fighting relegation. Thanks, Mr Zungu, for being so ambitious. Now AmaZulu are the team that are going to push Downs for the title. I’m so impressed to such an extent that I’m thinking of doing what DJ Tira did. Mike, eSkoomplazi, Harrismith

Credit must be given to Celtic for their great display against Chiefs. After going two goals to the good, the Soweto giants’ defence went to sleep. Once again, individual mistakes continued from the previous game. I think the management should keep Mr Hunt. Thanks to him for managing to select the best players based on what he has,. As for Pirates v Sundowns, the game started on a slow note, but in the second half, Sundowns managed to control the proceedings and play the ball sideways so as to penetrate the Bucs defence. Teamwork from their side was on point. Well done to Sundowns for the quality of football they play. As fans, we feel so proud when watching players dishing out shibobos, etc. I think SAFA need to organise a game between Bafana Bafana and Sundowns. If our national team can be as strong as Sundowns then, then we have a chance of returning to the glorious heights of 1996 when we won the Afcon. Tsenene Isaac, Motherwell, Gqeberha

Chiefs want to win only when they play against other big teams like Pirates and Sundowns, and then lose focus when they face smaller teams. So disappointing. They want to be in the Top Eight, yet they’re still donating four points in three days, losing to Chippa and drawing with Celtic. How can they not protect a 2-0 lead? That was a bitter pill to swallow. I don’t know whether it’s the players or the coach who is disappointing us, but what I do know is that this is not funny anymore. Nyambeni Samson Khuphani, Tshiawelo Ext 5

I have nothing personal against Hunt and I’m fully aware of the predicament he faced coming to a club that was banned from buying new players. But let’s look at this issue holistically… How many teams in the PSL cannot buy quality players as they wish because of financial constraints but are still doing far better than Chiefs? If Hunt is this highly acclaimed coach, he should have found a winning combination by now with the players at his disposal. I mean, coaches like Benni and Tinkler have done it in similar situations. His main failures, as I see it, is that he killed the spirit of the players (dressing room) by constantly announcing which players he’d like to bring to the team so early in the season. His team selection is erratic, constantly fielding Parker when the man is past his prime and leaving out a fighter like Katsande who can even assist at defence, which is our problem this season. He pretends as if he likes the youngsters, but very often leaves them out of critical matches despite having proven themselves. I mean, would you leave out Mashiane and play Parker instead? Chiefs are not going to make it to the Top Eight and, if Hunt stays, we must brace ourselves for more disappointments. This is because Chiefs have lost that culture and identity under this coach. Please bring back coach Baxter! Sindile Kwitshana, via email

I looked away after seeing Bobby and Chiefs fans celebrating their victory against Super Sundowns, the three-time PSL champs. It made me realise how the once-mighty Apartheid times trophy giants have fallen. They only lasted three days in the Top Eight bracket as Chippa quickly reminded them that they are now on the same level. The noise, after just one win in so many games, was unbearable. Thanks to Chippa. Sundowns rules indeed – after beating them by luck, you feel like you’ve won a trophy. Modiri Serati, Klerksdorp

BE GRACIOUS IN DEFEAT, MR MNGQITHI

I was so puzzled to hear Manqoba still talking about Chiefs in his post-match interview of the Bucs game. This guy is clearly still hurt and the fact that he undermined Amakhosi added salt to the injury. He boldly said they were not supposed to lose to a team of Chiefs’ calibre. He was not being realistic as he drew the AmaZulu and Arrows matches before the Chiefs encounter. He also ignored the fact that Downs don’t have a good record against Amakhosi at Loftus. Manqoba must just make peace with the fact that we abruptly halted their unbeaten run, period. He was asked just one question after the game and answered for more than five minutes, just like what Rhulani does when they win. He will go on and explain how they knew Player A would pass to Player B. But if Sundowns lose, he is nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, congratulations to them for doing a double over the hapless Pirates, and not forgetting to also salute AmaZulu FC. Amos Tshukudu, Ga Maria

Sometimes when you are man and brave enough to accept defeat, you become a hero. I am referring to Mngqithi, who showed us his weaker side when Chiefs defeated his club. It appears to have been such a bitter pill to swallow, so much that upon the referee blowing the final whistle, the coach’s eyes were watery. He is not fit to be called a man of character. To my surprise, he has inherited Pitso’s style. When interviewed about this defeat, he just stated that they were not supposed to be beaten by Amakhosi and instead blamed his players because, according to him, they were the better team. I was not expecting to hear such a cowardly comment from him. I am challenging him to tell us what went wrong a couple of weeks back when they were knocked out of the Nedbank Cup by Tshakhuma. Please, Manqoba, be man enough to accept the result when your team has been beaten. Sipho Robert Mpungose, Eshowe, KZN

Congratulations to Chiefs for beating undefeated Sundowns recently. Beating Both Pirates and Sundowns in one season is like honey down my throat – oh so sweet! Downs’ unbeaten run finally came to an end, thanks to Amakhosi. Who would have thought Chiefs would be the team to do it? They were pure underdogs! Football will kill you the real death indeed. Form is temporary, class is permanent. What an unbelievable comeback. Sundowns were so arrogant and predicted a cricket score ahead of the game, as if we are Pirates. Zuma and Nurkovic changed the game. The players played with belief in the second half and Sundowns parked the bus. Frosler, what a marvel he is. Blom, excellent champagne passes. But I was not impressed with Mngqithi’s comments after the match, when he said they lost to themselves. He was being absolutely dishonest and lacking in honour. Pure arrogance, if you ask me. He must acknowledge he lost to the best team in South Africa. His team was outplayed on the day. Kganthane R Lebaka, Ga-Phaahla-Makadikwe village

Soccer is all about respecting the opponent at all times. It was Pitso who called other