Struggles under Mangethe

For whatever reason, Billiat hasn’t performed well since Zwane replaced Baxter towards the end of last season. Mangethe, Zwane’s clan name by which most supporters like to call him, oversaw seven matches at the back-end of last season, with Billiat starting all of them but netting just one goal, from a clever Leonardo Castro assist against Golden Arrows. This season, it’s seven appearances and 628 minutes played for Billiat under Zwane’s management without a goal to his name and just one assist.

Overall, that means one goal and one assist in 14 matches played since ‘10111’ took charge. The fact is that Billiat simply isn’t performing for the new coach. We can delve into the data to take a look at how the forward’s numbers compared last season under Baxter to this campaign (and the seven matches last term) under the new

coach.

Looking at the basic attacking numbers for Billiat under Baxter last season (22 games) vs under Zwane since he took charge in April (14 games), we can see how much he has tailed off. Under the coach who won two league titles with Chiefs during his first stint with the club, the Harare-born man got seven goals and eight assists in 22 matches, even if he was overperforming his Expected Goals– a measure of how many goals a player SHOULD score based on the quality of their chances – netting seven times from 5.30 xG.

Since Zwane took over, it’s just one strike in 14 despite Amakhosi getting Billiat into really good positions to score. He has had 4.40 xG in just 14 matches, meaning he is getting more and better chances per match since the coaching change. That is further highlighted by him having 19 ‘scoring chances’ in just 14 outings under the current coach vs 22 in 22 matches under Baxter (one per game on average). Billiat should have at least four goals during Mangethe’s reign up to this point. The fact is that the winger-cum-striker is missing chances and has to take a fair share of the blame for underperforming. It’s also worth asking whether the type of chances is different and that requires a deeper dive into the video. Baxter’s side played on the counter, so Billiat was often slipped through on goal, whereas Zwane’s side face organised defensive blocks.

Another big reason for the change in fortunes is that Zwane often used Billiat as a left winger from April last season, with Castro leading the line times. This term, the skilful player has instead been playing centrally again, with Ashley Du Preez down the left, but they tend to interchange a lot. seems like the head coach sees Billiat

more as a winger than as a central