BURNING ISSUES
Whenever I watch the physicality from the top five European leagues, especially Bundesliga and EPL, I then see a reason why very few of the players we send overseas succeed. They do not go to those top leagues, but they still hardly make the grade. The
overseas referees allow play to continue without unnecessary stoppages of players falling all over and faking injuries as it is the norm in our PSL. Here at home, most teams do have conditioning coaches and I wonder what the problem is. Our players just enjoy lying on the lawn now and again as if they do not have lawns in their own homes – that is if they do have places of their own! Perhaps it is also a question of lack of fitness as they get a chance to rest while lying down. This is the reason why we’ll always have optional time in the PSL. I’ve watched a lot of Bundesliga action and their first half usually ends exactly at 45 minutes. As long as our players do not want to stand on their feet, they must forget about playing abroad. Amos “Tiger” Tshukudu, Ga-Maria
A hattrick of penalties is surely unique, but the question must be: were they deserved penalties? I beg to differ because to me, the first one Caleb slipped and with the third one, even though it looked legit, was suspect. Are our referees these days given binoculars to see things from far? I mean, the referee is so far from the action and he blows the whistle! Any wisdom in that? Seems like very soon we may be returning to the Bhamjee era, which is not good for the development of our soccer. This is also affecting the export of our players as when you watch, you’ll realise that in the PSL, even though soccer is a contact sport, referred to as a man’s game, any touch is a foul and that leads to our players being sissies or softies. Now, which league, apart from the PSL, would need those ‘nurses’? I rest my case because Abdul Ebrahim lied to us before the start of the season that they’re ready. Is this how things will continue? Doctor Mashabela, Emalahleni
Refereeing has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. A typical example is the game between Stellies and Chiefs. The first penalty was dubious and I still don’t understand how the referee awarded it to the visitors. I think something needs to be done as a matter of urgency before more coaches lose their jobs because of dubious decisions by match officials. Tente “The Brains” Mokoka, Sepharane
It’s strange that we don’t learn, especially SAFA. Look now, Benni is coaching at Man United and Fortune coaches the England U21 team, plus Fadlu was with Zinnbauer at Lokomotiv Moscow until recently. So, why must we lose all our good coaches who obtained a UEFA Pro Licence, which is one of the highest coaching badges? Soon we’ll sit with mediocre coaches who don’t care about our football’s welfare. Jeffrey “Oarasib” Hartzenberg, Klapmuts