Amakhosi searching for the perfect 10
The curse of the No 10 jersey at Chiefs appears to have hit Ntshangase who has fallen out of favour
THE No 10 jersey is proving to be a nightmare for players at Kaizer Chiefs.
None of the players that have been tasked with the responsibility of donning that jumper have delivered the goods as expected.
Siphelele Ntshangase is currently wearing that number at Amakhosi but the talented midfielder has become more like a spectator at Naturena as he doesn’t seem to feature in any of the plans of coach Ernst Middendorp.
He barely makes the 18-man squad these days and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is loaned out next month when the transfer window opens.
The German coach clearly doesn’t believe in Ntshangase. The statistics enforce that statement. Ntshangase is yet to feature this season in any competition.
His exclusion has nothing to do with injuries and seems to be purely tactical.
Ntshangase took over the No 10 duties from Keagan Buchanan at the start of last season. He began well enough but faded away in the middle of that season.
Previously, Buchanan also failed to live up to his billing at Amakhosi.
There were huge expectations when he joined Chiefs from Bloemfontein Celtic but now Buchanan is plying his trade at Maritzburg United. He cut ties with the Glamour Boys last season.
No 10 has never been a famous number at Naturena but Stanton Fredericks and Absolom “Scara” Tindwa are two of the many players who wore the No 10 jersey with distinction during their stints with Chiefs.
Siyabonga Nkosi failed during his return spell with Amakhosi in the jersey and despite winning two league titles with Chiefs, he struggled to match his first spell at Naturena.
It made him immensely unpopular amongst the Amakhosi faithful; they even heckled him in some of his matches for the club.
Mthokozisi Yende was another flop in the No 10 shirt. He was bought from the University of Pretoria after his display in the Nedbank Cup in 2009.
Yende was colossal for AmaTuks as they reached the Nedbank Cup final, where they were beaten by Moroka Swallows.
When Chiefs captured his signature, he was handed the cursed jersey, failing to recapture his form at the club.
In 2012, Chiefs loaned him out to the Team of Choice. After that season, club and player parted ways after he spent three seasons at Chiefs.
Ntshangase now looks set to follow in the footsteps of these flops.
Middendorp has shown more faith in Lebogang Manyama, George Maluleka, Kearyn Baccus and Willard Katsande in the middle of the park, while Bernard Parker has also featured in a three-man midfield set-up that has worked wonders for the club this season.
Ntshangase is a player with immense talent but it takes more than potential to succeed at Chiefs. Even the likes of Michael Nkambule and Shongwe Chalwe came to Amakhosi with good reputations but could not deliver.
That failure to launch now seems to be haunting Ntshangase and his days at Chiefs could well be numbered.