Khoza should walk Bucs’ plank
IT IS HEART-RENDING to witness the implosion at Orlando Pirates, one of the oldest PSL clubs, following Moroka Swallows. Some of us saw it coming.
On several occasions we tried to suggest possible solutions to circumvent the downward spiral. Unfortunately, all these fell on deaf ears.The club’s misery started with the unexplained sacking of Ruud Krol, the most successful Pirates coach in the history of the PSL. From there on, troubles started and the team went astray. The inept Roger de Sa was roped in as coach. This decision was taken notwithstanding his lacklustre performance at Bidvest-Wits.
All the silverware that Pirates annexed with the able Krol disappeared like mist in the summer sun. The guy eventually jumped ship.
Then the mediocre Kaizer Chiefs’ erstwhile coach, Vladimir Vermezovic, was employed. He, like others, fell by the wayside. The decision to employ him while he failed dismally at Kaizer Chiefs still astonishes. All along, Eric Tinkler had been the passive yet erudite understudy to all these guys. He was eventually entrusted with stewardship of the club and he did relatively well under the circumstances.
Then he was swopped for the temperamental, again erstwhile Kaizer Chiefs mentor, Muhsin Ertugral. The deal saw Tinkler join the newly assembled Cape Town outfit and against all odds he did magnificently. Still, he could not satisfy the hard-to-please Pirates management.
The troubles deepened. Muhsin could not believe his eyes when Pirates suffered the most humiliating defeat in the history of the PSL at the hands of SuperSport United at Mbombela stadium. He couldn’t take it and resigned on the spot.
The ever amiable Palacious was there to rescue the situation. But the Peruvian stalwart had to be relieved of his duties to save him from life-threatening and deteriorating health conditions sparked by a poor run at the helm.
In came the little-known Scandinavian, Kjel Jonevret. Sweden is relatively unknown when it comes to soccer . They rarely make it to European Championships. Is this an appropriate destination in the search for coaches?
Who knows? Mr Khoza might have had an ace up his sleeve. But the Scandinavian had no answers to the marauding SuperSport forwards in the final of the Nedbank cup, where the Pretoria team further annihilated the hapless Pirates team.
The decision to appoint the littleknown Scandinavian was made against a backdrop of capable local coaches who were enthusiastically waiting to fill the hottest coaching seat in the country.
The criteria used by Mr Khoza in the recruitment of coaches leaves much to be desired. In my opinion that is the reason why the team is where it is today.
Through this appointment mayhem, the structure of the team was dismantled and the team lost shape.
There are players who are recruited and never used. They end up joining other teams and perform very well.
That does not augur well. Mr Khoza should prioritise Pirates otherwise he should permanently delegate the function to a full-time manager. Nngwedzeni David Mulaudzi
The structure of the team was dismantled, the team lost shape