After Kaizer Chiefs head coach Nasreddine Nabi clocked five league games in charge, Soccer Laduma analyzes his progress compared to his predecessors at the same stage in their first seasons.
Nabi arrived at Chiefs with high expectations and he hit the ground running with two wins from his first two after victories over Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu.
However, Amakhosi's winning streak came to an end after a 2-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns and although they progressed in the Carling Knockout after thrashing SuperSport United, there are already concerns on whether the Glamour Boys, under the Tunisian, have what it takes to compete with the big boys at the top.
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After five matches, the Soweto giants find themselves lying eighth on the table with seven points.
Even though it could feel like Chiefs have a much better team and chances of success under the former AS FAR Rabat coach, statistics tell a different story, compared to predecessors Molefi Ntseki, Arthur Zwane and Cavin Johnson in their first five matches.
Going back at least three seasons ago, former coach Stuart Baxter, in his second spell, managed only five points in his first five league matches in the 2021/22 campaign after managing only one win during the period.
The following term, Zwane had only a slight improvement from Baxter's first five league games, after Chiefs only got six points at the same stage.
In the last campaign, under Ntseki, the Glamour Boys improved by just a point again, after they accumulated seven points out of a possible 15.
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Although Johnson did not start his reign at the beginning of the season, after he replaced Ntseki in the early stages, under his tutelage Chiefs got nine points in his first five matches.
In spite of the confidence in Nabi, Amakhosi, in terms of league form, have not improved under the Tunisian, statistically, as they have the same number of points they had at this stage last campaign.
