A lot has been said about Kaizer Chiefs' players and their quality or lack thereof in recent seasons due to inconsistent results and trophy drought. But experts have a different view on the situation. Amakhosi last tasted cup success in 2015 when they won the league under Stuart Baxter during his first spell. With the team now at risk of clocking a decade without winning a trophy, there have been growing concerns among all those associated with the club about the dropping standards. In most instances when fingers had to be pointed regarding the worrying situation, players and coaches have been on the receiving end, but experts believe that sometimes the blame isn't justifiable. With the 2023/24 season having entered the last quarter, Amakhosi are holding on with interim coach Cavin Johnson in charge just to finish the campaign, with the club expected to undergo coaching changes before the next campaign arrives. The Siya crew spoke to various influential figures in the industry about Chiefs' downward spiral, and what could be the cause for it.
What The Siya Crew Has Been Told…
With Kaizer Chiefs heading for another trophyless season after being knocked out of this year's Nedbank Cup in the round of 32 by Motsepe Foundation Championship strugglers Milford FC, experts believe that it is time for the club's struggles to be looked at beyond the field of play.
Going into their match against Richards Bay FC on Sunday, the team has won only once in their last nine matches, and sources believe that players take the blame unnecessarily sometimes for the underwhelming results.
Having started the season with Molefi Ntseki in charge, who was later replaced by Cavin Johnson on an interim basis due to disappointing results, the Soweto giants have seen slow progress despite the coaching changes, while sources have indicated that there could be more to the problem than meets the eye.
"In talking about Chiefs' problems, I would like people to move away from thinking that the team doesn't have good players. That should stop. Those players at Chiefs are good but there's just something that the club might not be doing right to make them click and perform to the required standards. Most of those players were signed as stars in their teams and were performing, and they can't be bad players overnight. We do understand about the pressure of playing for a big club and all that as opposed to playing for the smaller clubs that some of them come from, but still their quality can't just diminish like that," said an expert who spoke to Soccer Laduma on condition of anonymity.
Another source is of the view that the Glamour Boys' situation is made more complicated by archrivals Orlando Pirates doing well. "It's always worrying when Pirates are doing well and Chiefs who are their rivals aren't doing well because that adds pressure to them. Chiefs are struggling and serious intervention is needed for the team. I can go as far as mentioning that saying they are struggling is an understatement, they are more than struggling.
It's a chaos," he said. "You can't be dropping points against almost all the teams like that, that's not good and I refuse to believe that it's a problem of the players. It's not like they don't have good players, Chiefs do have good players in their current squad," he added.
"You can take those players at Chiefs to another team, and they will perform. Those players can contest for league titles. Most of those guys did well in their previous teams, and why can't they perform, suddenly? Njabulo Ngcobo was the PSL Defender of the Season, do you want to tell me that now he isn't good enough? (Christian) Saile came highly recommended, having done well at his previous club in Zambia (Nchanga Rangers), has he become a bad player suddenly? It can't be," the source concluded.
A third source went as far as comparing Chiefs players to their counterparts at defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
"Look at Sundowns, only (Peter) Shalulile (when on form) and (Lucas) Ribeiro Costa are regular goal scorers if you are talking about the strikers, and Chiefs have a better striking force, in my opinion, if they were being used to their strengths and effectively. Even in midfield, Chiefs have some of the best players in the likes of (Edson) Castillo, whom I think is very good, (Yusuf) Maart who is very good, and even (Siyethemba) Sithebe is good. The youngsters that Chiefs have been promoting are good, and as to why they aren't shining, I don't really know. It's a problem. Also, Chiefs have some of the best defenders in the league. You cannot tell me that (Edmilson) Dove is a bad player, or (Sifiso) Hlanti, Ngcobo, (Thatayaone) Ditlhokwe, (Given) Msimango, (Zitha) Kwinika, (Reeve) Frosler, (Dillan) Solomons, and all these guys… you can't tell me they are bad players. Give the players a break, and look elsewhere to point fingers," concluded the source.
The last expert pointed at coaching as one of the possible reasons for the team's disappointing results.
"Chiefs do have good players and it's in the coaching side of things that the team needs fixing. You watch Chiefs these days and it's not difficult to see that the team is struggling with almost everything they try. They struggle with ball possession, counterattack, low block defending, pressing, and almost everything, like I say. For me as a coach, seeing the team in that state tells me that there must be a lot of things that aren't being done correctly in training. It is difficult to understand how the team is trying to play. In football, everything starts at training, and you master everything in training, chances are you will get it right also come match day. It can't be difficult to fix the problem at Chiefs with the players they have," the anonymous coach said.
What Are The Facts?
Since their last cup triumph in 2015, Chiefs have had seven coaches, with Cavin Johnson currently the eighth in his role as an interim.
Steve Komphela was the first in charge (17 June 2015 – 21 April 2018), and was followed by Giovanni Solinas (12 July 2018 -7 December 2018), Ernst Middendorp (7 December 2018 – 9 September 2020), Gavin Hunt (17 September 2020 – 28 May 2021), Stuart Baxter (7 June 2021 – 21 April 2022), Arthur Zwane (26 May 2022 – 28 June 2023), as well as Ntseki (28 June 2023 – October 2023).
Under Johnson, who took over in October, Chiefs have won five matches, drawn four and collected 19 points from a possible 42. Since the start of the new year, the team has won just one in their last nine matches.
Stylianou: I remember during our time…
Chiefs' legend Lucky Stylianou has emphasised the importance of the coach's involvement in signing players. Stylianou, who made history in 1978 by becoming the very first white player to play for Amakhosi, was prepared to speak on record about the state of affairs at the club.
"It really depends, honestly. The issue of players has been another area of concern for Chiefs because you can be a good player at an average club, but it doesn't mean that you will do well at Chiefs where pressure is at its highest level. I remember during our time at the club, we once had a player who came from KwaZulu Natal from one of the clubs. He was talented but couldn't cope with pressure at Chiefs. When he came on for his first match, within 20 minutes he had made a few errors already and from there he kept on passing the ball backwards. At training, he had been performing leading up to the game but during the game he struggled. There are a lot of things that are looked at when a player is signing for a big club like Chiefs and one of the characteristics is the character of the player. That's why some of the good players that have been signed by the club haven't made it, they lack some of the qualities. There is so much (that goes) into football and being a good player than just ability. So, for Chiefs to sign the right players, they will need the input of the new coach on how he needs to play and all those things. But I'm confident in the board, sporting director and everyone, and I think they realise how important it is for the team to improve," said Stylianou.
Watch This Space
Except on rare occasions like when Colombian striker Jasond Gonzalez was signed from Bolivia club Real Santa Cruz albeit on loan, Chiefs have gone out of their way in recent seasons to bring the best talent to Naturena. Gonzalez has struggled to adjust at Amakhosi and with the pace of football in the PSL and is unlikely to have his loan deal turned into a permanent stay.
Before the start of the season, the club added nine new players to their squad hoping to finally get it right in improving the team's results and competing for trophies but it hasn't quite worked out. In addition to Gonzalez, the other new recruits were Thatayaone Ditlhokwe, Sibongiseni Mthethwa, Given Msimango, Pule Mmodi, Tebogo Potsane, Mduduzi Mdantsane, Ranga Chivaviro as well as Luke Fleurs who recently tragically passed away.
While some of the players have made progress in the team as they have been getting regular game-time and contributed to the points that have been collected, others have taken time to adapt to their new surroundings.
One thing is for sure, with their plans of reclaiming glory and conquering in the PSL again, the Soweto giants won't stop going for some of the best players available whether locally or from abroad to take this South African giant of a club back to their heights of yesteryear. In the meantime, Chiefs' Sporting Director Kaizer Motaung Jnr. and those he is working with will hope that the supporters remain patient and trusting the process as all the attempts are being made to awaken the sleeping giant.
