Kaizer Chiefs’ failure to act swiftly in moving Steve Komphela on is going to haunt them, writes WADE PRETORIUS.
Okay, so the headline is a strong one. But not that Chiefs fans should be surprised. The warning isn’t unique because the side has been struggling for some time now. Struggling when it comes to a string of good results that end in a trophy.
In Komphela, the club have a coach who isn’t a proven winner and has overseen the dismantling of their title-winning side from 2014-15. ‘Give him time’, ‘he needs to impart his philosophy’, ‘he will come good’ – just some of the quotes you will hear around the bar as fans look for joy away from their beloved team.
The gap to Sundowns might’ve shrunk to five points now but after the derby it will be bigger and when Pitso’s men get their act together, the end result will be inevitable – Sundowns win the league and Chiefs finish in a ‘respectable’ top four.
With the money and power that the Naturena side have, they really should be aiming higher. This is all a little ‘Manchester United under Louis van Gaal’.
If someone is willing to sit me down and explain his footballing philosophy, that would be great. I’ll buy the coffee.
Chiefs have managed to maintain their place in the league down to the inability of the underdogs to mount a serious challenge but those clubs have smaller budgets and always face the possibility of their players being enticed to bigger and better things.
The derby has become the definitive answer to insomnia and I don’t expect that to change this weekend. Fans will moan for a little bit and then move on to the over-hyped match and forget the string of missed opportunities. Komphela will speak in broken and mixed metaphors, go off on a tangent leaving the fans further confused than before.
This is all becoming far too familiar, the winners? Sundowns. The losers? The millions of Chiefs fans around the country, who sit and wait for a change in personnel where it matters most – the seat reserved for the head coach in the dugout.
Photo: Gallo Images
