Kaizer Chiefs’ progress under coach Giovanni Solinas has been severely diminished, with growing concerns that it could prove to be yet another season without silverware for Amakhosi, writes MARSHALL GOUTS.

Up, down, down up, down, up, down, down, up and down again. If you were to ask a South African football enthusiast how the Glamour Boys’ form guide looked this season, they would tell you something along those lines, followed by a few chuckles if they were opposition fans.

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Pose the same question to a Chiefs fan and you might get either a slew of profanities spewed your way, or worse yet, complete silence, indicating the depths of a seemingly hopeless situation.

The Soweto giants’ latest low saw them suffer a 2-1 loss to lowly Zimamoto in Zanzibar in their second-leg Caf Confederation Cup preliminary tie, and despite advancing to the next round of the tournament courtesy of a 5-2 scoreline on aggregate, more questions will be raised about Solinas and/or his charges.

Are Chiefs better off under Solinas than they were under Steve Komphela? Do Chiefs boast enough quality to compete (not half-heartedly) in their remaining cup competitions? Where exactly have Chiefs progressed?

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While I can’t offer you a definitive answer on the comparison between Chiefs under either Solinas or Komphela, the record books can be scrutinised for a quantitive measurement.

Solinas ‘celebrated’ his 20th game in charge of Chiefs in the 2-1 Absa Premiership loss to Golden Arrows. If we are talking records and comparing Chiefs’ first 20 games under Komphela with Solinas’, you’d forgive the suggestive conclusion that the latter is, in fact, a downgrade.

Although Komphela’s failures as Chiefs coach will forever be cherished by opposition fans on the one hand, and remembered with distress on the other by the Amakhosi fraternity, the outspoken mentor enjoyed a great more deal success than his replacement.

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Bear in mind that when I say success, it is a relative concept, given that neither of these men lifted an official trophy for the club.

In Komphela’s first 20 games in charge of Chiefs, he managed to reach two cup finals, losing to Ajax Cape Town and Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 and Telkom Knockout Cup finals respectively.

The former El La Koto mentor also managed to secure a victory, as well as registering a loss, in the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates in the Absa Premiership and Telkom Knockout Cup.

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COMPARATIVE STAT: #SteveKomphela‘s first 20 games in charge of #KaizerChiefs

– 2 cup finals reached & lost (#MTN8 & #TKO to #Ajax & #Sundowns)
– Beat #Pirates in #TKO semis & lost in #AbsaPrem

*Finished in 5th spot, 25 points behind log leaders Sundowns

Won: 11
Lost:3
Draw:6 pic.twitter.com/d5PDW0V28J

— Marshall P Gouts (@MarshallGouts) December 4, 2018

Solinas made his Chiefs coaching debut in a 1-1 stalemate against defending league champions Sundowns. Amakhosi followed that up with a 3-1 loss to Bidvest Wits, before thumping Free State Stars 3-0 in one of their most memorable performances of the campaign thus far.

Should the inconsistency, performances, and results from those opening three games send alarm bells to the higher-ups?

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Many think so, in a bid to avoid another Komphela situation. At the time, it must be said that the situation didn’t seem dire, especially given that Chiefs were in the building phase. The fans were licking their lips in anticipation of the combination of new acquisitions Khama Billiat and Lebogang Manyama.

Chiefs chairman, Kaizer Motaung, even leaped to the defence of the Italian mentor following their premature elimination in the MTN8, claiming that he did not have the luxury of spending pre-season with his new team.

Fair point made, but Chincha Guluva, as the Chiefs boss is known, did also categorically state that Solinas wasn’t the first-choice candidate for the job, leaving one to wonder how much faith they have in Solinas being the right person for the job.

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Two losses in the Soweto derby against arch-rivals Pirates in the space of a month has caused panic within the Chiefs camp, with Bafana Bafana and Chiefs number one Itumeleng Khune publicly questioning the squad’s desire to wear the Chiefs jersey.