PSL

‘Chiefs became predictable before the break’ – Johnson doubts Amakhosi title charge

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Ernst Middendorp coach of Kaizer Chiefs during Kaizer Chiefs Media Day

Experienced PSL coach Cavin Johnson believes it will be very difficult for Kaizer Chiefs to return to action and have the same success as at the start of the season because teams have figured out their tactical approach.

The Soweto giants dominated the early stages of the 2019-20 season and established themselves as leaders of the pack in the title race.

Chiefs topped the standings, four points ahead of Mamelodi Sundowns but having played a game more than the Brazilians, before the league was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the league now looking to get back under way sometime in the future, Johnson, who has coached a number of league teams such as Amazulu, SuperSport United and Platinum Stars, believes that they will struggle to find success because teams have figured out their playing style.

‘Look, it’s going to be very difficult for them to come back and start again, because before the season closed, teams were closing down their whole tactical approach. They were playing a very robust power game, where they were looking for errors and using very powerful strikers in Nurkovic and Castro. These are very strong players who push defenders off the ball and you’ve got the likes of Manyama and Baccus who are looking for the pieces here and there. So, if we are quite fair, a lot of their goals were coming from set-pieces, it was not coming from open play. In open play, they are a powerful team that will run you, not a team that will outplay you.

‘So before the break in the league, teams were able to get to know how to play against and beat them. You could see that Black Leopards could have beaten them before the league ended; Maritzburg beat them twice in a row and AmaZulu, who are bottom of the log, beat them 1-0 in the last game. Those are games that when you are a top team, no matter who is at the bottom of you, you need to show that you are much better. I mean all over the world you will never see the bottom-placed teams beating the top teams.

‘I think Chiefs became predictable before the end of the break, and coming back it’s going to be extremely difficult and they have to come up with a completely new strategy. A team like Chiefs should always have an A, B and C plan like we have seen Mamelodi Sundowns do. When they’re losing the game, all of a sudden they change their approach and throw the ball up front. They play a completely different game, whereas when they are leading outright, they play the ball on the floor and hold it,’ Johnson concluded.