Publications
Partners
The comparative fortunes of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates remind me of the title of Charles Dickens’ classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities, especially regarding this season’s Premier Soccer League.
Talk in football circles last season was that if you saw a long-faced fan, chances were they were either an Amakhosi or a Buccaneers supporter.
Fast forward to this season, which started in earnest on Tuesday. The two sets of supporters can already be divided into two categories: Happy People – the name attributed to The Ghost a few seasons ago, when Pirates won back-to-back trebles – and, on the other side, a group of frustrated, morose fans in yellow and black.
After a high brought about by the Glamour Boys’ impressive 2-0 victory over their traditional arch-rivals, Pirates, in the Beer Cup – oops, I mean Carling Black Label Cup – Chiefs fans were brought down to earth with a thud on Tuesday evening, when Bidvest Wits ran circles around them to emerge as the 2-1 winners.
As if that was not enough, Amakhosi went on to dish up yet another drab showing against newly formed Cape Town City, losing 1-0 to the Clever Boys. This knocked them out of the MTN8 Cup they had won two seasons ago – and narrowly lost in last year’s final to Ajax Cape Town.
If this is not an indication of a downward spiral in Naturena, then I need my head examined.
The two disappointing results in the space of three days must be seen as vindication of those who have been saying that coach Steve Komphela is not the right man to manage Chiefs.
He had the whole season to prove himself, and failed. Now, with this nonstarter, people will be calling for him to go. In the world of football, results are everything.
“We know where we went wrong and we are going to rectify that. You can expect changes – we have to do things in a manner that will get a result,” Komphela said before Friday’s match. He again failed to deliver on his promise.
It may be early in the season, but team chairman Kaizer Motaung would do himself a favour by firing the mentor and finding somebody suitable to guide a club with the stature of Abafana Bokuthula Noxolo.
If not, Chiefs will continue to be the laughing stock of the league and the butt of jokes from those who once envied the team’s success.
On the other side of the divide is Pirates. Th team started like the proverbial house on fire, walloping a hapless Lamontville Golden Arrows 3-1 in midweek action.
Not only did the Buccaneers win, they did so with swag.
In the process, Zimbabwean hitman Tendai Ndoro grabbed a hat-trick – in so doing, perching himself on top of the goal scorers’ list.
Wednesday’s performance has led the Happy People to believe that the good times are back. Who can argue with that, even if their optimism is based on a single, opening-season display.
Under the tutelage of the astute campaigner Muhsin Ertugral, the Buccaneers can only go from strength to strength.
There will be no repeat of last season’s lacklustre showing.
And, to rub salt into Komphela’s festering wounds, the loss on Friday to Cape Town City came from a club coached by Eric Tinkler, with whom he shared a sinking boat last season.
The fortune pendulum seems to have swung in favour of the former Bafana Bafana hardman, whose side beat Polokwane City 2-0 in the league on Tuesday night.
This means that he is sitting on two wins – so much for a club that is still in a building phase.
Early indications are that, while Pirates’ stock is on the rise, Chiefs’ fortunes are dwindling, leading to a Dickensian tale of two suburbs: Naturena and Parktown.
Nota bene: This column was penned and published before last night’s MTN8 quarterfinal between Wits and Pirates.
- Follow me on Twitter @Sbu_Mseleku
