TLOU
SEGOLELA’S agent Tim Sukazi is “95 percent sure” his man will play for Orlando
Pirates in the Carling Cup against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.
Sukazi
insists “political hazards” are all that stands between Segolela and a new
contract. And he feels “Socks” might have made the difference in the
Buccaneers’ opening African Champions League clash with Leopards last Saturday.
“Gautrain”
Segolela, 25, scored five goals for Pirates last season – but started only
seven games, coming on as an “impact substitute” 16 times. Since he signed for
the Sea Robbers from Limpopo’s Seemole FC in 2007, every season has been much
the same – apart from 2009 when he was on loan at Celtic and scored seven
times.
With
“Socks” voted in by the fans for Saturday’s sell-out Soweto derby at Soccer
City, Sukazi said: “We live on hope right now. We really hope he will play on
Saturday, we made some real progress in our meetings with Pirates yesterday.”
New
signing Kermit Erasmus is on stand-by to start but Sukazi insists: “There is a
95 percent chance Tlou will play on Saturday but last week it was unfortunate
he was left out against Leopards because he hadn’t signed.
“When
you look at the result and reflect on that Leopards match (it ended 0-0 against
the Congo champions, though Pirates were comfortably stronger), if they had
Tlou they might have three points in the bank. They would be top of Group A in
the African Champions League.
“Tlou
is in tip-top condition. I think Roger de Sa will give you a hint along those
lines. He had him in the starting eleven for the Leopards game.
“There
is no problem in training, Tlou has been at Orlando Pirates for several years,
we want him to continue and flourish there.
“The
hold-up has been about regular game time. This is a player who is very
talented, has got what it takes, now he has to sign a new contract at the same
club.
“We
want the new deal to have a playing element. We are doing our best. We should
win on this one.
“You
are right Neal, in South Africa there shouldn’t be guarantees that a player
MUST play, the stars can lose form, only at training can you see that. To play
a player EVERY WEEK? It becomes an impossible thing to do. I’m not advocating
that.
“But
at Pirates we are well aware Tlou didn’t play as much as he should have because
of his ability, but due to “political hazards” as I call them.
“That
where we were trying to write something in to the new contract.”
I
asked Sukazi if now departed playing rivals Benni McCarthy, Takesure Chinyama
or even coach Roger de Sa were “political hazards” last season, or if rumoured
demands of FOUR TIMES his previous wage were the problem, but he insisted:
“It’s not about money, obviously in every commercial deal, money is a primary
consideration it doesn’t matter which space you are operating in.
“We
have to eradicate the so-called “political hazards” and unfortunately they were
not contractually covered. We have to address a situation where Tlou is sitting
watching games from his couch when he is better than the players on the field.
“It’s
not the players. It’s more to do with the structure than the playing field. The
way things were operating, it wasn’t about Tlou’s ability, he just wants more
game time to deliver.
“He
watched from the grandstand for a long time last season, then in the game
against TP Mazembe towards the end of the season he played and never looked
back. And then came two goals for Bafana against Lesotho.
“Prior
to those goals in Maseru there were no signs Pirates wanted to sign a new
contract. Then they were interested. But we don’t want to get caught out in the
same situation again. I don’t want Tlou to sit for three more years in a
situation where he isn’t playing regularly."
Though
Tim was reluctant to name those "political hazards", Pirates are one
of several PSL clubs reliant on a host of "football advisors" rather
than coaches when it comes to contracts and signings.
It
appears Segolela languished on the bench - or on his couch - for weeks last
season because these shadowy figures - with no great footballing backgrounds -
back one player over another on the basis of who signed them.
Those
"political hazards" were particularly rife at Platinum Stars before
Cavin Johnson took over and are known to have been at work at Sundowns when
Johan Neeskens was in charge.
Sukazi
insists: “Hopefully we have sorted this issue. No more “political hazards”,
Tlou has a great chance of playing on Saturday. Of getting that contract
signed. A 95 percent chance.”
Tim was a guest on BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, which happens every Thursday from 10am-noon. We also spoke to Wits coach Gordon Hunt, Mpumalanga boss Clive Barker and Bongani Khumalo's representative Glyn Binkin. Those interviews will appear here later.
You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za. A shorter version of THIS story will be published in The New Age tomorrow too.
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