THE ASTONISHING RESURRECTION OF CAPE TOWN CITY FC: yes, it's a modern day miracle

TRAIL BLAZER: Eric Tinkler

RESURRECTION can be a tricky business. The last documented example was some bloke called Lazarus over 2000 years ago. And you wouldn’t expect him to get up and out-run all the healthy disciples gathered for his miraculous comeback would you?

But that’s exactly what Cape Town City have done. With some gusto. After opening their second coming with a 2-0 win over Polokwane City on August 23, born-again City beat a side called Kaizer Chiefs three days later.

Last month they beat African champions Mamelodi Sundowns amid a current run of SEVEN consecutive wins that has seen them top the PSL twice and reach the Telkom KO final. Saturday’s thumping 4-1 thrashing of Free State Stars in the TKO semi-final was no shock, it was simply further evidence of an astonishing rebirth.

John Comitis, the former Ajax Cape Town chairman who just last week fell off the PSL executive gravy train, appears to have successfully breathed life back in to the long dead football club known as Cape Town City.

The giants of the old all-white NFL, City won titles in 1973 and 1976, before they were officially buried after liquidation in 1979. African Warriors purchased the lifeless cadaver. There was no pulse, the club was six feet under, pushing up daisies.

But then along comes Comitis and, as I revealed two weeks before the face, the official unveiling decades after the faux cremation: Cape Town City FC were given a second life for a reported fee of R50m.

The brief five months since that announcement on June 29 have been eventful. Remember, Comitis did a deal with the Morfou brothers at Mpumalanga Black Aces to move their franchise 1,538km south.

Fourteen players made the journey. The PSL top scorer Collins Mbesuma was left behind. So was the much-vaunted junior link with Manchester City. And the fans from eMalahleni to Mbombela? Ignored.

It was a deal which broke FIFA rules, a deal which nearly led to Free State Stars being replaced in the PSL by twice-relegated Moroka Swallows. A deal which should NEVER have happened.

But Comitis is nothing if not determined to win a personal war against his old club Ajax Cape Town. He let Muhsin Ertugral, the Turkish coach who lifted Aces to a record fourth place last season, go to Orlando Pirates. In return, he picked up the man Irvin Khoza didn’t want to fire, Eric Tinkler as a sweetener.

With former Pirates assistant Craig Rosslee working behind the scenes, Tinkler added a few foreigners, adopted the old blue-and-gold City colours and somehow, after being “10 players short” a few weeks before the season started, he put out a side good enough to top the PSL and reach the TKO final before the club had got halfway to their first birthday.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how Tinkler has managed this. Lebogang Manyama was made captain after seven months of injury, Shu-Aib Walters is a vastly under-rated goalkeeper, Aubrey Ngoma, the former Orlando Pirates dynamo, picks up Man of the Match awards like confetti. Lehlohonolo Majoro, unwanted inland, made his way down the N1 to contribute a few goals.

Not a bad collection of journeymen. But as Tinkler said on Saturday, that's not the secret: “These players work for each other. That’s all a coach can ask for. I’m happy for them. That’s how it works here. This is an opportunity to make history.”

The man vilified for finishing seventh in the PSL and reaching the African Confederations Cup knows his stuff. He'll trouble Stuart Baxter in the TKO final against SuperSport United. I defended him all last season. He was a nugget on the field, and he’s proving just as tough on the bench in the Mother City.

SIMPLY NDORABLE: How Tendai finally grabbed his chance with a Soweto Derby double

THE THREE-HOUR HAIRCUT: Tendai
Ndoro shows off the style... and the Man
of the match Nedbank Green Jacket

TENDAI NDORO. Talk of the town. Two goals to win Saturday's Soweto Derby. Did it come as a surprise? Hope not, I've been talking about him for months.

Right at the start of the season, when the 27-year-old Zimbabwean striker appeared in Orlando Pirates gear for the first time, you could see the exuberance in the man from Harare, his natural knack of challenging defenders, finding the target.

It wasn’t surprising. Ndoro scored seven for Mpumalanga’s Black Aces in his first six months in 2014, I remember one night wishing out loud on Twitter that he would somehow stumble across a South African passport and help solve the Bafana Bafana striker crisis.

When Mamelodi Sundowns and Pirates showed interest, Tendai - full name Takudzwa - might have been bewildered by his agent claiming English Premier League club Crystal Palace were interested. But he really did look that good.

A deal with Pirates finally emerged at the start of the season - Aces claimed he had another year to run on his contract but he found himself training with the Buccaneers by the time the season got underway.

Yet Ndoro found himself low down in the pecking order under Eric Tinkler. For months he watched as Kermit Erasmus, Thami Gabuza and Lehlohonolo Majoro took their places up front with varying levels of mediocrity.

At the time, with Pirates struggling in the lower half of the PSL, Ndoro said: “Talking about leaving Pirates in search of game time is something that is not in my vocabulary.” But you knew, in your heart, it wasn’t right.

I mentioned Ndoro’s life in limbo several times on Twitter. Nobody said much. But when Erasmus, claiming he was off to see the in-laws in Holland, signed for Rennes in France, Ndoro finally found himself taking a quick-step up the ladder.

Tinkler had little choice but to pick him as Gabuza self-destructed in front of goal and suddenly the cushion was discarded for the scoring boots. The games - and the goals - began to flow.

In the build-up to the Nedbank Cup Soweto Derby clash on Saturday, many were debating who should start up front. I said Ndoro was the obvious choice, though many felt Gabuza and Majoro were more likely.

Then God - the beardy guy who sometimes still brings out the old leather football boots - took a hand. Majoro did his hamstring in training and Ndoro secured his place.

He had a half-chance early on, then Kaizer Chiefs took over and hope began to fade. For 77 minutes, we suffered out way through the usual Soweto Derby boredom with an unusually sparse crowd.

Until the 77th minute. Mpho Makola put through a lovely ball which split the AmaKhosi’s makeshift defence. Good ball, but bouncing awkwardly. Ndoro brought it down in an instant, and to general hysteria, lashed the first goal past Reyaad Pieterse.

Five minutes later, he was at it again, banging in a laid-off free-kick low past Pieterse, bouncing in to the far corner. GAME OVER, though Ndoro produced a final curling shot just beyond the angle as he chased the fabled Soweto Derby hat-trick.

Afterwards, crowned Man of the Match with a hair-style he admits takes three hours to compose, Ndoro oozed: “That was my first Soweto Derby and I got two goals. That’s something you have to admire! I want to continue doing that, and not just in the derbies.

“Second half we wanted that one goal and we got it. That goal boosted us and helped us to get another one. I was pleased with it. Control, shoot, score.”

Tinkler explained Ndoro’s long-term exclusion by saying: “Tendai’s work-rate needed to increase. We’re a team in which everybody needs to work, and we can see he is doing that now.”

Then: “The way he expresses himself is important. We know Tendai has great ability in front of goal, when he gets the opportunity he must shoot because we know that nine out of 10 times he will hit the back of the net.”

Which rather begs the question: why didn’t we see more of him earlier in the season?

The curious tale of Orlando Pirates: champions of self-destruction and bounce-backability

The happy couple: the awkward meeting of VV and Dr Khoza

In all my travels, all my reading, all my enthusiastic football watching on five continents, I have never come across a club quite like Orlando Pirates FC.

The Buccaneers.  The Sea Robbers. The Happy People. Love and Peace. Once, Always. Before former player Kaizer Motaung came along with his Chiefs, they were the biggest and the best in South Africa. And long after that, in the post-democracy dream year 1995, they became the nation’s once and only winners of the African Champions League, reaching the final again last year.

Ah, the history. Founded in 1937 with the skull and crossbones logo (though, anachronistically, I’m told Orlando Boys Club were styled after the 1940 Errol Flynn film “The Sea Hawk”), run by modern-day Pirate Irvin Khoza, a team of trebles and sinister forces, incredible cup runs and inexplicable exchanges of both players and coaches.


I've been asked to highlight the key problems many times on the social networks. Here it is in a sentence: Dr Khoza only appoints coaches who he can control, men desperate for a another crack at the big time. Amazingly, it's worked quite well at times.

Do that make them rebellious? Reckless? It’s not as if the Soweto suburb of Orlando derived its name from a famous maverick. That particular area of the South Western Townships was named after Edwin Orlando Leake, Mayor of Johannesburg from 1925 to 1926.

I wrote a history of Soweto for my friend Vuyo Dewati a few years ago and had a look at “Mr Orlando” and his past. He wasn’t a bad fellow for a chairman of “Native Affairs”. He built two-bedroomed houses for the working class in 1932 with the intention of creating “a model township”.  Judge the result for yourself: vibrant hub or matchbox houses, you see what you choose to see when you visit their recently refurbished stadium.

There are more glamorous ways of looking at it. In Italian, Orlando means “fair land” (in English, Roland), Shakespeare named one of his “As You Like It” characters the Italian way; the city in Florida also has its buccaneers and by coincidence Hollywood even made Orlando Bloom one of their Pirates of the Caribbean.

But it's not really about the name. It’s the club and those bitter but beautiful Bucca Bucca fans of the modern post-World Cup era which must be addressed here.

Under “Dr” Khoza, the black-and-white half of Soweto is both self-destructive and bounce-backable: when they won their first treble under Dutch legend Ruud Krol in 2011 instead of celebrating a true resurgency they chose to sack the boss and draft in Julio Cesar Leal, because his brother was involved with the Brazilians running  Bafana Bafana at the time.

Incredibly, with Peruvian youth coach Augusto Palacios taking over from Leal in March, 2012, they went on to win a second successive treble the very next season, despite huge upheaval, mainly thanks to the controversial return to South Africa of record-breaking striker Benni McCarthy, who had been thrown out of Premier League club West Ham for being overweight.

Winners of the South African championship NINE times (NPSL 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, NSL 1994; PSL 2001, 2003, 2011, 2012), Palacios only lasted six months despite his triumphs, with Roger de Sa – thrown out by Wits and in a dreadful state personally – the shock replacement.

But De Sa also defied the odds despite the mysterious departure of McCarthy, who forgot to tell the chairman he was leaving. #rogerthat took the club to the African Champions League final and after leading the initial recovery from relegation he headed south to Ajax Cape Town, where he has achieved minor miracles this season with a bunch of kids.

A picture tells a thousand words: Vermecovic

Incredibly, Dr Khoza ignored all precedent again when he named De Sa’s replacement in February this year: unemployed Serbian Vladimir Vermecovic, sacked by arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs in 2012, was signed up and we waited for his work permit with some trepidation as caretaker Tinkler kept the ship afloat.

Under VV, a harsh, unforgiving coach, Pirates have continued the incredible cup exploits they began under De Sa. They have reached the final of the last FIVE knock-out competitions entered, winning the Nedbank Cup at the end of last season but losing the MTN8 at the last hurdle this term. Despite my best efforts I have NEVER heard of a club ANYWHERE reaching FIVE successive cup finals.

Despite huge criticism, VV took the side to second in the PSL before last week’s unfortunate defeat against Clive Barker’s Mpumalanga Black Aces. After his hard-fought 2-1 win, the delightful Barker, a sprightly 70, could be heard post-match saying to VV: "You're still a young man. You'll go all the way." Vlad appeared far more concerned about going away altogether.

Anybody would think the Buccaneers were heading for the relegation trap-door the way the fans reacted. #VVout was trending on twitter. His stubborn failure to select Kermit Erasmus and Lehlohonolo Majoro together in his starting line-up has proved hugely unpopular. Even the unbeatable Bafana Bafana captain Senzo Meyiwa in goal took more flak than President Zuma threatening to build a second homestead.

Incredible stuff. Your side are SECOND in the league. They’ve reached FIVE consecutive cup finals. And the entire side were lambasted over a single result. Nobody escape the wave of ire from the Bucca Bucca fans. There were even threats to lynch VV and a constant stream of tweets purporting to herald his return to Belgrade.

But it’s not suprising. A quick review of Dr Khoza’s decisions explain all. Krol, Leal, Palacios, De Sa, caretaker Eric Tinkler and VV were all strange decisions. Huge risks. And we all know about the “sinister” selection process with Floyd Mbele and Screamer Tshabalala pulling the strings behind the scenes while the coach pulls his hair out.

Good youngsters leave, uncontracted veterans stay; Majoro’s arrival, having signed for SuperSport United, went uninvestigated while Tlou Segolela is scoring for the reserves despite a big salary, Lennox Bacela has been forgotten and the back-four failures are now compounded by Rooi Mahamutsa’s apparent fall from grace.

Anybody remember how Andile Jali left for Belgium? When the club put out a message saying he’d gone AWOL? Like I said, I’ve never known a club like Orlando Pirates.

The problem is, Pirates are run by the same man who runs the PSL and – until Danny Jordaan’s election as President – the South African Football Association. There is a perception Pirates can do as they like. Repeated fan problems are brushed under the carpet. Dr Khoza, who apparently now has a blood link to Bobby Motaung at Chiefs (as well as President Zuma), simply keeps the big sponsors backing the Soweto giants.

Khoza knows he can appoint who he wants to run the club, all will be fine. His son Nkosana, destined to take over a club that changed hands under strange circumstances in the early 1990s; is waiting in the wings as his father’s business empire grows in to other sectors and far-flung northern nations.

Let VV do as he wishes. If the noise gets too loud, he’ll find another coach. Dr Khoza is a gambler, a big wheel. Vodacom, Carling and ABSA aren’t really interested in who wins what, only the grand Soweto giants count.

As one of their former coaches (we dare not name him) told me: “Every coach Pirates appoint would resign after a month if it wasn’t for the fact the club is run by Dr Khoza. Orlando Pirates is the hottest hot seat you’ll ever sit in.”

It won’t change. Any critique of Dr Khoza is met with fury and even death threats on the social networks. Pirates might surge to the championship or slip down in to the doldrums under VV. It’s hard to tell given his unforgiving, tactically cautious approach which has seen the excellent Oupa Manyisa reduced to a shadow of his foraging self.

Either way, Orlando Pirates will be fine. The money will come pouring in. Whether the fans like it or not. They haven’t mattered for quite a while. And they haven't turned up in numbers for a some time.

HISTORICAL ANALYSIS: The BBC's take on Dr Irvin Khoza:  http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/4085683.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/2188671.stm

A shorter version of this story will appear as my Neal and Pray column in www.thenewage.com. 

CLOSE SHAVES AND SOWETO DERBIES: why Kaizer Chiefs will emerge triumphant in front of 90,000 on Saturday

Derby date: Majoro makes the switch

JUST when you thought it was safe to predict a solid Soweto Derby win for Kaizer Chiefs, along comes a wet Wednesday night in the PSL to put all prophesies on hold.

While Orlando Pirates – complete with new boss Vladimir “Work Permit” Vermezovic and substitute Lehlohonolo “Big Ballz” Majoro – sloshed their way to a 1-0 win over Moroka Swallows in the "original" Soweto derby, Platinum Stars ended the AmaKhosi’s four-month streak with a comprehensive 2-0 win at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium.

Shock swept the nation, much like the monsoon currently engulging us. Chiefs, unbeaten since Ajax Cape Town on November 5, went in to the game against Allan Freese’s unsung heroes on the back of an emphatic 7-0 African Champions League triumph over Mozambique champions Liga Muçulmana with Knowledge Musona slamming a quick hat-trick in Maputo.

This was supposed to be No 18. Stuart Baxter, who won the PSL and Nedbank Cup double in his first season at Naturena last year, completely under-estimated the Fokeng Crocodiles, ignoring the fact Dikwena had gobbled up the MTN8 and Telkom KO silverware before Christmas.

Mbax “rested” his three top scorers – Knowledge, Kingston Nkatha and the PSL’s hottest shot Bernard Parker – and opted to go with a rusty Katlego “Killer” Mphela up front on his own. Surprisingly, Wolverhampton-born Baxter also went with his infamous “three towers” formation with Morgan Gould, Tefu Mashamaite and Eric Mathoho forming a centre-back triangle, much like that one off Bermuda where people go missing.

Freese’s men never looked back. The impressive Siphelele Mthembu threaded his way through the trio of towers after just nine minutes to beat goalkeeping stand-in Reyaad Pieterse and free-scoring Malawian Robert Ng'ambi wrapped things up on the hour, chesting home the second on the far post.

Close shave: getting rid of the "Kaizer Chiefs unbeaten"
beard during BOLLOCKZ! at Ballz this morning

By then, the impatient AmaKhosi, gloating over their 17-match run of W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-W-D-D-W-W-W-W, were beginning to grumble. Even the arrival of Knowledge and Kingston failed to cheer things up. The leaders were well-beaten. The beard I started way back at the start of that run was GONE – I promised Stuart I’d shave when they lost, and I spent this morning presenting my football show BOLLOCKZ! while ridding myself of facial hair.

And throughout that high-quality clash in Fokeng, Orlando Pirates were producing a vital but unspectacular win at Dobsonville.

Kermit Erasmus, so poor in caretaker Eric Tinkler’s final game – a hugely disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of AmaTuks – did EXACTLY what he said he would and upped his game. The former SuperSport United man hit the post early on and then crashed home the only goal of the game to put a rare smile on VV’s face.

After his first game in charge, Vlad said before the gigantic clash against his former club: “It was the win we needed to lift the mood before the Soweto Derby. There is still a lot to be done. But I watched the reserves today, Klate, Sangweni and the rest are all ready to step up to the first team.”

With the Chiefs run broken and Pirates apparently rejuvenated by their new coach, those confident predictions of continued AmaKhosi success are scuppered. Mphela? He wouldn’t need Barry Roux to rid him of the “Killer” tag right now. He is entirely innocent, he hasn't produced a lethal shot in ages. For the first time this season, tough midfielder Willard Katsande was unable to halt the opposition’s flow, only Simphiwe Tshabalala appeared to be ready and willing on a difficult night in the North West.

And with the BIG ONE looming, it’s all going off. Majoro emerged after his brief first outing for Pirates since his controversial move from Chiefs to say he was prepared for the boo-boys at Soccer City on Saturday, eager to prove his point against his former team-mates. AmaKhosi captain and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune, officially out for a month after spraining his ankle before Bafana Bafana’s record 5-0 defeat against Brazil, is now rated 50-50 to play in front of 90,000 in South Africa’s showpiece. A miraculous recovery.

And then there was Zeca Marques, the crest-fallen Swallows boss, telling us: “There is no justice in football. Senzo Meyiwa was Pirates man of the match, he made two great saves in the second half. No way we should have lost that game.”

And Zeca’s right. Pirates weren’t that impressive. Chiefs will have their three big guns back on Saturday. Baxter knows defeat in the Soweto Derby will put dangerous Bidvest Wits right back in it if they beat lowly Free State Stars in the evening game on Saturday.

That combination of results will put the Clever Boys firmly back in the Hunt, as Gavin will point out: a game in hand, three points behind.

Baxter is well aware of that. Chiefs can’t lose on Saturday. Pirates aren’t good enough to beat them. But a draw might suit both parties. Me? I’m going for an AmaKhosi win with Parker, Musona and/or Nkatha back in the starting line-up.

But this is the Derby. Only a madman makes predictions when Chiefs play Pirates. Form counts for nothing they say. So I’m sticking to my guns: Chiefs 3-1.

Whilst I was shaving, also spoke to Danny Jordaan, the SAFA president about the future of Bafana Bafana and our women, Banyana Banyana, on BOLLOCKZ! this morning. The interview is HERE:

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 BOLLOCKZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names. 

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and charity bets for our Wingzofchange charity! 

The Major development: Tim Sukazi says Majoro is 99.1 percent certain to move to Orlando Pirates before the transfer window closes

Major asset: Majoro

TIM SUKAZI insists he is "99.1 percent certain" that Kaizer Chiefs striker Lehlonololo Majoro will join arch-rivals Orlando Pirates before the transfer window closes at midnight tomorrow.

Sukazi, who saw his prized client turn down a move to SuperSport United earlier this month, has worked miracles to get Chiefs and Pirates around the table to discuss the future of the Bafana goal-getter.

Talking on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on www.ballz.co.za, Sukazi (see video below) said: "It was never going to be easy but the two clubs are hard at work trying to get the Majoro situation worked out, to get him to move across NOW.

"I can go so far as to say it's 99.1% the deal will be done by February 1."

Majoro, top scorer at AmaZulu before his move to the AmaKhosi in 2011, has found himself languishing on the bench since the arrival of Zimbabwe's Knowledge Musona on loan from Hoffenheim at the start of the season.

But Sukazi said: "Majoro scored 15 goals for AmaZulu and Chiefs in his last two full seasons. And Orlando Pirates are keen to have him, given their problems scoring goals."

Born in Ladybrand in the Free State 27 years ago, Majoro would be just the man to boost the ailing Pirates "bottom to the top" campaign which has seen the club desperately trying to rise up the table as they make up the backlog of fixtures caused by the Buccaneers' run to the African Champions League final last year.

With coach Roger de Sa saying "Majoro is quality, I'd love to have him here", all that remains is for Pirates and Chiefs to agree to break the gentleman's agreement preventing movement between the Soweto giants - and a willingness to help him move with six months still left on his Naturena contract.

Sukazi said: "Majoro is training on his own at the moment since all this transfer talk began, it would be in everyone's best interests - including Bafana Bafana - if we could get him playing for the next five months.

"Nobody wants top strikers in South Africa kicking their heels. I'm sure Pirates are ready to play Major as soon as possible."

With Glyn Binkin working equally hard to move his train-alone striker Katlego Mphela to Chiefs from Mamelodi Sundowns - a pre-contract has been signed - the two agents both told BOLLOCKZ! how hard they've been working to move their stars before the window closes tomorrow.

Binkin said: "Both Mphela and Majoro need to get playing. They are fit and want to move to their new clubs. We will talk until midnight."

Sukazi revealed he is also set to move Luyolo Nomandela from Free State Stars to Mamelodi Sundowns. Binkin said he had TEN deals that could yet go through, including 15-year-old Liam Jordan - son of the late Bafana striker Keryn - to Bidvest Wits after flying him over from Auckland in New Zealand.

 BOLLOCKZ! my innovative football show on www.ballz.co.za airs every Thursday from 9am-11am. See Ballz' channel for our growing library of fascinating football interviews with the big names. 

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and charity bets for our Wingzofchange charity!

SuperSport United CEO Stanley Matthews lifts the lid on the transfer window, Majoro's U-turn... and 13 years of Tim Sukazi

Making his point: SuperSport United CEO Stan Matthews

STANLEY MATTHEWS, the SuperSport United CEO, lifted the lid on the problems agents create in the transfer market last night but insisted: “It happens all over the world.”

Talking on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on www.ballz.co.za, former PSL CEO Matthews refused to condemn striker Lehlonolo Majoro for his “u-turn” on joining SSU from Kaizer Chiefs, arguing “every player has that right”.

Matthews pointed to a 13-year relationship with Lehlonololo Majoro’s agent Tim Sukazi – and insisted all is well between them despite last night’s release of a statement revealing Majoro was set to move to Orlando Pirates  (see http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2014/01/full-text-of-agent-tim-sukazi-statement.html).

Matthews had publicly confirmed Majoro’s move to Tshwane but was forced to backtrack. But he remains unfazed, saying: “They call the transfer window the silly season all around the world, not just in South Africa. Sometimes it can become complex unnecessarily.

“You’re always going to have situations where there’s things go wrong. The biggest problem for me is sometimes the role of agents in transfer dealings, they make it more complicated.

“Agents come in and colour the issue, some of them multiple deal, you think you’re moving in one direction but behind the scenes things are happening you aren’t aware of. But it does happen around the world, where these shenanigans happen.

“Last week we had to take it on the chin (when the George Maluleka swap deal with Majoro fell through) and we did. Hopefully things are better this week!

“There’s not a lot of good agents in this country. You have to develop a working relationship with people, like I have with Majoro’s agent, Tim Sukazi.

“We’ve been working together 13 years, he’s never ever told me something that didn’t happen or confirmed something that was wrong. I took his word on it – that’s what happens.

“Sometimes the player has to stand up and take responsibility. But in the end, it isn’t the agent who signs the contract, it is the player. The agent is there to represent the will of the player. I’d been informed on one story the whole way through with Majoro, but at the last minute that changed.

“Two things have to happen in a transfer:  the two clubs need to agree and the player needs to agree personal terms. We had the same situation with Manyama (Ajax and Chiefs had agreed, gone public… but Manyama ended up at SSU) and Majoro. The player did a u-turn. Players have the right to play where they want to play.

“We withdrew our offer, we’ve moved on quite publicly and to be quite honest with you, not two days ago, the agent was back asking me if we would take Majoro on a six month loan.

“But we’ve closed that chapter and by then we were working on other players. We’re very excited about Dino Ndlovu arriving on loan – and he is available to play against Orlando Pirates (at the Orlando Stadium tomorrow, 3.30pm).

“We really have nothing else to say on the issue: Good luck to Majoro wherever he ends up playing. He’s a quality player, he’s got goals in him.”

With Thato Mokeke – one of the finds of the current CHAN tournament for Bafana - and Clayton Daniels both signing pre-contracts, Matthews said: “There was always going to be a reshuffle after Gavin Hunt left. Cavin Johnson came in, started nicely, slipped back a little bit, but certainly by next year we’d like to be in a position to win the title.

“If we have a good run, anything is possible this season too – we are in the top six. Let’s see how it goes against Pirates.”

BOLLOCKZ! my own football show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and how we are doing in using @thumperpigeon's R5,000 to make money for the Ballz charity WINGZ OF CHANGE.

Full text of agent Tim Sukazi statement on Lehlohonolo Majoro: it looks like Orlando Pirates

BOLLOCKZ! Majoro has proved he has "balz" by forcing a move
from Kaizer Chiefs to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates

FOR IMMEDIETE RELEASE
16 January 2013
THE MAJORO SAGA UNFOLDS
As the person who has been in the forefront of the football transfer saga involving Lehlohonolo Michael Majoro (formerly of Kaizer Chiefs) and after much speculations about his future in football, I find it fair to inform the football loving public, through this medium, that his destination has now been finalised.
Majoro will be joining Orlando Pirates football club, most likely in this transfer window, provided that Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates reach agreement regarding his immediate release. Otherwise, he is well set to join the Orlando Club upon the expiry of his current contract. This therefore means that all questions regarding him having signed a pre-contract with Pirates have now become theoretical. This notwithstanding, current indications are that Majoro will don the famous Black and White jersey in no time from now onwards.
I will deal with more questions on this matter when I engage with various media later this evening or tomorrow morning.
Yours truly,
TIM SUKAZI
CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Yes, here it is. For immediate release. Tim Sukazi, whose efforts to move his prime striker Lehlohonolo Majoro to SuperSport United in a swap deal with George Maluleka were frustrated, has finally revealed WHY the former Amazulu top goal scorer refused the deal.

In three devastating paragraphs starting with the spelling of "IMMEDIATE" gone awry, Sukazi reveals Majoro is, as I've said all along, is ready to break the "gentleman's agreement" and go to Soweto rivals Orlando Pirates.

It's the better move. No question. Reports of interest from Ajax Cape Town and talk of pre-contract signatures, as Sukazi says, are now rendered theoretical.

There is still talking to be done - chiefly over whether the move will be immediate or at the end of the season - but this statement ends weeks of speculation. Majoro, currently training on his own at the Nike Football Centre, can now focus on "donning the famous black and white jersey".

Quite what the war-like Bobby Motaung, General Manager of Kaizer Chiefs, will make of this, I'm not sure. He could yet derail the whole process, but  understand his relationship with Irvin Khoza at Pirates goes beyond the cordial.

On the positive side, Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter was happy to live without his "Major" as he has Katlego Mphela on his way from Mamelodi Sundowns to add to the current strike force of on-loan Knowledge Musona and Bafana penalty king Bernard Parker.

But Buccaneers across the nation will be ecstatic: on the day they announced the signings of former Roses United trio Helder Pelembe,Lwazi Skosana and Ntsikelelo Nyauza, Majoro is a welcome big name move.

The big clue came from Roger de Sa earlier this week. With Collins Mbesuma still overweight, Ndumiso Mabena becoming a bit of a joke and Lennox Bacela struggling more in the PSL than he did in the African Champions League, the Orlando Pirates coach said:

"Majoro is one player... honestly I think he's a fantastic striker. He played for Chiefs and Bafana, and scored a lot of goals. So, I would sign him if it was up to me, but unfortunately my job is to coach the team."

The scene was then set for Majoro to switch Soweto giants, despite the "gentleman's agreement" in place between the two clubs since Jimmy Tau's move from Pirates to Chiefs. The first approach came from Stanley "Screamer" Tshabalala, direct to Majoro. At the time, Floyd Mbele was in Cape Town on his Christmas holiday, which is why he denied all knowledge of the deal last week.

Whether this will accelerate Katlego "Killer" Mphela's move from Mamelodi Sundowns to Kaizer Chiefs - he has signed a pre-contract with six months left on his contract - remains unclear.

For Majoro to make the "immediete" move to Pirates, a loan deal or a six-month payment will have to be made - something Sukazi is currently negotiating.

But at least the Majoro picture is clearer now. And he won't have to play with himself any more!


NEDBANK CUP DRAW:

The Nedbank Cup - which threw 16 PSL teams in the hat with eight National First Division clubs and eight lower division teams - will feature a first round dominated by the Tshwane derby between Amatuks and SuperSport United.

The other all-PSL first round ties see Mpumalanga Black Aces travel to Maritzburg United while rock-bottom Golden Arrows entertain promoted Polokwane City and 

The big guns? Orlando Pirates will play last season's NFD play-off club Thanda Royal Zulu while Kaizer Chiefs must travel to Black Leopards - relegated from the PSL last season and now under the guidance of the astute Kostadin Papic.

First round ties will be played February 19-26.

Last 32 Draw

United FC vs AmaZulu

Golden Arrows vs Polokwane City

University of Pretoria vs SuperSport United

University of Stellenbosch vs Bloem Celtic

FC Buffalo (Eastern Cape) vs FC Cape Town

Mainstay United (Northern Cape) vs African Warriors

Milano United vs Bloemfontein Young Tigers

Moroka Swallows vs Mbombela United

Maritzburg United vs MP Black Aces

Santos vs Gamalakhe United (KZN)

Free State Stars vs Witbank Spurs

Platinum Stars vs Great North FC (Limpopo)

Ajax Cape Town vs Mamelodi Sundowns

Black Leopards vs Kaizer Chiefs

AmaBEE FC/PLK City Rovers FC vs Bidvest Wits

Thanda Royal Zulu vs Orlando Pirates

BOLLOCKZ! my own football show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and how we are doing in using @thumperpigeon's R5,000 to make money for the Ballz charity WINGZ OF CHANGE.

Time to support our Bafana Republic. Three against Swaziland is fine. Anything less than a stuffing against Spain will do me

The face of Mr Price: Thabo Nthethe was captain for the
night in Swaziland - and scored his first Bafana goal

Let's get this clear from the start. I have a  problem with pessimists in our Bafana Republic (isn’t that what Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula called us last week?).

Just for starters, how about those twits calling for Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter’s head less than half a season after he became the first foreign coach to win the PSL (and he added the Nedbank Cup double).

They want Baxter out despite making the inspired subsitutions (George Lebese and Lehlohonolo Majoro) to clinch a tricky encounter against Gavin Hunt's Bidvest Wits last week.

And then there are those whinging about Roger De Sa, preferring to focus on Drawlando rather than celebrating the presence of a South African club in the African Champions League final for the first time in a decade. Nonsense. It's not like there are any great contenders to replace the boss at EITHER of the Soweto giants.

And then we come to Bafana. It started within five minutes of the kick-off on the plastic surface of the Somhlolo Stadium on Saturday night.

Our national coach Gordon Igesund was accused of EVERYTHING from a lack of imagination to a one-eyed selection policy. After months of agreeing not to choose pre-occupied Pirates, he filled his squad with Buccaneers and STILL nobody was happy.

It’s madness guys. As Manchester United fans will tell you, keeping faith in a coach is a vital part of any successful football set-up.

I tweeted frantically “keep the faith” though I too was surprised by some of the selections, particularly Thabo Nthethe, playing for leaky Bloemfontein Celtic but made national captain for the night. Apparently it has something to do with his new role as “The Face of Mr Price Sport”.

But after a dreadful first half, Bafana changed things. Igesund said afterwards: “We wanted to start strongly but they parked the bus, put a lot of players behind the ball. We had a chat at half-time about how to get behind them, it worked.”

It sure did. Two goals in as many minutes from Reneilwe “YeahYeah” Letsholonyane and young Bongani Zungu were followed by a well-struck goal from Nthethe himself, his first in national colours.

Could we have asked for anything more? Gordon admitted: “We did want to go for a 4^th, 5^th and 6^th but overall I’m happy with the way we played. We pushed it about, we kept the ball.”

A bit of loyalty, a bit of belief wouldn’t go astray when it comes to Igesund, who capped his 90^th player in just over a year on Friday night as he shuffled the pack for the home-based CHAN tournament early next year.

And of course it’s all change at Soccer City on Tuesday night when World and European champions Spain return to the site of their 2010 World Cup triumph.

Gordon points out: “I’ve got the overseas contingent coming to join us, there will be changes. But I may bring in another one of those who played tonight. I’m worried about Thabo Matlaba's injury. I’ve got two left-backs out now, with Tsepo Masilela – but Nthethe can play there too.”

Swaziland, ranked 183 in the world, may prove a tad less tough than Spaniards, ranked at No1 since 2008. But Gordon remains hopeful. Just wish the rest of our football-speaking nation would join him. Anything less than a stuffing would be okay by me.

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday in www.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice and how we are doing in using @thumperpigeon's R5,000 to make money for the Ball's charity WINGZ OF CHANGE.

EXCLUSIVE: BOLLOCKZ! talks to BOTH Soweto Derby coaches before the big one: MUSONA is OUT, MAJORO is FIT, LUCKY is AVAILABLE... and KHUNE is on the phone to clubs in Europe!

BOTH Soweto Derby head coaches appeared on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on www.ballz.co.za this morning - and between them they settled all the big questions looming before Saturday's sold-out showdown.

First Roger de Sa, fresh from the 1-1 draw in Tunisia against Esperance which put his team through to the African Champions League final, came on to congratulate his jet-lagged troops on their 4-0 Telkom Knock-Out quarter-final win over Golden Arrows last night.

Derby date: De Sa and Baxter

Roger explained how his players decided to stay in camp on their return from Tunisia via the United Arab Emirates on Monday afternoon, saying: "It's been a terrific ride for us, it's had it's ups and downs but the players have been brilliant all the way through.

"The players are barely training at the moment, they don't need a fitness coach they're playing so many games. I guess one day we may "hit the wall" but for now we're doing okay, man management is getting us through. Training at the moment consists mostly of playing with the ball and stretching.

"What I can tell you is our captain Lucky Lekgwathi IS fit. He DID suffer a death in the family, he missed some training but he played a friendly while we were away and he's playing another one today.

"Like everybody else he has to compete for a place in the side. Ayanda Gcaba is probably not as good as Lucky but he is more athletic. Lucky is nearly 38, he's still a great player but it's horses for courses.

"Gcaba suited out strategy against Esperance. It's up to Lucky now to work his way back in to the side. As far as I'm concerned there are NO SINISTER FORCES a work here!"

Kaizer Chiefs boss Stuart Baxter made time before the AmaKhosi training session this morning to reveal: "I have to tell you Knowledge Musona (who dislocated a shoulder after scoring the last-gasp equaliser in the Telkom Knock-out against Free State Stars on Sunday) is out for the derby.

"We're not sure how long he's out for, but you know what a dislocated shoulder can do. How it can pop again, even when you feel like you're recovered. It won't be giving him much piece for the next couple of weeks.

"But I have options. We could push Bernard Park up to No9, we've also got Kingston Nkhatha who looked sharp in training - and I can confirm Lehlohonolo Majoro is fit. He had a slight niggle in the groin area but he's fine now.

"He could be the automatic option with Knowledge out."

Baxter also confirmed: "Simphiwe Tshabalala is back in training and everybody else is raring to go."

The Scotsman, the first foreigner to win the PSL title in his first year in the PSL, added high praise for his goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune before the big derby, insisting: "He's not just one of the best in Africa, I'd throw that a bit wider and ask who's better than him in Europe. He's got the attitude to match his talent.

"Even as we speak he's on the phone to several professional clubs asking about his signature!"

You can see the Roger de Sa video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg_YnXvPLXI

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!