Soweto's season of discontent: Chiefs, Swallows and Cosmos slump while Pirates fly the final flag

BETTER DAYS: me with coach Zeca Marques in 2013
when Moroka Swallows won the MTN8 trophy

SOWETO, the beating heart of South African football, has never had it so bad. Ask Moroka Swallows fans after the once-mighty Dube Birds plunged in to the third division over the weekend.

Right now, South Africa's most famous suburb are pinning their hopes fervently to the coat-tails of Orlando Pirates.

The SOuth WEstern TOwnship, which emerged in 1904 as an evacuation camp at Klipspruit municipal sewage farm, was always going to be the centre of excellence. Teeming with 904,000 potential football fans - the working classes are footballers, the posh tend towards rugby - the modern game has been dominated by Soweto’s finest for decades.

All over the world, from Rio to Manchester, Jozi to Lagos, it’s the lads from the streets who emerge at the top of the beautiful game, shaking the dust from their boots to earn millions with their feet. Soweto was no different. The great players, the great clubs.

But not this season.

Kaizer Chiefs, who won the PSL with a record 69 points last season, could see that mark broken by new champions Mamelodi Sundowns, who would claim 71 points if they win their final game against Platinum Stars on Saturday.

Chiefs on the other hand need a season-closing win over in-form Chippa United to reach third - they could even slip as low as 5th without it. The title was gone weeks ago, with barely a sigh.

Steve Komphela’s side have drawn 11 this season and offer defensive midfielder Willard Katsande as their top scorer with six goals. They have won ONCE since downing SuperSport United on February 20 two months ago, a run of 12 games featuring a sole (fortunate) 2-1 triumph over lowly AmaTuks.

But while #komphelaout has featured prominently on the social networks, so too has #tinklerout as rivals Orlando Pirates have struggled to emerge from the lower reaches of the PSL after their exhausting journey to the CAF Confederations Cup final.

Tinkler enjoyed a brief recovery - eight wins punctuated by one defeat - and he will finish in the Top Eight if the Buccaneers beat SuperSport United in their final clash on Saturday.

But going in to Saturday afternoon’s soggy Nedbank Cup semi-final against Free State Stars on Saturday, Pirates had slumped once more. They needed a fantastic own goal and a late rally to see off Ea Lla Koto 4-2 and surge in to the final at the Peter Mokaba Stadium on May 28.

While Komphela talks about “playing football on Mars”, Tinkler accepts “We have been disappointing”. Together the Soweto Giants could end trophyless and out of the top three for the first time since 2008. Already Pirates are assured of their worst league finish in the PSL era.

And what about the old giants, Moroka Swallows? We all know the story there. Struggling with the R15m debt left by former chairman Leon Prins, a buyer cannot be found. PSL relegation has been followed by a torrid NFD season of non-payment and coaching merry-go-rounds.

Now headed for the ABC Motsepe League after an unprecedented relegation double, the less said about the Dube Birds the better, though I would ask this: how can the PSL executive award themselves R65m in bonuses when a club like Swallows are struggling?

And then we come to Soweto’s fourth club. Coached by Jomo and owned by Mr Sono. They haven’t won anything since the famous ex-footballer decided to take on all available roles at the club.

Never far from relegation, Jomo Cosmos face a possible points deduction over an unregistered player this week and a final battle against Maritzburg United to stay up on Saturday.

A lost title for Chiefs, a worst ever finish for Pirates, bottom of the NFD for Swallows, possible relegation for Cosmos. It’s not been a great year for Soweto on the football field.

Pirates alone are clinging to the hope of silverware. But to do that they’ll have to beat Stuart Baxter, the SuperSport United coach who took Chiefs to their greatest heights in recent years.

His side’s wet, wet, wet 2-0 win over NFD upstarts Baroka on Saturday was pretty emphatic. At least it ended the debate about how the Nedbank Cup final could be played in Baroka’s hometown Polokwane.

But Tinkler won’t worry about any of that. For him, it’s win or bust. It’s Pirates v SuperSport in BOTH the last game of the NFD and the Nedbank Cup final.

No doubting who holds the popular vote. Pirates can save the season for Soweto. But Baxter won’t mind that.

SIMPLY NDORABLE: the astonishing rise of Orlando Pirates and their goal-happy TENdai!

TEN FOR TENDAI: Ndoro is in a rich run of form

SIMPLY NDORABLE. The fairytale of Tinkler Ball. An Orlando Pirates revival that has become too impressive to ignore. And too bizarre to leave unexplored.

In truth, WWWWDWWWW since February 21 should never have happened. Coach Eric Tinkler was widely touted for the axe after the CAF Confederations final defeat at the start of December, but his chairman Irvin Khoza just never got around to chopping off his coach's head.

The man popularly known as #Tinklerout remained in charge confiding in me “what will be, will be, that’s football” as he struggled from game to game before Christmas. At one point the mighty Buccaneers, double treble winners just four years ago, looked a hopeless case in 13th position, just above the top three. Unthinkable for a side NEVER relegated. 

The Sea Robbers, as their nickname suggested, were all at sea complete with leaking ship and powderless cannons.

It got worse. Kermit Erasmus went overboard without warning, and left for France, Thamsanqa Gabuza walked the plank, disappearing from the squad with apparent burn-out. Tinkler, scrambling for a life jacket in an ocean of despair, turned to a 27-year-old from Luwewe in Zimbabwe called Tendai Ndoro. It was sink or swim.

A Chicken Inn product, Ndoro was impressive at Aces, where he scored 14 goals in 41 games, before the big move to Soweto. But despite what looked to me to be a sharp pre-season, Ndoro languished on the bench at Pirates for months. He was lucky to even get a seat as Tinkler stuck with Erasmus, Gabuza and the curiously sluggish Lehlohonolo Majoro.

TOLD YOU SO! My tweet in September last year
questioning the disappearance of Tendai Ndoro

On September 15, 2015, I tweeted about Ndoro being surplus to requirements and sent an SMS to Eric Tinkler, a coach who is always polite enough to reply. He said Tendai was not training well, and had confidence problems. 

But needs must. Let’s return to the low point: 3-0 down at half-time to rock-bottom Maritzburg United on January 16, Ndoro comes on at half-time, fails to score but they grab a point, 3-3.

There’s a few up and downs after that but February 21 is the key point. With Gabuza and Erasmus gone, Ndoro scored in the 3-1 win over an in-form Aces in Mpumalanga.

And then the run began. With Chiefs STILL stuck winless since February 20, here’s the full story of Pirates revival with Ndoro’s goals listed:

21 Feb: 3-1 Aces (a) Ndoro 1

27 Feb: 1-0 Celtic (h)

5 March: 2-0 Chiefs (a) Ndoro 2

12 March: 5-0 Cosmos (h) Ndoro 1

16 March: 0-1 Wits (a)

3 April: 3-1 Cosmos (a) Ndoro 2

9 April: Free State Stars 1-0 (h) Ndoro 1

16 April: Arrows 4-1 (a) Nodder 2

23 April Sundowns 2-0 (a) Ndoro 1

Nine games in all competitions, one defeat.. and TEN GOALS for Tendai Ndoro. Pirates have gone WWWWLWWWW while rivals Chiefs are on a run of DDLLLLLD since mid February. Incredible.

During that time, Tebogo Moloi, the long-running assistant boss at Pirates, has disappeared on long leave. Fitness coach Warren Engelbrecht and effervescent goalkeeping trainer Rowen Fernandez sit alongside Tinkler.

Captain Oupa Manyisa has been out injured and has yet to return. Gabuza has played twice for Bafana but not for Pirates. Crowds at the Orlando Stadium have dipped below 3,000. The Iron Duke called a press conference not to announce exciting new developments but to mark the retirement of near-legendary centre-back Siya Sangweni.

The pressure has never eased. Even at 0-0 against Sundowns on Saturday night, the Ghost were haunting Tinkler. Saying he was tactically inept, should have made changes, was hopeless.

But Tinkler just gritted his teeth and held on, as he has ever since Roger de Sa left for Ajax Cape Town two years ago, even when unlamented Vladimir Vermecovic was making a hash of it. Tinkler doesn’t quit. He hangs on despite the odds. And it worked. Down to ten men, Ndoro scored in extra-time, then made the second goal.

And Tinkler, through to the Nedbank Cup semi-finals, was left smiling: “We were down to 10 and I had to play that way. I knew they would be vulnerable to the break away… and they were.”

Ndoro, with his streaky hair and slick demeanour said simply: “We work hard. We work as a team. We want the Nedbank Cup.”

Now breathing over the shoulders of arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the PSL and threatening the top four, Tinkler and Ndoro lifting silverware would be the icing on the cake.

And given the position at Christmas, a true footballing fairy tale.

Guest writer Thilixxo on how Kaizer Chiefs will defend their title... and why Jomo Sono must step down

BE MY GUEST: Thilixxo

ABOUT MY FIRST GUEST WRITER:

Thilivhali Daniel Nekokwane Nemulalate calls himself "@thilixxo" on Twitter. I've been putting my stories here since before the 2010 World Cup; nearly 1m people have clicked on this site. So I thought somebody else should have a go - somebody with quite a story to tell,  and who loves football as I do.


Thilivhali was born in 1974 September 26, in Venda, Limpopo. He studied and completed his matric there and moved permanently to Johannesburg in 1992. He says: "I did my tertiary studies in Technikon SA. I am a football fanatic and die-hard Kaizer Chiefs fan since 1981. I engage in lot of football discussion but never wrote a published article.

"My facebook page is Reverend T D Nemulalate and I discuss no soccer in it. I am a Pastor. I am in a relationship and have 3 children. I never played professional soccer, though I was very much involved in rural soccer development when still residing in Venda."



I know there are lot of hot topics football fans, especially SA Football followers, would love to engage in. Showboating, the "Pitso Mosimane and Shakes Mashaba spy saga", whether Dean Furman failed overseas, Tefu Mashamaite’s big salary cut, season tickets, empty stadiums and many more are dominating the headlines at the moment.

Such issues have clouded our most interesting start of the season discussion: WHO WILL WIN THE LEAGUE?

There are other competitions like TKO, Nedbank Cup and MTN8. But we all know the big one is the PSL. A coach will be forgiven for not winning any of the cup competition, but will be fired and criticized for not doing well in the PSL.


If you ask Jomo Sono right now what his goal for this season is, he will tell you it is to remain in PSL. Now the big questions are WHO WILL WIN PSL and WHO WILL BE RELEGATED?

My predictions have nothing to do with which team I am a supporter of. And it is my opinion and everyone has his or her opinion. You are welcome to discuss my predictions. \

TITLE CONTENDERS 

Bidvest Wits: If there is one thing that Gavin Hunt has mastered over the years, it is how to win the league. Gavin has a system and he sticks to it. He never plays to please the eyes of the supporters. His teams are direct and stick to basics.

I have also noticed that he is able to get players to play for him, making him a very good motivator. And at Wits he has now built a very balanced team strong at the back and midfield.

The strike force is a suspect but I have realized that he will be asking his midfielders to quickly get into the box to feed off the big Namibian, Henrico Botes. This is one team that will win lot of games by 1-0. And Botes will get a goal here and there.


Supersport United FC: favorites to win the league according to most soccer pundits, and the recent capture of Bafana Bafana's Dean Furman has just fuelled those predictions.

SSU will also be helped by the fact that they have managed to keep the majority of the players from last season.

Beside Furman, they have brought back Bongani Khumalo from England; they also have signed players from Oceania who have already impressed. Jeremy Brockie from New Zealand will certainly continue banging in the goals. It will take time for the defense to gel but with keeper.

Ronwen Williams they have someone who will bail them now and then when they are gelling. Most importantly, in Gordon Igesund they have a coach who has won most league title in SA with different teams. He certainly knows how to win the league. They will have to deal with inconsistencies of last season under GI though if they want to be counted up there end of season.


Mamelodi Sundowns: surprised us all by not going into the market the way we are used to this season. It is clear they have realized that chopping and changing has been their biggest downfall.

I doubt Sundowns have kept one coach for 3 seasons in the last 10 seasons, I stand to be corrected. That shows the change in attitude in the management. Chiefs secret last 3 seasons was to stick to the same team and I think Sundowns has adopted the same attitude.

The only challenge they face is to find the replacement of Alje Schut as he offered more than just defending. Sundowns has the strongest strike force in Mashed, Malajila, Laffor and their midfield of Modise and Kekana gets goals now and then.

Their only downfall this season will be the news starting to come out about the boardroom and training ground disunity.


Kaizer Chiefs: The major change at Naturena is surely the appointment of Steve Komphela to replace Stuart Baxter as head coach. The departure of Tefu Mashamaite, who formed a formidable partnership with Eric Mathoho, will also be felt.

I believe the technical team has already noticed and are dealing with it. I believe Chiefs still need to sign another midfielder who can score goals, May Mahlangu in particular, then they can/will win the league. From what I have seen in last two games, the playing style hasn’t changed much. Playing personnel has enough experience to win the league, they have been there before. Once Chiefs start to put away those many chances they create, they will be unstoppable.


HOW THEY WILL FINISH:
Winner Kaizer Chiefs 
Runners up Bidvest Wits 
Third Supersport United 
Fourth Mamelodi Sundowns 



TOP EIGHT
I predict Orlando Pirates, MP Black Aces, Ajax Cape Town and Platinum Stars will complete the top 8 in no particular order. Pirates are still involved in the CAF Confederation Cup and it is negatively impacting on their domestic form.

They did not rest over the PSL break and fatigue can be seen in players. They have been hit by injuries lately, which could be the results of fatigue. They are also very inconsistent under Eric Tinkler. I tweeted sometime that Tinkler is in fact a better coach than I rated him, but he is not one to win big things yet. I think they will blow hot and cold the whole season.

When I think of Ajax Cape Town, I think of Arthur Zwane’s words, “Kids don’t win the league”. Again, for some reason, teams under Rodger De Sa do very well in first half the season and very bad after Christmas break. Only God Knows why.

One can only pray that Mpumalanga Black Aces coach Muhsin Ertugral will not decide to leave for family reasons or a better coaching job somewhere. Ertugral talks a lot about attacking like Africans and defending like Europeans.

From that you can already see lot of draws for Mpumalanga Black Aces. One thing you can almost guarantee for Aces is a final in one competition or even Gold in one. Ertugral does very well in that department.

Cavin Johnson has returned to Platinum Stars and will have to deal with the loss of players like Ngele and Mashabela who formed a backbone of the Dikwena he coached to 2nd position 3 seasons ago. Surely they will be very interesting to watch as Zongo and Makudubela are stylish players. But to do as well as a season before, they will have to sign proven goal poacher.


MID TABLE 
I predict Bloemfontein Celtic, Golden Arrows, Free State Stars and Polokwane City will complete that department in that particular order.

Yes, Celtic has started the season very well considering their MTN8 exploits. But as usual they will fade when the going gets tough. I see a lot of draws for them as Larsen is defensive coach.

Golden Arrows will play for survival and Serame Letsoaka still have to prove himself as a head coach. Having worked with GI, I think he has learned enough to do well and Ramagalela will prove to be a good buy.

Free State Stars are also coached by defensive minded coach and with a striker like Sekola still there, I see a lot of goal draws.

I still don’t understand why Polokwane City kept Kostadin Papic as coach. The man doesn’t know the word defence. Like P Stars, they will be very watchable. Expect lot of goals whenever they are in action. Draws and losses are orders of the day whenever PLK City is in town.

RELEGATION CANDIDATES 
Maritzburg United: They had a fairytale season last season, having qualified for top 8 for the first time in their history under Steve Komphela, who has since been snatched by Kaizer Chiefs. Mandla Ncikazi, new coach, will find the going very tough. The fact that they managed to keep most players and have good ones like Kurt Leintjies will help them survive the chop, even though they will be battling down there throughout.

Pretoria University: Having lost their first league game against returnees Arrows, it already looks like it will be a difficult journey for Amatuks. They have lost one of last season star players in Massa. There were rumors of selling their PSL status as the team is reported to be struggling with big salaries. The university management is worried that some players, who are students, earn bigger than university management and professors. It seems it is getting very expensive to run the team without a big sponsor.

Chippa United: don’t be fooled by their super performance against Kaizer Chiefs. Who don’t play well against Chiefs? And you don’t have to look further than their performance against Orlando Pirates. Where was that fighting spirit? Two loses and Chippa Mpengesi gets his gun polished, and that will be story of the season. Roger said they will not be push overs this time, well we have heard that before.

Jomo Cosmos: “We are back for good this time, we are” says Jomo Sono. Isn’t that what Jomo says every time Cosmos gets promoted? God Knows how many times. The squad has talent but it is clear Jomo has lost touch and his coaching tactics needs renewal. All local coaches in PSL understand modern football but not Jomo.

He is still somewhere in 1999. Cosmos once won only two games in whole season. I will not be surprised if it happens again this time around. Solution would be to get a coach and stepping aside by Bra J.

From the bottom to the top: Craig Rosslee explains his 10-month revolution at AmaZulu

Leader of the green revolution: Craig Rosslee

Explain this: Ten months ago, AmaZulu were marooned at the bottom of the PSL. Today, they are level on points at the top of South African fooball.

It’s the kind of turnaround which creates legends in Europe. But in South Africa, AmaZulu’s rise from the ashes has gone almost unnoticed.

The key to the AmaZulu revolution is the coach Craig Rosslee, a former Hellenic, Santos and Cape Town Spurs defender who went on to coach Ajax Cape Town and played a major part in Orlando Pirates first treble as assistant to Ruud Krol in 2009/2010.

When Rosslee took over AmaZulu in November last year, the famous cries of Usuthu! were muted. The club had managed just nine points from 12 games under Swedish boss Roger Palmgren and they trailed behind Chippa United and Leopards, the clubs destined for relegation. Under Rosslee, they took 20 points from their remaining 18 games to secure safety in 12^th position.

This season they have 11 points from their first five games and share the top of the PSL with SuperSport United, Kaizer Chiefs, Mamelodi Sundowns and Moroka Swallows.

Rosslee, also an accomplished television analyst, told me on my football show BOLLOCKZ! on Ballz visual radio (see video at the foot of this story): “Ten months! Obviously my first task was to keep the club up last season. We had nine points when I arrived, we got clear of relegation, we ended safely in mid-table.

“At the end of the season we decided to make some changes. We shipped out 17 players, brought in 15. We only kept a handful of the old players.

“At this point in time it’s a work in progress. The aim is to get the players to gel, to get them playing together. It’s coming along nicely now. We’re doing it in a very professional way, we have character, guys who do the work. That’s what we’re looking for.

“If this squad can apply themselves, both on and off the field, I see a great future for the club.”

In charge of one of South Africa’s oldest clubs (founded in 1932 only Wits University (1921) is older), Rosslee grins: “Remember I played for AmaZulu, like you I remember the Joel Fayas. This job is more about what I can give back than what I can take from this club.

“The Royal Family back us, the people look to us. Things stagnated. South African football in general has to find a way to move forward, and we have a duty to encourage development too.

“We’re lacking goals in this country. How do we address that? I’m happy to work on that generally, with all the other clubs.

“We have to find goals. Look at Gavin Hunt at Wits. He’s spoiled for choice up front but still doesn’t get them. How do we get players to score goals?

Hot shot: Ayanda Dlamini

“I need strikers who can score more than five goals a season. I have to get goals from other positions too if we’re not going to get 15 or 20 goals out of a striker. We need wide men to can put the ball in the right place.

“Apart from Bongani Ndulula, our predominant target man is Ayanda Dlamini, he took a while to get on centre stage, he’s 28 now. But he’s getting the goals that get us out of trouble. He’s a fantastic finisher.

“You have to work with the strikers, get them to hit the target, hit the target. Because often that’s not done at the development stage you know.

“The fact of the matter is we’ve still got to work on these lads, get them to develop their skills while they’re playing at the top level of football in South Africa.”

With a near-fullhouse at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on Saturday to witness Platinum Stars’ surprise penalty shoot-out MTN8 final win over Orlando Pirates, Rosslee believes a successful AmaZulu can awake the dormant fans in the port city.

He insists: “I would love to see the stadium full for games against all sides in the PSL. I believe if we play the right brand of football we can do that. That needs to be reflected across the country. Play attacking football and the fans will come.”

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 10am-noon. See the Ballz channel on Youtube for our growing collection of interviews like the one above.

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!

A tale of suspension: The scandal of South Africa's National First Division which leaves Jomo Sono sidelined

Super Sono: will we ever see this again?

THERE is a scandal lurking beneath the surface of South Africa football which needs to be urgently addressed. It has nothing to do with Bobby Motaung’s dealings in Mbombela or the way Orlando Pirates go for the ball.

This is a far more pressing problem involving a missing teenager: What exactly has happened to the 16-year-old National First Division?

Last week, as the Premier Soccer League celebrated the return of ABSA, introduced the Q innovation and offered journalists R500,000 to predict results, we were told the NFD was “suspended until further notice”.

That’s like the Championship in England being called off a week after it was due to start… an unthinkable act of footballing foolishness.

Acting PSL CEO Cambridge Mokanyane, a controversial caretaker following the shock departure of Stanley Matthews at the end of last season, says we must now wait for a Special General Meeting “towards the end of August 2012” that will decide on the future of the NFD.

But exactly why Mokanyane was involved is hard to fathom, given that the members agreed just a week earlier that the NFD should be a stand-alone league in an effort to make it more viable as an attractive brand.

What we do know is this: relegated Premier League sides Jomo Cosmos and Santos, along with failed play-off contenders Thanda Royal Zulu, are now operating in a vacuum. They have resumed pre-season training and are paying large squads of professional players – but they have no fixture list and no prospect of a game – or promotion - in sight.

Jomo Sono, the larger-than-life proprietor of relegated PSL club Cosmos, insists: “I know both leagues because we have played in both of them for quite some time. It’s high time the NFD realised its potential in terms of competing for support and raising the level of competition on the field."

While the new-fangled PSL offers R1.5m to the quarterly winners of their top tier, the NFD remains dramatically sponsor-free and racked by legal action brought over the presence of various unregistered players last season.

Blackburn Rovers had a drawn out issue and just last week it was announced that Carara Kicks have been relegated from the league which South African football relies upon to feed clubs in to the Premier.

Though there is no date set for the “special meeting”,  the PSL – sponsors of the NFD when Mvelaphanda pulled out in 2007 - insist they will "deliberate and expand on the NFD matter" but nobody is willing to talk and the First division teams have NOT YET been give their R250 000 monthly grant (the Premier clubs receive R1m) though the PSL's head of communications Connie Motshumi insists thi will happen soon.

When the NFD split from the PSL, Jabu Khumalo, boss of long-running NFD side African Warriors, said: "We are confident that the stand-alone National First Division will grow as a big sporting brand in South Africa and on the continent.

"We have many companies that we intend approaching to sponsor us, including television companies to broadcast our matches."

But Khumalo insists the word “split” is too strong. He said: “It’s too strong to say split. It doesn’t perfectly describe what this is all about.

“There is the main body which runs both the PSL and the NFD, the NSL. Should this go ahead it will remain like that only that the NFD will not fall under the PSL as it has  in the past but will be a standalone league.

“We will then start mobilising sponsors and re-brand the league to make it more attractive to not only future funders but fans too.

“This will have a positive impact on South African football in the long run. We will continue to be a development league for the PSL but now we will  be giving them stronger teams and stronger players who can compete, raising the bar.”

Khumalo says: “The problem is that we have been overshadowed by the PSL for far too long and initially it will be hard but we can make it work.”

And we can only hope he’s right. A Premier League without a feeder system and, possibly, without promotion and relegation, is unthinkable.

This article appeared in www.thenewage.co.za today... if you have any information of the impact of the NFD suspension, please email me on www.nealcollins.hotmail.com.