SOLVED: THE SOWETO GIANT-KILLINGS... why Pirates and Chiefs will go no further in the MTN8

OvoNO! Two assists for Pirates goalkeeper

FROM a poorly attended mid-week start to the PSL to the fascinating MTN8... and straight to an international break. Not the best way to start the South African football season but hey, it's been absorbing.

Unless you support Orlando Pirates or Kaizer Chiefs.

In a season barely two games old, the demise of BOTH Soweto Giants in the lucrative MTN8 competition should come as an earth-shaking upset to long-suffering local football watchers.

Sadly, as I have been saying for some time, it’s not much of a surprise. Kaizer Chiefs, though dominant in possession, failed 1-0 against three-month-old Cape Town City while Orlando Pirates were beaten 2-1 by Bidvest Wits despite an early penalty.

In truth, the AmaKhosi and the Buccaneers should be sneering at these small clubs with tiny support bases. Both Soweto clubs still enjoy the R1bn 5-year joint-sponsorship from Vodacom - not to mention the benefits of the Carling Black Label Cup and numerous other sponsors.

But the Khoza-Motaung alliance, now forged in marriage of daughter and son as well as self-serving sponsorship, has failed to bring the expected advantages of monopoly. One glance at the MTN8 semi-final draw shows Sundowns against Chippa United and Wits against Cape Town City over two legs. Shocking.

In theory, Pirates and Chiefs both enjoy huge support, drawing the majority of fans in every city in South Africa, no matter the opposition. Lately those crowds have collapsed, but even with gate income at an all-time low, they should be in massive profit.

Yet still here we are, with both clubs, who finished a disappointing 5th and 7th in the PSL last season, out of the MTN8 at the first hurdle.

For me, the reasons are clear and have been highlighted here repeatedly. Bobby Motaung, the Chiefs “General Manager” refuses to spend his millions on transfer fees, preferring to sniff out free signings and cheap deals with agent Tim Sukazi.

Not much has been said about the way Sukazi’s clients now dominate the Chiefs technical bench too. A few weeks ago, boss Steve Komphela - who said after Friday’s night’s defeat “pressure is a pleasure” - hinted that the public execution of 20 Chiefs players in June and the arrival of 8 cheap replacements and a couple of youth squad members was not exactly how he planned to start his second season at Naturena.

And at Pirates, where three top youngsters were sent to the excellent Dance Malesela's Chippa and a trio of Free State Stars were drafted in during the Panyaza Lesufi/Moroka Swallows fiasco, Muhsin Etrugral (swapped with Eric Tinkler when Mpumalanga Black Aces were deleted) is little better off.

To his credit Etrugral took the blame for Saturday night’s humiliation against Gavin Hunt’s tougher, harder, better Clever Boys. Twice. He said he was at fault for the way the Buccaneers went “backwards, backwards” and he scapegoated himself for the absence of Brighton Mhlongo in goal.

And this is where we come to the real problem. While neither Chiefs nor Pirates appear to have spent much for three transfer windows - R3m for Ghana’s Bernard Morrison from AS Vita appears to be the only fee paid - it’s not just a lack of talent which keeps Soweto’s football in the second class compartment.

What I don’t understand in this: WHY does Komphela, so intelligent, so articulate, continue to start Bernard Parker when clearly the man is a spent force? And WHY did Etrugral take Felipe Ovono, a rare home-born Equatorial Guinea international, off the transfer list and shove him in to the first team?

Parker, as I said repeatedly on twitter, had no impact in Cape Town. He was whisked off at half-time to general acclaim from the on-line AmaKhosi. Ovono was trending on the social networks for inadvertently assisting in both Wits goals.

My question is this: who selects the teams in Soweto? Previous regimes at both clubs claim to have their team list changed in the dressing-room minutes before the game. Both those coaches are now gone. You'd assume with Tebza Moloi and Doc Khumalo now OUT of the dressing room, all this would come to a halt.

But here were are, a week in to the new season, and the bizarre selections - once termed “sinister forces” by the now-dumped Pirate Lucky Lekgwathi - are still with us. Mind-blowingly silly decisions by two coaches under HUGE pressure to perform.

Etrugral clearly knows he has to toe the line in his early days at Parktown. But for Komphela, with one dodgy win over relegated AmaTuks since February, must surely rely on his own instincts at this point.

Or tell us EXACTLY who things work at Kaizer Chiefs before it’s too late.

YOU CAN'T FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME: examining the Kaizer Chiefs "shopping spree"

CHICKEN INN BARGAIN: Michelle "Mitchell" Katsvairo

YOU can fool some of the people all of the time. You can fool all of the people some of the time.

But, like Abraham Lincoln, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion you can’t fool all of the people, all of the time.

When Steve Komphela last week claimed he searched high and low for new players to reinforce once-mighty Kaizer Chiefs, he’s not fooling around.

His reputation, his career, his future depend on inspiring the AmaKhosi to greater heights in the new season after a troubled first campaign at Naturena.

He inherited a team which had broken all sorts of records under Stuart Baxter and after a reasonable start he just could not keep the gold and black express on the rails. After beating SuperSport United on February 20 this year, they won just one game, against relegated AmaTuks, and the referee was extremely friendly that night. I was there.

Had Komphela's men, by now playing two midfielders up front, suffered that sort of form all season they would have ended up out of the top eight, looking over their shoulders at relegation.

Still, two failed cup finals and fifth place in the PSL would, by most standards, be judged “not that bad” by ordinary fans in normal leagues. But in South Africa the AmaKhosi, having won four trophies in three seasons under Stuart Baxter, were hoping for something better. Something a lot better.

Baxter told me on the day he won his second title last year: “Neal, I want to stay, but we need a major overhaul. I can name you 12 players who need to be recycled. And Bobby Motaung will not let me play a role in the changes we need to make. I can’t work like that.”

Baxter then rubbed salt in the wounds six months later when he took over from Gordon Igesund at SuperSport United, lifted the club in to the top eight and won the Nedbank Cup. You could almost feel the anger emanating from the club that has become known as the AmaDrawsi.

But I digress. A year after Baxter was replaced by Komphela, that major overhaul was carried out overnight. On May 31 this year, Motaung announced a list of 20 players who were not longer required.

Bobby, the Football Manager, claimed to have informed each player of their fate, telling them “this is the coach’s dossier on you, you are not needed at Kaizer Chiefs.” One player described his meeting with me, claiming "Bobby tried to ignore the fact I still had years left on my contract, he wanted me to leave without a word."

Remarkably, that list - longer than any I have heard of in 40 years of football reporting - was put out on the club’s official web-site. Some of the rejects claimed that was the first they had heard of it. Others felt it diminished the value of contracted players like Siboniso Gaxa and Siyanda Xulu. I believe it was simply a cost-cutting excercise, though how Chiefs with their multi-million sponsorships can be in financial trouble is beyond me.

The immediate question was: how do they replace those players? Why were the likes of Bernard Parker left untouched? How old is Ivan Bukenya? Can Bobby afford a really BIG NAME signing to thrill the worried fans?

After much speculation, last week we were assured Motaung had worked with Komphela and his agent Tim Sukazi to produce a long list of reinforcements after the apocalypse. But it didn't happen. There was no revelation, no name we hadn't heard meekly suggested in previous weeks.

And there was Komphela telling us: "We cast our eyes far and wide to ensure we brought the kind of players we believe will quickly adjust to our style of play.

"The players we have announced are very exciting. There are a number of changes in the team. We have to get the chemistry quickly so that we can get results.”

He may have fooled some of the fans. But the truth is Chiefs announced a list of just eight players, a mixture of free transfers, swaps and “undisclosed fees” from foreign clubs. 

Up front, where Camaldine Abraw - who was announced as “injured for nine months” at the press conference - scored just 4 goals, the hoped-for big-name signing of Tokelo Rantie, unwanted at Bournemouth, failed to materialise.

Instead, Lewis Macha, a one-cap Zambian playing in Mozambique, was joined by Emmanuel Letlotlo, promoted after top scoring in the Chiefs Asidlali reserves, and two Zimbabweans from Chicken Inn, Michelle Katsvairo (not Mitchell as they say up north) and Edmore Chirambadare.

Effectively, with Abraw injured, those four untested strikers - not youngsters, they’re all in their mid 20s - will have to provide Komphela with the spearhead he requires.

Edward Manqele, David Zulu, Bongani Ndulula and Siphelele Mthembu, last year’s largely untried strikers, are all on the OUT list.

Komphela, who ended last season with Siphiwe Tshabalala and Bernard Parker up front during the inglorious season-ending slump, told us: "We are happy with the quality the new attackers will add to the team in the coming season. We will get to see them during pre-season (he really did say that). We truly believe in Lewis' talent.”

And yes, among those four could be another Khama Billiat, given how little the club appears to know about their three new foreign strikers. We can only pray that dream comes true.

But you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. So far, Chiefs have given their fans eight cheap replacements and nothing to shout about. They have simply saved money. The one glaring example: Sundowns captain Ramahlwe Mphahlele arrives on less than half the R5m salary Xulu commanded when he arrived free from Rostov as a Bafana Bafana regular. 

Below, I’ve given lists of the unwanted players, the new signings and the possible future arrivals, all of the players approached by Motaung in a frenzy since his money-saving release of 20 Naturena refugees. I've even given a list of the players who would command a fee and are thus, for now, not likely to arrive at penny-pinching Chiefs.

My final foolish question is simply this: who would you rather stake your reputation on? Ndulula, Manqela, Mthembu and Zulu… or Michelle, Edmore, Emma and Lewis?

RELEASED BY KAIZER CHIEFS:

Contract not renewed:

1 Morgan Gould

2 Siboniso Gaxa

3 Reneilwe Letsholonyane

4 Reyaad Pieterse

Released from contract:

5 Philani Cele

6 Ovidy Karuru

7 Levy Mokgothu

8 Simphiwe Mtsweni

9 Shandukani Mulovhedzi

10 Chris Matombo

11 Zitha Macheke

Put on transfer:

12 Siyanda Xulu

13 Bongani Ndulula

14 Edward Manqele

15 Siphelele Mthembu

16 Sula Matovu

17 Ivan Bukenya

On loan:

18 David Zulu (Chippa United)

19 Andisiwe Mtsila

Swap deal:

20 Keegan Ritchie (with SuperSport United’s Sibusiso Khumalo)

THE NEW RECRUITS:

CONFIRMED LAST WEEK:

1 Keagan Buchanan, 25, Bloemfontein Celtic (free) Midfield

2 Sbu Khumalo, 26, SuperSport United (swap with Keagan Ritchie) Defender

3 Ramahlwe Mphahlele, 26, Mamelodi Sundowns (free, signed pre-contract) Defender

4 Michelle Katsairo, 26, Chicken Inn (R3m deal) Striker

5 Lewis Macha, 24, Clube Ferroviário de Maputo (undisclosed) Striker

6 Edmore Chirambadare, 24, Chicken Inn (R750,000 deal) Striker

7 Ennocent Mkhabula, 27, SuperSport United (released, free) Midfielder

8 Emmanuel Letlotlo, 18, Asidlali (new contract, promoted) Striker

STILL POSSIBLE

1 Lebohang Mokoena, 29, Mamelodi Sundowns (free, released) Striker/wing

2 Kudakwashe Mahachi, 22, Golden Arrows loan/Sundowns (free) Midfielder

3 Joseph Molangoane, 28, Chippa United (free) Midfielder

4 Siphelele Ntshangase, 23, Black Leopards (injured, free) Mid/striker

5  Aviwe Nyamende, 23, Shumba Academy (new contract) Defender

FEES REQUIRED

1 Thamsanqa Sangweni, 27, Golden Arrows (R4m) Midfielder

2 Evans Rusike, 25, Maritzburg United (undisclosed) Striker

3 Sibusiso Vilakazi, 26, Bidvest Wits (R12m) Midfielder

4 Thapelo Morena, 22, Bloem Celtic (R6m)

5 Prince Nxumalo, Ajax Cape Town (R4m) Striker

6 Anthony Laffor, Mamelodi Sundowns (R4m) Striker

7 Charlton Mashumba, Jomo Cosmos (R3m) Striker

8 Bantu Mzwakali, 22, Ajax Cape Town (R3m) Midfielder

9 Justice Chabalala, 26, Free State Stars (R2m)

THE BUBBLE BURST: Where it all went wrong for Itumeleng Khune and the Kaizer Chiefs rebel trio

Playing for keeps: Sunday World back page

SO Tuesday is D-Day. The final bloody assault in a two-month campaign to bridge the gap between Itumeleng Khune and Kaizer Chiefs.

We have had weeks of one-sided artillery from AmaKhosi "football manager" Bobby Motaung against Khune, Mandla Masango and Tefu Mashamaite since the infamous press conference when the rebel trio were told to leave on June 2.

In a series of convenient leaks to the Sunday papers, Bobby told us how the three were demanding ridiculous amounts to sign new contracts while simultaneously forcing out his title-winning coach Stuart Baxter.

I have consistently stuck with the players in this debate. I believe the figures quoted in the papers were distorted, that Khune was NOT the highest paid player in the PSL and that both Masango and Mashamaite were asking for reasonable increases given the circumstances.

My argument: that Kaizer Chiefs have won R54m in prize money over the past three seasons (more than covering the cost of three new contracts) and that they bring in millions more from sponsors Vodacom, Carling and Hollard. Bobby knew he could afford the pay rises but steadfastly refused to offer his title-winning stalwarts an extra penny.

Remember, these are not just journeymen hoping for a contract. Masango was Kaizer Chiefs top scorer last season, his seven goals amounting to more than any of the many AmaKhosi strikers in a record-breaking season which saw Stuart Baxter’s men win the PSL with a record 69 points.

Khune, though hampered by injury and club politics last term, remains South Africa’s No1 goalkeeper and captained South Africa in their last two outings against Mauritius.

Yet here they are, cap in hand, begging for a return to the club that discarded them within days of the title celebrations last season.

And standing in the shadows as they approach Bobby Motaung and his admin manager Abdullah Mayet today is Tefu Mashamaite, the man who won every award on offer last season for his stirring exploits at centre-back for Baxter’s miserly Chiefs. 

On May 20, Mashamaite added the Chiefs player of the season award to his PSL silverware. Within a week he was told he would not be getting the new contract he felt he deserved.

The big mistake? All three "rebels" believed the South African soccer market was as it has always been all over the world: eager to pay stars millions while under-paying the up-and-coming hopefuls.

Khune’s agent Dan Lichman, who has now parted company with British agency Triple S, set the trend. He assumed, from 5000 miles away, that Khune could cash in on his reputation and pick up a handy pay-rise after the title triumph. When you look at the ridiculous contracts and transfer fees paid in Europe, it was an understandable error. But unforgivable.

Sadly, with Mamelodi Sundowns now more cautious about splashing owner Patrice Motsepe’s millions, the Chiefs trio miscalculated. Masandawana would no longer come to the rescue in the event of an impasse. And other sponsor-rich clubs like SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits, would not have to challenge Pitso Mosimane's eagle eye.

Bobby Motaung, with his finger on the footballing pulse, knew exactly how the land lay. The bubble had burst. The man who might have objected had gone to Turkey. Bobby knew Baxter would not stay if he wasn’t allowed a say in rejuvenating the squad after two championships in three seasons. Khune, Masango and Mashamaite were defenceless. His play-things.

Right from the start, I spent hours on the phone with a distraught Khune. When newspapers began trumpeting his outrageous demands, Itumeleng denied he wanted something close to R8m a year with some gusto. Even this week, there was talk of R7.8m a year. Khune insists that is way higher than anything he demanded. Even Benni McCarthy and Knowledge Musona only commanded R6m.

Khune told me of dressing room arguments after a rare defeat, the disappearance of the R10000 Chiefs win bonus last Christmas and how he was mysteriously dropped from the team time and again as his contract negotiations loomed.

I cannot disclose everything he told me, especially if a reconciliation with Chiefs remains on the cards, but it was blood-curdling stuff. Footballers have a short career. But in South Africa, where some PSL players earn R5000 a month, even the big names find themselves struggling with debt and broken promises.

What I can say is this. Life at Chiefs was not all plain sailing last year. “The technical team would find any reason to leave me out of the team because my contract was coming to an end,” Khune told me, “I didn’t want to double my money to stay, I just wanted more from my personal endorsements and a pay rise.”

But the battle had already been lost. Bobby knew he didn’t need to keep up with a booming market to force Khune and his colleagues on to the contractual canvas. With Sundowns refusing to splash big cash, the rebel trio had no choice. A possible move to Orlando Pirates was vetoed, the Chippa United offer was a joke, Lichman could find no overseas club to step in other than the usual whispers from Belgium.

Mashamaite tried and failed at New York City. Masango got caught in the Mpumalanga Black Aces “franchise sale” saga. Khune trained alone after leaving the Bafana camp. The AmaKhosi turned against their heroes in a matter of weeks. They were taken in by a second press conference which targeted a host of journeymen masquerading as exciting new signings.

The rebel trio remained out in the cold. Repeated attempts to re-negotiate were denied. First Bobby said he was going on holiday. He said there was nothing more to discuss. Then, just last week, Motaung suggested dismissively: “Itu and Mandla must go to church for perspective. They are trying to play hardball. This club has been there for them for years. We don't need them.”

I pointed out several times on twitter how much Bobby was enjoying the discomfort. Just as he had when he ousted Jimmy Tau, a big character who threatened his hegemony.

When Ugandan Sula Matovu was signed this month on a "free transfer" which cost R3m in signing on fees and agent kick-backs, the AmaKhosi fans refused to make the connection between an honest request for a better contract and what is really happening at their club. Bobby, who boasts about not needing a CV and having serious charges against him mysteriously dropped in Mpumalanga, just laughs and carries on.

Finally, last Friday, Khune turned up without an agent. According to Chiefs sources “he poured his heart out to Bobby” while Masango arrived with his lawyer for a similarly humbling chat.

The upshot? Bobby says: “A meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday (today) to give them a proper hearing. ”

But with the new season looming, Khune, Masango and Mashamaite are getting desperate. There are lifestyles to maintain, debts to service. But in the Sunday Times, Sports Editor BBK quotes Bobby saying: "It is going to be a bit of a process. There is no pressure on our side. It is not cast in stone these talks will result in reconciliation."

Motaung talks of "respect and protocol" and says he must ensure t"he situation does not occur again with any other player". Effectively, he's saying nobody should ask for a pay rise. Nobody should dare to challenge his right to a lavish lifestyle while his players sweat blood on the field.

Sadly, Bobby's won. Khune and Masango - perhaps even Mashamaite too - will have to accept a pay cut to continue playing for the AmaKhosi. We'll see how Chiefs do on the field next season. But from where I'm sitting, football is the loser.

STUART BAXTER EXCLUSIVE: The best season of my career, the struggles... And the future

You wouldn't think Stuart Baxter had just completed the most satisfying season of his long and varied coaching career. You'd hardly notice he has just broken a host of PSL records to guide Kaizer Chiefs to 69 points and a 12-point cushion over crushed champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

In fact, speaking to Stuart on Monday afternoon, as the hype over coronation settled after a sell-out game at the Nelson Mandela Stadium left one fan shot dead by a police revolver, you'd think Baxter had been in charge at Choppa United or Queens Park Strangers.

Oh, he's proud. And he's content with what his squad achieved given that their best striker only scored 7 goals and their only big signing failed to score a league goal in half a season.

Barker, born in Wolverhampton 61 years ago, has coached all over the world, from Scandinavia to Japan and he concedes: "In terms of records and domination, you're right, it has to be the best. It was a real struggle at times, people may not have appreciated that, but we got the job done.

"There was a point, after all the hype over our fabulous start, when it looked like a dip was coming. When we lost and drew a couple, people were saying crisis.

"But this time the lads dug in, they held their nerve and we got the train back on track with some decisive 1-0 wins and although our rivals were asking "Is this another Chiefs crisis" we were able to make sure it didn't develop, and suddenly we were winning again.

"The key? Our defence, obviously. Tefu Mashamaite and Tshepo Masilela were magnificent, so was Tower Mathoho and Siboniso Gaxa, like Tefu, barely missed a game.

"Most of our goals came from set pieces or midfield, where Willard Katsande turned in to more of an all-rounder, making 25 yard passes and intercepting rather than clobbering the opposition.

"Willard even got a goal in the final game, we celebrated that one - we'd worked on a new set piece for two weeks to set it up!"

But for a man who has just won a double of PSL and MTN8 and taken his prize money over three seasons to over R50m, there was little of the Mourinho swagger.

Baxter leaves for Sweden and the UK at the end of month, like he has for the last two seasons. but this time, there are important meetings to be held with Bobby Motaung about signings, new contracts and the mythical academy at Naturena.

Though Baxter has played little part in previous signings - notably David Zulu's R4m move with a knee injury - this time he intends to play a major role in a winter of substantial change at the club, with TWELVE players headed for the exit door.

And he insists that, if he stays at the club, the African Champions League will be taken seriously, as it was this year, though Chiefs suffered a first round knock-out at the hands of Morocco's Raja Casablanca.

Baxter insists: "People who understand the game know we went to Casablanca with a full squad, we won a lot of friends for the way we played. we travelled knowing we had lost the home leg and had vital domestic games to worry about but we DID take it seriously and lost to one of the best teams in Africa.

"We can't beat teams like that without investing in our squad. You know we needed a striker. We had James Keene over for a look, he did well. He's 29, did well in Germany, and he was a free agent. The deal was on the table but it was ignored.

"There are two or three  local strikers we're looking at but there's not much about. You know about Rob Earnshaw (former Wales international) being interested and that's the kind of thing we have to consider.

"We don't want to go down the root of Japanese football, opening doors to players who have passed their sell-by date but look at what New Zealand's Jeremy Brockie has achieved in half a season.

"That's the kind of player I'm talking about, looking for quality where ever we can find it."

Baxter touched on his dream of a new Kaizer Chiefs Academy - the last was shut down five years ago after age cheating problems - and insists: "The Academy has moved on a little bit further, the pitches and dressing rooms are finished at the village, accommodation and education facilities are underway.

"But now need the coaches, a technical director. It hasn't always gone as I would have hoped."

On the thorny subject of dwindling PSL attendances, Baxter and his champions enjoyed huge crowds at Atteridgeville and Port Elizabeth AFTER the title was won but he admits: "It seems to be a problem in South Africa, it could be economics,  I don't know, sometimes we had fantastic support, sometimes felt we needed a bit of a hand from the AmaKhosi in numbers when it mattered most."

But the real problem, perhaps the underlying factor behind his low-key response to a clinical championship charge, lies in Baxter's involvement in refreshing the squad this winter.

He is reluctant to make waves about his future, but ANY top African club - and those beyond our continent - would surely show an interest in acquiring the man who has led Chiefs to two League titles - without massive spending - in three seasons.

"If I stay," he says cautiously, "We are going to have to have a big rotation. I'd have to be a mug to take over a squad I don't choose myself."

When I suggest five players who may not be offered new contracts he says: "I can come up with 12 without even stopping to think. That's a major overhaul. That's what these meetings are about before I leave for Europe. I need to have my input.

"If I get fobbed off, I will cast the net, look at other opportunities. I will allow rumors to gather strength. You can say 12 players will be moved out, if they're replaced by somebody else, how can I stay?"

Sent from my iPad

From pillar to far post: South Africa's No 1 Itumeleng Khune deserves better

FINE LINE: Khune sees red against AmaZulu

ITUMELENG KHUNE is not your average PSL journeyman. In South Africa, his status rarely falls below legendary and his consistency matches goalkeepers in leagues of a far higher standard than our local mish-mash of dwindling attendances, dodgy referees and 11-goal top-scorers.

In short, Khune is a treasure. Our Gerrard, our Lahm. With 62 caps for his country and a second PSL winners’ medal under his belt after Kaizer Chiefs romp to the championship last week, the 27-year-old might be forgiven for thinking he’s a vital part of the fabric of our game.

Apparently not.

Sadly, this year he has been harassed from pillar to goal-post in a series of quite unbelievable snubs and let-downs for one of South Africa’s top celebrities.

It started last year with SAFA issuing misinformation about the heel injury he sustained on a rock-hard Marks Park pitch when he turned up for Shakes Mashaba’s first Bafana Bafana camp. While SAFA claimed he turned up carrying the injury, coach Stuart Baxter was fuming, believe me.

Weeks in a moon boot followed but by the time the AFCON squad was named at the end of December, Khune found himself on the bench behind Brilliant Khuzwayo, waiting for his first team return. He was fit and ready to join the Bafana camp. Yet Khuzwayo was picked for AFCON, captain Khune was not required.

There is no explanation for that blunder. Khune turned out for Chiefs in the friendly 1-0 defeat against Hoffenheim and looked sharp at home, while in Equatorial Guinea Mashaba changed goalkeepers three times in three winless games before coming home with the worst defensive record of the tournament.

At home, Khune forced his way back in to the Kaizer Chiefs starting line-up – some might say he halted the traditional New Year slump at Naturena – before his red card in the 1-0 win over AmaZulu earlier this month.

Though I reckon he deserved to be sent off, Khune tweeted afterwards: “Its about time action is taken against this referees. They've been very poor since beginning of the season.”

He sent me this when I asked him if time-wasting had been part of his referee rant: “But I did nothing wrong. You guys need to take action against this poor referees.” There have been direct messages since, but those must remain private.

The PSL finally responded over the weekend, despite an abject apology, releasing this statement: “Mr. Khune was found guilty of bringing the League into disrepute by reason of statements made on social network Twitter. Mr. Khune was fined R50 000.00 of which R25 000.00 was suspended for 12 months on condition that he was not found guilty of a similar offence during the period of suspension. He was also ordered to pay the costs of the sitting of the Disciplinary Committee.”

With football manager Bobby Motaung and coach Stuart Baxter also fined, Khune did well to stay of twitter after this particular injustice. And it IS an injustice. Controversial, yes, like Mario Balotelli, but much needed in our game. We NEED our star players to have the guts to tell it like it is with a football writing fraternity far too ready to say YES to the authorities. Why punish him for his opinions?

Consider this: no footballer in South Africa has EVER been fined for social networking before. Why Khune? Why start now? Where is “thou shalt not tweet” in the list of top secret PSL commandments.

Remember, in February, when Orlando Pirates striker Lehlohonolo Majoro stamped on a player and had to be restrained by team-mates from attacking the referee against Platinum Stars, no action was taken by the “independent” Disciplinary Committee.

Effectively, the PSL are issuing a message to young players that goes along the lines of: “Violent conduct is fine, just don’t tweet your feelings.”

And on top of all this, with the nation watching every lick and spit of his rocky relationship with TV presenter Minnie Dlamini, over the weekend Khune found himself subjected to further headlines in the Sunday World, suggesting Bobby Motaung had told him not to celebrate with his AmaKhosi team-mates after the title-clinching 4-1 win against Polokwane City last week.

It has been a dreadful year for South Africa’s finest footballer over the last five years. In January, Bobby Motaung was quoted as saying the new contract would be signed “by the end of the week” instead he has quibbled and haggled with Khune’s England-based agents, who are seeking a lucrative deal including image rights and European-style bonuses.

So after fighting back from injury and dismissal and losing the captain's armband, after struggling through a very public relationship break-up and STILL helping his side to the championship with a series of vital clean sheets, Khune finds himself without a clear future, hoping somebody will rescue a stellar career.

But there is another option. Bobby Motaung, accused of all sorts of things by a “stalker” over the weekend, could relent and recognise the truth. Bobby has coach Baxter on the brink. He treated Jimmy Tau with incredible insensitivity. He was economical with the truth about Kingston Nkhatha's departure. It’s about time Bobby played the big man.

Itumeleng Khune MUST STAY. There’s still time for Bobby to change personality, ignore his own pocket for once. Show some loyalty. Push out the boat for a loyal servant. But I won’t be holding my breath.

BOOGATE EXCLUSIVE: Baxter is SERIOUS about those Kaizer Chiefs quit threats: It's all about respect for South Africa's No1 coach

If you're a football journalist reading this, feel free to lift quotes... but please credit me.

Deadly serious: Baxter could quit over Nkhatha's treatment

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AS BOOGATE broke across the internet on Sunday after Stuart Baxter's astonishing post-match interview in Polokwane on Saturday night, the real question became clear: was the coach of unbeaten runaway leaders Kaizer Chiefs REALLY threatening to quit over the booing of non-scoring striker Kingston Nkhatha?

It certainly sounded that way (see previous post), and I wasn't comfortable going along that line without speaking to Stuart himself. I started off on the wrong foot with him nearly three years ago, questioning his CV and commitment.

I was badly wrong and said so, we enjoyed a very public apology and reconciliation (google it, it's on YouTube). Today, in a PSL where NINE of the 16 coaches have already shifted hot-seats this season (I broke the story of Ernst Middendorp's departure from Bloemfontein Celtic last night), Baxter is, by some margin, the longest surviving boss. He's finished first and second in two seasons and is now top of the PSL by 13 points, uneaten in 16 games, eager to set up an academy system at Naturena and has never been more successful.


We get on well. There is a common bond, two Englishmen loving the new South Africa, eager to put our football up where it belongs; developing talent, exposing dodgy practices and putting our cards on the table even when it hurts.


Baxter should be the most secure man in football management WORLD WIDE given his current record. No other league globally offers unbeaten leaders 13 points clear as we near the halfway point of the season. But a long chat on on Sunday afternoon did little to dispel the feeling that Baxter will NOT BACK DOWN over Nkhatha's treatement by "an idiotic minority" of the AmaKhosi - and other issues to do with respect at the club.

Baxter to the future: Stuart and me

I cannot reveal all that was said between us, Suffice to say the conversation came close to the chats I used to have with Roger de Sa when he was reaching cup final after cup final at Orlando Pirates and surviving serious African Champions League challenges.


But like Roger, Stuart is not comfortable with much that is going on around him. He should be, but he isn't. Too much "bullshit", too many "sinister forces" - though he insists team selection, if not player recruitment, remains ENTIRELY in his hands.


There are issues over how his squad is treated, over what his players are expected to do before vital games, about how his advice is treated by officials at Kaizer Chiefs.

Baxter has compiled expert documentation on pre-match preparation - just being on your feet and travelling on a bus can impact on performance - and a guide to how a young player should grow up from 13 if he wants to become a top professional in the gold-and-black. But he feels that guidance - and the academy he was hoping to restore to glory after age-cheating scandals four years ago - is going nowhere.

The word that crops up again and again is RESPECT. Respect is everything to the man from Wolverhampton, who grew up in a football family (he remembers vividly when his dad Bill was over-looked for the Aston Villa hot-seat, he walked away rather than taking a job for life at the club) and has plied his trade all over the world.

Any doubts about his willingness to quit over Nkhatha's treatment are quickly dispelled: “I stand by what I said. If people boo my players, if they won’t respect their own team, I will be forced to leave Kaizer Chiefs.”

Baxter, who used the word “idiots” to describe those booing Zimbabwean Nkhatha, 29, after the 1-0 win over Chippa United at Polokwane on Saturday, said: “It sounded like a threat to resign? It was meant to sound like that. Honestly Neal, use this as you want. I’m in a pretty strong position at the moment.

“We’ve tried everything. Appeals to the crowd, campaigns, posters. The team don’t look forward to playing in Polokwane. That’s what it is at the moment. I won't apologise for using the word idiots. It was said in the heat of the moment but it applies to those who boo their own player.

“If you don’t respect the players, you may lose the coach. Is that over the top? Probably. The sensible ones have to pull them in line, there were a few telling them to be quiet.

“There’s an element in there, Kingston plays well, can’t buy a goal. Why? He’s strong but he isn’t deaf. He’s s****ing himself everytime he’s in a scoring position. I’ve just watched Sunderland West Ham, 1-1, Jozi Altidor (USA international) has a chance the same as Kingston’s, falls over himself, misses.

“He cost them a packet with that miss on Saturday. Is there booing? Insulting behaviour? No. Supporter is the term. It contains the word SUPPORT. Not a slaughterer, a supporter. I can tell you without fear of contradiction: KINGSTON DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE BOOED. He’s a great lad, hard-working, a real team player."


Baxter agrees Nkatha's return of one goal this season is not acceptable. But he insists Kingston remains the best choice for his all-conquering Chiefs this season. He understands questioning of his selection processes, but refuses to accept "home" fans at the Peter Mokabe booing their own - and it's not just Nkhatha who suffers.

Baxter, choosing his words carefully, says: “Look, when I say idiots, it’s a minority. I could see many of the real supporters telling them to stop it. Most of the real AmaKhosi. What I can’t accept is these others, they just don’t get it. They don’t understand the damage they’re doing by targeting a player.

“It’s not just a boo when they make a mistake, it’s constant targeting of a player, it brings down confidence, affects the WHOLE TEAM. Even when they’re warming up in Polokwane, the substitutes are getting abuse.

“It’s my job to protect my players. I have to speak out. It’s my job. Some people love this, will use it to destabilise my side. But if they don’t  get it when I’ve won 16 games on the trot. In the African Champions League they will intimidate the opposition, not their own players. We will travel north facing plenty of booing from the opposition fans. That's how football SHOULD be.

“If people can’t respect what I say, then so be it. I have adapted to South Africa, just like I did in Scandinavia, the USA, Japan. My style of management here is very different to what it was in Sweden or Finland, Japan or England. I can put up with a lot. But if they carry on booing, that’s it. I will go.”


With a double-header to come in Polokwane - soon to be known as Booburg - tomorrow, Baxter will be listening. His table-toppers play Free State Stars at 6pm after the Reconciliation Day opener between the real home team, Polokwane City and AmaTuks at 3pm.


If the boo-boys go for Nkhatha again, Baxter will not back down. At the very least, he will demand an end to "home" games in Polokwane. At worst, he could even walk away. The idiots have been warned. If you are REALLY an AmaKhosi fan, back Nkhatha. Back your runaway PSL leaders. Or risk losing everything.

Out of Africa: the only way is UP for the Kaizer Chiefs African dream. Or is it OUT?

Unsavoury scenes: Chiefs surround referee Shikongo at Soccer City

PERHAPS the most telling quote on a painful Saturday night for South African football was THIS from Stuart Baxter: "My biggest regret is that, when the world sees officiating like they tonight, they laugh at Africa.”

He’s right. The 60-year-old from Wolverhampton has had a wide and varied career, ranging from Scotland to Scandinavia, Australia to Spain. And he’s rarely seen anything like he saw at Soccer City, where Kaizer Chiefs fell one goal short of reversing their 3-0 defeat against AS Vita in Kinshasa the week before.

And then of course we had Chiefs talking about withdrawing from CAF completely amid fears of a three-match ban from future African competition. Plus THIS quote (among others on Robert Marawa's MetroFM football show) from General Manager Bobby Motaung last night: "If you win against African teams away, you might be killed or not leave the Stadium."

To be honest, it's bad, but not that bad. But you get the drift of what Bobby is trying to say. Still, Chiefs chose to join the other seven Champions League rejects for this morning's April Fool's CAF Confederations Cup draw and will (presumably) play Ivory Coast's ASEC Mimosa in the play-off round for the group stages later this foolish month.

ASEC Mimosa were famously dispatched by Orlando Pirates on their run to African Champions in 1996, but they won the African Champions League in 1998 and have won the Ivorian championship 24 times, the last in 2010.

Had Chiefs pulled out - as they threatened to do for a few difficult hours on Monday - South African football would have been back in the doldrums after Orlando Pirates' epic journey to last season's final. But you can understand the thinking in the Motaung family corridors. As it is, they may well field a reserve team for the tie nobody is sure they really want to win.

So what went wrong with the Chiefs African dream? We can discuss the lack of AmaKhosi fans at the stadium on Saturday, the lack of atmosphere compared to their trip north the week before, the injuries to goalkeepers Itumeleng Khune and Reyaad Pieterse and the ankle problem picked up by striker Knowledge Musona.

But in essence, this was about the Namibian referee. Though Knowledge got the 10^th-minute goal Chiefs so urgently required, Rainhola Shikongo saw fit to deny the home side an even bigger advantage when he ruled out Kingston Nkatha’s 4^th minute goal with a dubious offsides decision.

Shikongo went on to deny two clear penalties – one an obvious handball, the other a shove in the box on Matthew Rusike – and despite a half-time lecture on time-wasting from AmaKhosi assistant boss Doc Khumalo, the referee consistently refused to rush goalkeeper Nguemba Lomboto who broke the six-second rule by handling the ball for 12 seconds or more at times.

Then there was the issue of injury time. With Morgan Gould finally producing the second goal in the dying minutes, Baxter was promised seven minutes of injury time. He said: “We were told seven minutes of optional time, then they said three. And when it got tight at the end, the referee only gave us 90 seconds.

“It’s hard enough playing in the African Champions League, but playing with an official like that makes it very difficult indeed. We were a better side than them, we know that.

“But what can I do? I have to say congratulations to AS Vita, good luck to them, I hope they do well in the Group Stages.”

Unlike Baxter, the Chiefs players chose to take out their frustrations on referee Shikongo, berating him verbally at the final whistle and coming close to a shoving match as officials rushed to intervene. A pitch invader or three added to the mayhem and Baxter groaned: “Our fans are behaving recklessly at the moment. But you can understand their frustration. It is frustrating when you see officiating like we’ve seen tonight.   

"The keeper was an embarrassment. Sometimes he took 15-16 seconds on the ball, it just got worse and worse.

“We get the second goal, hope the ref is counting the seconds the keeper took, but three minutes was a smack in the face. And we didn’t even get that.”

There is no question CAF competitions have a reputation for poor refereeing and dodgy away trips. Throughout the continent season-long unbeaten home records occur with a worrying frequency.

We had clues last season of course. Orlando Pirates’ problems at another DRC club TP Mazembe last season – a trip which included a television black-out, journalist detentions, confiscated sim cards, two penalties and an unjust red card – should have resulted in a lengthy ban for the Lubumbashi club. It didn’t. TP Mazembe were fined and went on to reach the final of the Confederations Cup with barely a blush of embarrassment.

For Baxter, the defence of AmaKhosi’s PSL crown now becomes the priority, along with a Nedbank Cup quarter-final against SuperSport United. You have to wonder how hard they will work to stay in the CAF Confederations Cup after all this.

The good news? Pieterse, who banged his head against a post making a save on Saturday, should be fit for tonight’s clash with rock-bottom Golden Arrows, and Khune should return for next weekend’s top-of-the-table clash against Mamelodi Sundowns.

The bad news? I understand Bernard Parker has been playing for some weeks with a heavily strapped ankle. Musona also has an ankle problem, picked up in the first half on Saturday.

With Sundowns, now level on points at the top of the PSL, to come on Saturday, Chiefs could find their season collapsing around them before the trip to the Mimosas. Baxter knows the mantra though: “Now we have to pick ourselves up and carry on with our season. We have to take this defeat on the nose.”

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An air of resignation: The son goes down as Kaizer Chiefs stars finally join the Bafana squad

Family business: Kaizer and Bobby

In the real world when a junior official publicly contradicts his well-loved Chief Executive Officer, the axe falls with alarming speed.

At Kaizer Chiefs, when Football Manager Bobby Motaung attempts to tear up the agreement set by his father Kaizer – the club’s owner – a stony silence falls.

We know Bobby well. In theory. I’ve spoken to his brother Junior and his sisters Jessica and Kemiso. But somehow I’ve never got through to the oldest surviving brother in the Motaung clan.

We know that he refused to resign a couple of years ago, saying he didn’t need to a CV to get the job under his father: “This is a family business,” he told us "I will be here as long as this company exists."

Then there were the TWO arrests over the Mbombela Stadium scandal. I spoke to Paul Ramaloko, the Hawks captain, after the bizarre episode at Nelspruit Magistrates Court when he arrested Bobby for the second time as he left court following a preliminary hearing.

At the time, and I remember it well, I asked Paul if there was anything he could add to the story, recognising how difficult prosecuting the son of the nation’s most popular footballer would be. Captain Ramaloko’s reply remains etched in my mind: “Neal, do you really think I would do this without a watertight case against him?”

But of course, when the charges of fraud, corruption and forgery came to court, magistrate Roelf Smith removed the case from the roll as "he could see no progress being made". The case - and two deaths linked to the Mbombela Stadium debacle - remain undealt with, hanging like a sword of Damocles over South Africa’s national game.

This is what I wrote at the time: http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2013/06/charges-dropped-sorry-bobby-motaung.html.

Throughout all that, Bobby remained in place. Acting not just as Football Manager or Kaizer Chiefs but as a makeshift spokesman for the club, an enforcer, the man who made all the transfers. There was the bizarre severing of ties with the popular former captain Jimmy Tau too.

After long-term injury, Jimmy had been told by double-winning coach Stuart Baxter that he would get a new contract at the club as he fought his way back to fitness and played a couple of reserve games at the end of last season.

But almost as soon as Baxter’s flight had departed for an off-season break in Britain, Bobby summoned Jimmy and told him his services were no longer required. That story is documented HERE http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2013/06/discarded-by-kaizer-chiefs-jimmy-tau.html.

But all this pales into insignificance in the light of the events of the past fortnight. After his father Kaizer, along with Sundowns supremo Patrice Motsepe, had agreed to release his players to Bafana Bafana for the CHAN tournament in January, Bobby immediately came out and said Chiefs would do no such thing.

Earlier this week he released a further statement through the club’s website insisting no AmaKhosi stars would be release until AFTER the top-of-the-table clash against Mamelodi Sundowns on January 23. With the tournament starting in Cape Town on January 11, that would have left South Africa's squad five short throughout the group stages.

With dangerous neighbours Mozambique, Mali and reigning African champions Nigeria to play in Group A, that would have been simply unacceptable.

And with Gordon Igesund’s squad of 23 already officially submitted, SAFA president Danny Jordaan had no choice but to insist the five Chiefs players should be there from the start. On the telephone to me on Thursday night, he said he had written to FIFA, he insisted it was possible to get the five Chiefs players banned for the Sundowns game.

And of course, with Sundowns doing the honourable thing and releasing their players for CHAN, Chiefs – and the grand old man Kaizer – were forced in to a corner. Chincha Guluva, as always, did the honourable thing and promised to release his players as he had agreed in a tele-conference with SAFA three weeks ago.

Jordaan’s Saturday statement – including the line “Our gratitude goes out to Mr Kaizer Motaung and Kaizer Chiefs for their long-standing and unstinting support of the national team” – is clearly placatory, in the interests of the nation.

The social networks will debate the rights and wrongs of the situation until the cows come home, but the fact is Bobby publicly contradicted – even embarrassed – his father with his outspoken rebuttal of the CHAN policy agreed with SAFA, the game’s ruling body.

It’s fair to say Bidvest Wits only released their players late too. And that Orlando Pirates have somehow escaped the entire debacle while their chairman, also in charge of the PSL, was never asked to explain how Chiefs v Sundowns found its way on to the fixture list in mid-CHAN.

But those are side issues. In the real world, Bobby would be forced to resign. In our little world, the son of the boss will no doubt carry on without a CV or an apology. And that simply can’t be right.

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