A fond farewell to AmaZulu... or can Steve Barker's jolly green giants produce a miracle?

Living on the edge: Mabulelo "OJ" Mabizela

WHILE the PSL seems intent on promoting the Carling Black Label gimmick cup which takes place before NEXT SEASON, some of us are still concerned about THIS SEASON.

As our domestic league hits the final two rounds, the battle for second place is absorbing enough but we have to ask “What happened to AmaZulu’s Great Escape?” at the foot of the league?

The mid-season break saw our historic men in green firmly rooted to the trap-door with just one win when Stevie Barker left AmaTuks for Amazulu. Most of us felt he was jumping out of the frying pan in to the fire.

But the 5-2 win over SuperSport United appeared to signal a major revival and until the narrow – but aimless – 1-0 defeat against champions Kaizer Chiefs there was light at the end of the tunnel.

Needing another win against Gordon Igesund’s men on Saturday – with fellow relegation candidates Free States Stars and Moroka Swallows picking up huge three pointers – Barker’s men simply let all the hope slip away in a 3-1 defeat which revealed the fatal flaws lurking in the Usuthu dressing room.

A quick glance at the Q4 table shows just how well the relegation fighters - particularly Free State Stars - have done, but for AmaZulu, it looks like it won't be enough.

How they stand: the Q4 tabl

Having already got rid of one club captain, ­Carlington Nyadombo, amid allegations of bad muti and poor time-keeping, the new skipper Robyn Johannes found himself confronted by the controversial Mabulelo Mabizela in the tunnel after the match.

OJ, the man who once made waves at Tottenham Hotspur before “home sickness” lured him back, has all the talent in the world. But he’d just picked up his fourth yellow card of the season – he’ll be banned for the vital clash against AmaTuks tomorrow night (Wednesday the 6^th) - and been fingered for Jeremy Brockie’s vital second goal.

The feeling was OJ, the 34-year-old who has scored four vital goals in 12 games so far in green,  should have cleared before the Kiwi netted to make it 2-1. But whether that was the cause of the altercation remains unclear. All we know is captain Johannes threw a water bottle at Mabizela, and nearly hit Asive Langwe, perhaps indicative of AmaZulu's accuracy this season.

A fight broke out in the tunnel, and Sedat Ouro-Akoriko, scorer of AmaZulu’s only goal on the night, had to separate the pair before Barker and marketing manager Lunga Sokhela locked the entire squad in the dressing room for an hour.

Steve Barker, whose uncle Clive had a bit of a roller-coaster with OJ at Mpumalanga Black Aces, was quoted in March saying: “Sometimes he gets too involved in the game and also too emotional. We can't be over-robust and over-emotional in games that will, at the end of the day, cost us. We need to be to calm and we cannot lose focus now.”



Today, Barker justified the bust-up. He said: "Emotions are running high here, and we are fighting for our lives. Everybody wanted to win against SuperSport. I would be upset if players weren't emotionally engaged: if they just went to the change room and sat down and accepted the defeat, I would be more worried.

"This incident shows passion, it's good sign. At least players are showing that they were gutted by the defeat, but we need to stand up and be strong against AmaTuks."

Sadly that has come to pass. With just two games left for the clubs battling relegation, Amazulu now need to beat AmaTuks and Maritzburg United on Saturday while hoping Moroka Swallows slip up at Nedbank Cup finalists Ajax Cape Town tomorrow and Bloemfontein Celtic on the final day.

With former AmaZulu boss Craig Rosslee now at Dobsonville and picking up points, it’s a forlorn hope for a club formed way back in 1932.

Those with an acute sense of South African football history will hope troublesome toddler Chippa United (29 points, 14 coaches following the departure of caretaker Mich D'Avray over the weekend) are dragged in to the battle – they’ve got Aces and Chiefs to finish – but the truth is AmaZulu (24 points) are favourites for the drop with Swallows (27 points) competing in the play-offs.

For a club with such a history, for a club once so prominent – I remember those days in the early 1980s when KwaMashu and uMlazi turned up in numbers to worship the likes of Joel Faya and Henry Cele - that’s a desperately gloomy prospect.


Some may take solace from Lamontville Golden Arrows - led by former Charlton Athletic and Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett - clinching the automatic promotion spot in the NFD on Sunday. But given Arrows link to certain PSL officials, that's hardly a consolation for real football fans in KwaZulu Natal in my book.

With Orlando Pirates still involved in the CAF Confederation Cup, Mamelodi Sundowns look set to claim second position - though Pirates won't mind too much if they get past Guinea champions AS Kaloum and in to the group stages.

But perhaps the most bizarre problem we ALL face is this: why did the PSL spend Monday launching the distinctly dodgy Carling Black Label Cup between Pirates and champions Kaizer Chiefs with the PSL headed for the final showdowns and the Nedbank Cup final - which desperately needs a push - still to come?

Answers on a postcard please. The PSL, who seem to care as much about their sponsors as they do about the dwindling number of fans, seem to have no explanation at all.

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.

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