Are we witnessing the rise and fall of the Kaizer Chiefs empire? Or is it just a lack of Knowledge?

Dogged approach: Baxter and Barker

The rise and fall of the Roman Empire swept away entire civilizations and plunged the world in to centuries of despair now known as the Dark Ages. There was a real fear generations of Knowledge would simply be forgotten.

Fortunately, not many of us were around to witness that, though I'm reliably informed the Italian defenders were put to the sword, boss "Screamer" Nero fiddled and his squad burned.

The estimated 15 million AmaKhosi in South Africa may have felt they were witnessing the fall of Kaizer Chiefs last night with the same feeling of shock and awe; the emperor Stuart Baxter stood powerless in the emptying Calabash while his champions simply fell apart against the invaders from the north, led by a tiny terror known as The Dog.


Quite how Mpumalanga Black Aces managed to sack the Chiefs empire I'm not sure. Supersub Miguel Timm's late winner was simply a ridiculous coup de grace on a night of abysmal failure.


While Itumeleng Khune celebrated his 200th game in goal sitting on a deckchair, his strike-force were simply absent. Kingston Nkatha, not the most popular of gladiators from our northern neighbors, was replaced by the former killer Katlego Mphela. He was rubbish. Matthew Rusike flattered to deceive, George Lebese didn't even flatter.


The big men who normally do manage to score simply couldn't. With Eric Mouth of the Lion Mathoho again mysteriously missing from the centre-back pairing, it was left to Morgan Gould and Tefu Mashamaite to fail from the usually reliable set-pieces though Simphiwe Shabalala's delivery remained impeccable.


And with an alaraming lack of Knowledge Musona, top scorer Bernard Parker - obviously suffering from that long-standing ankle injury - missed the chance of the night before returning to his cloak of invisibility.


Unbeaten at home since Baxter's arrival in 2012, Chiefs have now lost successive Soccer City encounters with equal levels of bemusement. As Baxter groaned last night: "At worst we should have drawn both these games 0-0, instead we have managed to lose them both."


The delightfully unlucky 1-0 defeat against  Mamelodi Sundowns on Saturday was followed by the late sucker punch from Clive Barker's men and Itumeleng Khune was left with little to celebrate in his 200th game for Chiefs.


Barker? All smiles: "Wonderful, Marvellous." The little man even claims his Aces - who purchased a world record 35 players this season - could have been title contenders had they had a few more weeks of preparation. Remember Aces could have - should have - had a penalty too in the first half as Willard "Assault and Vinegar" Katsande clattered the dangerous Ndoro.


Down the road in Tshwane, it was so different. Pitso Mosimane, the all-conquering rival with Patrice Motsepe's billions behind him, led Mamelodi Sundowns to the top of the table with a streaky 1-0 win over Bloemfontein Celtic.


Now three points clear of Kaizer Chiefs, who have a game in hand, Pitso is ready to sack Soweto. So too is Gavin Hunt after a sneaky late win over Platinum Stars from his Clever Boys. it's getting tight. Here's what Pitso said:

"Times are tough, you can see how strong Celtic are. In my opinion they played better than us. But at this point in time it is about getting results. It's not about playing pretty football.

"We must stay humble, there is a long way to go. We will see what we can do in the cup this weekend [against Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup quarter-finals]."

Chiefs too go to Nedbank Cup action - on Saturday against SuperSport United - and then we return to the PSL where Sundowns must face THE DOG on Wednesday while Chiefs go to Polokwane City. Wits are home to flightless Moroka Swallows.

Unlike the fall of the Roman Empire. This one's not over. Yet.

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 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.

How Moroka Swallows could be flying high by the end of the week

FOR avid Bird-watchers and lovers of underdogs, here’s the three-scene drama which could await us over the cornflakes on Saturday morning.

Scene 1: Champions Orlando Pirates share a hard-fought, card-strewn draw at SuperSport United tonight (live on SS4 at 5.30pm) before Scene 2: A resurgent Kaizer Chiefs upset leaders Mamelodi Sundowns tomorrow night (delayed live on SABC at 10pm).

Then, flying beneath the footballing radar in Scene 3: Moroko Swallows win their game in hand at the Leopards on Friday (live on SS4 at 7.30pm). If the Dube Birds win by more than two goals, they go top of the PSL on 50 points (ahead of Pirates on goal difference and one clear of Sundowns and SuperSport) with two games to play.

Should all this come to pass, we will go in to squeaky-bottom time with SIX title contenders – including outsiders Free State Stars... and the flocking Swallows leading the way.

This particular fairy-tale is not that far-fetched. Augusto Palacios, the Peruvian journeyman thrust in charge at the Buccaneers when they got rid of Julio Leal, may be quite happy to grab a single point from the tight-fisted Gavin Hunt tonight. After Pirates’ 1-1 draw against Ajax Cape Town last Friday night, Palacios appeared remarkably sanguine. He said: “One by one we'll get there; we are not thinking about the other results. The media always say that we draw, but we are also not losing, and that's the most important thing.”

The Ghost, haunted by the prospect of seeing their title defence slip in to the twilight zone, may not agree with that. Based on budget, fan base and available talents, Pirates should be plundering the likes of Ajax and SuperSport at this stage of the season, but with Benni McCarthy looking a little weary at 34 and Tokelo Rantie suffering a sudden loss of form, perhaps Palacios knows more than we do.

That Swallows should beat the Leopards is highly likely – Siyabonga Nomvete’s hat-trick against Golden Arrows on Sunday took the veteran striker’s tally to a nationwide high of 16 this season and he looks a lot more sprightly than McCarthy at the same age.

As for Chiefs beating Sundowns… stranger things have happened. The Amakhosi have never lost four games on the trot before. Ace Khuse and Doc Khumalo deserve a turnaround in fortunes. And to be fair, they were unlucky not to grab a point in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat against SuperSport which led to ugly post-match scenes around the tunnel.

Of course, Sundowns have to be favourites for the title. Johan Neeskens is no mug, he’s in pole position heading for the final weeks of the season. Pirates must be second favourites, with Rantie promising before tonight’s showdown: “The coach has been pushing us hard at training to work on our mistakes. I’m very confident that we will collect maximum points.”

All I’m saying, as I have been for the past month, is keep following the Birds. Gordon Igesund has won the title with four different clubs and has already expressed a huge enthusiasm for making it a record five.

On eTV Sunrise on Monday (watch out for me again tomorrow morning at 7.30am), I lauded Igesund for taking the Swallows from relegation fodder to title contenders in a single season, saying he had forged a collection of “rejects, alcoholics and veterans” in to a cohesive unit with some aplomb.

Swallows were immediately on the telephone complaining about that description, but here’s an immediate response from one of my thousands of helpers on Facebook and Twitter,  a senior financial consultant called Nhlakanipho Wiseguy Hlatshwayo: “By rejects you mean David Mathebula,  by alcoholics you mean Lerato Chabangu, by veterans you mean Syabonga Nomvete and MacBeth Sibaya. Kwaaaakwaaa!”

Thank you. Wise guy indeed. Perhaps Swallows should take a compliment when it comes their way. And the odd title tip.

After all, it’s not as if certain pedigrees haven’t been enhanced this week. Did I ever tell you about my coach as a teenager in Pretoria a few decades back? Roy Hodgson his name was. And look where he is now!

This column appeared as my regular "Neal and Pray" column in The New Age newspaper this morning. See www.thenewage.co.za.