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.

PITSO MOSIMANE NAILS IT: the full text of Mamelodi Sundowns coach's post-match interview. "Referee Thabo Nkosi stole the show"

Man of the match? Ref Thabo Nkosi

PITSO MOSIMANE was understandably upset after tonight's 1-1 draw against Mpumalanga Black Aces in Mbombela. The Mamelodi Sundowns coach, known for his post-match outbursts, was inconsolable after seeing his side denied a last-minute winner... and boy, did he let us know.

In a dramatic interview with SuperSport's ultra-professional Carol Tshabalala, Mosimane has probably landed himself in hot water with the PSL, but the man is nothing if not passionate. At one point in the interview, he simply couldn't talk as he choked up in fury over Bongani Zungu's "winner".

Though Pitso has a right to be furious - referee Thabo Nkosi had given the goal but changed his mind after seeing the linesman's flag - it did look like Zungu fouled goalkeeper Jackson Mabokgwane before scoring.

How they stand: the PSL table after draws for Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns tonight

Having chased down Kaizer Chiefs last season to clinch a long-awaited league title for Masandawana, the former Bafana boss came close to conceding to the AmaKhosi, who play resurgent AmaZulu tomorrow night with a seven point lead.

And at one point, Pitso called for referee Thabo Nkosi to win the Man of the Match award and compared him to the controversial Victor "Penalty King" Gomes, who once awarded FIVE penalties in a Sundowns match.


On a night when Orlando Pirates came from behind THREE TIMES to draw 3-3 as Platinum Stars striker Mogakolodi Ngele scored a brilliant hat-trick, Sundowns certainly battled their hearts out... but will their two dropped points decide the title?

HERE IS THE FULL TEXT OF PITSO MOSIMANE’S POST-MATCH INTERVIEW

PITSO: “It’s a game of two halves, first half, we let ourselves down by not picking up on the goal. I’m happy to be wrong, I think Dennis Onyango was fouled on the first goal… (stops, unable to carry on, overwhlemed by emotion)

CAROL: “I know it’s difficult to break it down without talking about the disappointment… looking at how they came out today, how do you think they can come back…?”

PITSO: “How do you motivate the players who work so hard, give their best, what do you say to them about all this?

“I think (referee) Thabo must be the man of the match, did very well, he stole the show, he reminds me of Gomes. He also steals the show. I don’t want to talk about Thabo's performance, he knows his performance.

“It’s unbelievable Carol. It’s unbelievable. You spend the whole year fighting to win the league and protect the league (title) but tonight, we’re asking for favours. It’s history for me how this title was won.

“But I have to accept. Because if I don’t accept they’re going to keep coming. The PSL’s going to come to me. And you know the story with Pitso. Check all the fines, all the fines received in the PSL, I’ve got the heaviest one but I’ve never been sent off."

CAROL: “But I’m concerned now. You’re saying it’s gone?”

PITSO: “I’m not saying it’s gone. Listen to me. If it’s gone, we’ll know how it is gone. Some of the things are not in your hands hey. What a change of decision there. Unbelievable. I saw the hand pointing the other way. It’s life, it’s football. Thabo stole the show.”

CAROL: “You feel as if the performance deserved three points?”

PITSO: “Before Mamelodi Sundowns won the league last year, it had been six, seven years, out of anything. We strengthened and we won the league last year. It’s going to be very difficult to win the league this year. But we will try our best.

“I don’t know what I’m going to say to the players, try hard or what? We pray for a miracle? It’s okay Carol. You know what’s hard? I work so hard eh, then somebody just takes it away.”

South African football is in crisis, and here's why (includes video)

ONCE A PIRATE: Irvin Khoza, PSL chairman

DISKI Mzanzi is in crisis. South African football faces falling attendances, a dying transfer market, a merry-go-round of FOURTEEN coaching changes in a 16-team league.


We have barely recovered from an AFCON which saw Bafana garne JUST A SINGLE POINT when both of our African Champions League "giants" - leaders Kaizer Chiefs and current PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns - went crashing out in the first round.


There were no refereeing blunders, there was no intimidation, just humiliation. Failure.



This morning on the South African 24-hour news channel ANN7 (205 on your DSTV bouquet) I appeared on Peter van Onselen's "Phuka" morning show in an attempt to get across the true depth of the crisis facing our game. Though my football writing colleagues will rail against it and Twitter will issue threats, it's only the truth.



Denigrating South African football is not my agenda. Improvement, change, even revolution is needed. Just like Issa Hayatou, PSL chairman Irvin Khoza, the man who took over Orlando Pirates in the early 1990s, is in his late 60s and has been in charge of the game in this country for over 20 years.


And quite apart from the problems highlighted above, Khoza runs a club which closed its academy due to age cheating, he has refused to promote Eric Tinkler from his caretaker role despite unprecedented success and though his club pulls in MILLIONS in sponsorship, he refuses to spend money on his team.

He can't even run his club properly, let alone the PSL. And I am reliably informed it was Khoza who dictated the new conditions for agents in this country after FIFA's recommended treatment for "intermediaries"... though the legislation promised on April 1 has failed to materialise.


This is not an anti-Khoza rant, just a polite request for change. For truth. Though the South African media big guns - particularly Robert Marawa, Thomas Mlambo and the excitable Sunday Times "sports editor" BBK - will deny it, our game is not healthy.


As I say in the video below, our clubs don't scout for players, the rely on agents. Though there is a reputed R14,000-a-month minumum wage in the PSL, many youngsters are on a fraction of that. I know of one who has played 10 first team games this season and is on R2,000 a month. Another who played for Bafana at COSAFA and is on R6000... about the level of a supermarket shelf stacker.


From the bottom to the top - where Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates join billionaire Patrice Motsepe's Sundowns as the only clubs in the financial comfort zone - were are watching our game fall apart. There is no investment, no marketing, no sign of grass roots growth from Danny Jordaan's infamous FIFA Legacy Fund, a R500m post-World Cup 2010 bonus.


I don't expect everyone to agree with me, but it would be handy if a few people opened their eyes to the truth. Dr Khoza himself has acknowledged the influence of agents on our national head coaches; we have done NOTHING to establish who was involved in the pre-World Cup match-fixing scandal... SAFA won't even discuss their two most recent promises of a Technical Director and a statue for the murdered captain Senzo Meyiwa.



I don't make these things up. I don't enjoy endless repetition of the negative. But SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.

CLOUT OF AFRICA: Mamelodi Sundowns and Kaizer Chiefs crash out: two very different tales, one conclusion

Good night South Africa: Pitso Mosimane in DRC yesterday

And so the South African dream of Champions League progress has stuttered to a halt AGAIN. And the questions will be asked AGAIN. And the truth will be avoided AGAIN.

As PSL leaders Kaizer Chiefs and our defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns crashed out at Raja Casablanca in Morocco and TP Mazembe in the DRC, the sound of collective groans could be heard around Mzanzi as our precious diski folded under pressure once more.

The SuperSport commentators suggested from the off in Morocco that everything was against Kaizer Chiefs. It wasn’t. The AmaKhosi were the better side in both legs. They just can’t score goals. With no live television coverage again from Lumbumbashi, similar sentiments were echoed as Sundowns were crushed.

For Patrice Motsepe’s millionaires it was always going to be Mission Improbable. Pitso Mosimane said before the game: “If the officials do their job, we are through,” sadly that was never going to happen. A 3-2 aggregate defeat ensued.

After the 1-0 home win in Tshwane – which included a red card for the visitors – Masandawana found themselves 3-0 down after 57 minutes against TP Mazembe. And it was all they could do to produce a late consolation from Percy Tau against a side unbeaten in their domestic league after six games and just a point behind the leaders.

For Chiefs it was a slightly different version of the same sad tale. Beaten 1-0 in Durban in the first leg, they came up against a side currently in crisis. Raja Casablanca have lost their last two and are 12 points adrift of their city rivals in Morocco’s domestic league. But it made no difference.

Morgan Gould, mysteriously booked early on, was off injured after 43 goalless minutes and on came Tower Mathoho, mysteriously dropped from the starting line-up amidst a strong campaign so far.

Up front Golden Boot holder Bernard Parker – who has already been overtaken by New Zealander Jeremy Brockie in the PSL goal-scoring stakes this season – laboured next to the eternally risky Matty Rusike.

We can mention two moments: George Lebese’s glaring miss when through on goal early in the second-half and Gaxa’s ridiculous attempt to control a throat-high ball in his own box which led to the Raja goal. But that’s not the point. They were the better side and lost 3-0 on aggregate.

The usual excuses are already being wheeled out, but Roger De Sa – the coach who guided Orlando Pirates to the African Champions League final two short years ago – will tell you South Africa is continually fighting an uphill battle in CAF competitions.

While we invite our northern rivals to plush hotels with good facilities, PSL clubs travel north filled with trepidation for the away leg. While we struggle to pull crowds of 7000 at home, the African giants fill their stadia for every Champions League clash.

In truth, the truth we never dare tell, South Africa football – though shiny on the outside – is just not at the races. Our marketing is criminally negligent, the sponsorship money goes to pockets rather than development and foreign players are booed at every opportunity. Further north, they revere great players regardless of passport, they pump money in to the club, they establish academies, proper transfers and sharp agents are at work, regardless of whether their cut is 3 percent or 10.

In REAL football nations, the coaches work with football directors and club owners to create an outfit capable of continental domination – they don’t stand open-mouthed when a new signing appears, injured and unknown.

If AFCON 2015 and it’s meagre one-point haul wasn’t enough to wake us up, then the failure of BOTH our African Champions League hopefuls at the first hurdle has to be an alarm bell. Surely it’s time for change. At all levels.

It's not just the Champions League embarrassment is it, SAFA? We have match-fixing allegations STILL unsolved, we have a R350m FIFA World Cup legacy fund STILL missing; The much-hyped Senzo Meyiwa statue STILL not evident; the Technical Director STILL nameless.


Yes, I'm ranting. Because nothing is done. When Irvin Khoza tells SAFA how to deal with "intermediaries" we are left with a game that has no hope. No His own club, Orlando Pirates, has no visible academy while we hype  junior tournament run by a man arrested at last year's World Cup.

Khoza is the one who issued a decree saying agents can no longer claim more than 3 percent for deals, but his club relies on agents not scouts for new players. No other FA in the world made such decisions in the light of the new FIFA recommendations on "intermediaries"... now only the second-rate agents, who do dodgy deals with clubs and scalp players, will survive.


Danny Jordaan, no longer the new president, issues statements designed to please, but that's as far as it goes. There has been no real progress. All Danny has managed so far is to get Shakes Mashaba to pick our European-based stars after that disastrous AFCON, and even then Kamohelo Mokotjo flew back to FC Twente having sat on the bench for the entire 90 minutes against Nigeria last week.

These aren't just my complaints. I speak to coaches, players, agents. All are in agreement. The Champions League debacle follows on from the AFCON failure; the need for a decent striker permeates South African football. How about a "Search for a Scorer" reality TV show? How about employing Robbie Fowler or Michael Owen to come to South Africa and run goal-scoring sessions?


But no. We'll stick to Q innovation and an Asidlali boasting elderly has-beens; we'll put Owen Da Gama and Thabo Senong in charge of our youngsters despite questionable qualifications.


We'll let the small PSL clubs fall apart while the giants rake in the cash and refuse to splash out. We'll let PSL attendances fall below an average of 6,000 for the first time but keep the figures quiet, hoping nobody will notice.


And we'll let a couple of agents anonymously keep out fire coaches on the merry-go-round, ignoring the need for qualifications and quality CVs. Middendorp in, Middendrop out; Rosslee up, Rosslee down. It's a joke.


But the football writers will pat each other on the back. Choose their targets and favourites according to their particular biases. Back the status quo. Defend the Iron Duck, Bobby and Danny. And we'll never be a footballing nation. Never.

Super Eagles denied at the death but Bafana pay the penalty AGAIN

ON THE SPOT: Andile Jali had his penalty saved in a 1-1 draw against Nigeria

IT IS A little-known fact that penalties are often incredibly important at the top level of football. That clear chance from 12 yards, increasingly blamed on referees rather than loose hands or bad challenges, HAS TO BE CONVERTED.


When you miss on in an international competition. it tends to create concern. Nationwide anxiety. But not, apparently, if you're Shakes Mashaba.


Left to do his own eccentric thing without the Technical Director we were promised by SAFA president Danny Jordaan last year, Mashaba saw Tokelo Rantie miss a vital spot kick in the opening AFCON 2015 game against Algeria. The lad was vilified on the social networds for an effort which cannoned off the top of the bar.



Then, in the two friendlies designed to restore Bafana's shattered dignity after gaining one point in Equatorial Guinea, the situation arose again when Thulani Serero went down in the box. This time Andile Jali was the one who grabbed the ball. And his penalty was comfortably saved by stand-in goalkeeper Dan Akpeyi.


Mashaba said after the game:  "It’s a good thing. Second time it happens. Gives us now cause for concern.”


Bloody hell. NOW you're concerned? When South Africa came within three seconds of defeat against a desperately poor Nigeria?

But look, after any disaster, we cling to the tiny green shoots of recovery to comfort us. Let’s take that attitude while we assess Bafana Bafana’s two international friendlies.

A 3-1 win in Swaziland – ranked 164 in the world – and a last gasp 1-1 draw against a weakened Nigeria should not be sneered at after an AFCON in Equatorial Guinea which saw Shakes Mashaba come back WINLESS with plenty of unnecessary laundry in his six-week suitcase.

The positives are pretty obvious. Itumeleng Khune appears to be back in favour, having started both games, while Thulani Serero played both games and his European pals Ayanda Patosi and Kamohelo Mokotjo both made the trip. Blimey, even the banned May Mahlangu came to have his ankle injury certified, things are definitely looking up!

The penalty against a very beatable Nigeria will be the talking point for a days to come. Having seen Rantie grab the ball against Algeria in the opening AFCON game before ramming it against the top of the bar, we were probably hoping the penalty-taking situation had been sorted out.

But when Jali – whose one-two with Thulani Serero led to the spot kick – grabbed the ball, he lost confidence… offered it to Oupa Manyisa... then walked back to take the penalty. The whole thing smacked of amateurism. It wasn’t a difficult save and the defender actually went closer, ramming the clearance against the upright.

And then, with five minutes left, Moscovite Ahmed Musa produced the magic to score out of the blue. With no apparent danger, he cut in from the left and curled a lovely right foot effort around Khune – the 50^th international goal he’s conceded, but after 85 quiet minutes, he could do nothing with a strike of that class.

The disappointment among the 18,500 at Mbombela was palpable. The Super Eagles had swooped again. Even during qualifying for AFCON 2015, both games against Bafana were drawn. This was a win waiting to happen, a jinx waiting to be broken. A 1-0 defeat seemed a trifle harsh, the great leveller from Mamelodi Sundowns' Bongani Zungu in injury time seemed appropriate.

Mashaba said: “Congratulations to the boys. We were unfortunate not to score goals. I don’t want to talk about the penalty again.

"It’s a normal thing, it does happen. We were all over them until the penalty. Then they got the goal. We need players who can lead others."

For me, Mashaba's tactics remain questionable: his decision to drop Mokotjo for the second game was inexplicable and the goalkeeper swap at half-time against Swaziland was almost disastrous.

But my dominant memory of Bafana’s two friendlies will be the harsh words from Mashaba directed at Lehlohonolo Majoro, the Orlando Pirates striker who fell out with agent Tim Sukazi when he left Kaizer Chiefs, after his efforts in Swaziland.

Though we had no television coverage to help us make up our own minds, Mashaba destroyed Majoro as he did when he called Mokotjo “heavy and sluggish” last year. He said Majoro “looked ill, didn’t challenge for the aerial ball, left the other striker on his own” and that he took him off before half-time “because he clearly couldn’t last the game”.

Nasty. Harsh. Small minded. Little wonder Majoro made no impact when he came on as a late sub on Sunday.

But hey, let’s stick to the positives. Zungu deserved the late, late equaliser in Mbombela. Picked ahead of European professionals, he had a strong 90 minutes and was there at the death scoring on the rebound, when it mattered. We’ll leave it at that! 

THE MOST BIZARRE FOOTBALLING NATION IN THE WORLD: Diski in Mzanzi remains inexplicable. But gives us plenty to talk about

REF, YOU NEED GLASSES! Stuart Baxter was red-carded after making
this gesture to our "No 1" referee Daniel Bennett on Saturday night

WE have seen enough, in less than one season, to know that South African football is unique. In a land where soccer dominates, there are more questions than answers and we rely on cricket and rugby for international success.

Bafana Bafana, with their ever-changing goalkeepers, unsolved match-fixing scandals and unbanned foreign stars, offers a bizarre insight in to our game. I’ve researched how often an international squad has chosen TWO goalkeepers from ONE club, It has NEVER happened.

Itumeleng Khune and Brilliant Khuzwayo BOTH playing for Kaizer Chiefs is just indicative of the confusion we face as South African football fans. And it's not new. Have a look at the Brian Baloyi and Andre Arendse debate a decade ago (Shakes Mashaba was the coach then too, with goalkeeping and captaincy confusion, see http://www.news24.com/xArchive/Sport/Soccer/Booth-could-captain-Bafana-20020815).

There's also THIS http://mg.co.za/article/2008-09-09-special-bafana-bafana-team-to-take-on-england involving Mashaba's multiple previous spells in charge of Bafana. We knew, we were warned, he had previous, all the old pros warned me. But we gave him the job again.

This kind of thing happens NOWHERE ELSE in the world. Neither does the tumult over Tokelo Rantie, Ayanda Patosi, May Mahlangu – called up despite injury in Turkey – and Kamohelo Mokotjo, dismissed last year as “heavy and sluggish” by Mashaba. Our four best overseas players dismissed for AFCON but curiously recalled for the upcoming international friendlies on the insistence of SAFA president Danny Jordaan.

Rarely in my 35 years of sports writing have I heard anybody quite as politically astute (or as rude when the right questions are being asked) as Mashaba, a man who is capable of avoiding difficult questions while simultaneously having his two mobile phones and his lap-top stolen by a car jammer. Like our president, he laughs when he should cry, dances when he should act, takes when he should be giving.

Surrounded by agents despite the furore over his predecessor Gordon Igesund, Shakes continues to be seen as a messiah despite the second-worst AFCON performance in Bafana’s history being the most recent evidence of his lack of tactical and diplomatic acumen.

But it’s not just Mashaba. It’s not just SAFA, with their empty promises of a Technical Director and a gun-metal statue of the late Senzo Meyiwa. There are sinister forces all over the place. Evidence that Diski in Mzanzi is simply INEXPLICABLY INEFFICIENT.

We have the outrageous, late blooming talent of Thabo Rakhale and the obvious joy of Hendrick Ekstein being messed about by our two biggest clubs as PSL attendance dip to unprecedented levels – we’re set to go under 6,000 per game, lower even than the all-white NFL in the bad old days of Apartheid in the 1970s.

AND NOTHING IS DONE. Nobody even talks about it. Our top football presenters, who have never played the game, steer the struggling ex-professionals away from anything controversial on radio and television. We shall bury our heads in the sand. We will not ask why "football managers" deal with agents on transfers rather than coaches. Or why the big clubs take all the sponsorship money. Or why our grass roots football, with the FIFA Legacy Fund earning interest in a dusty vault, remains neglected.


And why are Q-innovation tables so hard to come by? Why did our Asidlali reserve league fail to encourage Under 19s?

But we're talked about these things before. Tonight, a live eccentricity raised its head: we have our much-hyped number one referee Daniel Bennett missing a clear off-side and ignoring a blatant penalty as Kaizer Chiefs were ousted from the Nedbank Cup on Saturday night by Zeca Marques' NFD outfit Black Leopards.

Just to rub salt in the wounds, Bennett sent off a bemused coach Stuart Baxter after he made the gesture (pictured above) that suggests he needs spectacles. Great stuff!

To get to the nub of the South African problem THIS: Baxter is EIGHT POINTS clear at the top of the PSL. But he STILL hasn’t found a striker. Though Bernard Parker finally scored his fourth goal of the season in midweek against Moroka Swallows, it remains the case that Baxter’s midfielders and centre-backs (from set pieces) have scored 80 percent of his League goals.

With David Zulu and Matty Rusike failing again on Saturday, Baxter, with five non-scoring strikers, will now turn to James Keene, a 29-year-old British journeyman. After spending last week on trial at Naturena, Baxter says: “James is available and he suits our style. He’ll have to go home to apply for a work permit. It might be just for the rest of the season, but we’d like him long-term.”

Baxter says Keene has "a proven record" but he failed to score in the inaugural Indian Super League earlier this season and was deeply unimpressive. But like "experienced" New Zealander Jeremy Brockie at SuperSport United, perhaps Keene can show us how to score from two yards out, how to make incisive runs, shield the ball, show a decent first touch.

Or so the Kaizer Chiefs fans hope as we wait for April 4 and the resumption of the PSL after these two Bafana friendlies against Swaziland and Nigeria. I won’t link games like this to the unsolved match-fixing scandal before the 2010 World Cup. My head might explode.

But just to prove how strange our game is: consider our THIRTEEN coaching casualties this season. I spoke to Allan Freese, put on special leave by Platinum Stars on Friday night before the Nedbank Cup clash with Mamelodi Sundowns tomorrow. Then I spoke to Cavin Johnson, thrown out by SuperSport early in the season. And a couple of others.

As a specific interest group, they are as confused by our game as I am. 13 coaching casualties in a 16-team league? Unbelievable. Utterly confounded by the timing of Clive Barker’s departure from Mpumalanga Black Aces or Fani Madida’s short tenure at Moroka Swallows. And as for Ernst Middendorp’s winless efforts at Chippa United...

But this is South African football. Where even top of the table Baxter and super caretaker Eric Tinkler are insecure, despite all they have achieved. Stay tuned. It might be bizarre, but it sure gives me something to talk about.  Like tonight's Nedbank Cup winner for Jeremy Brockie as SuperSport United ousted Orlando Pirates in the Nedbank Cup tonight...

THAT KAIZER CHIEFS SLUMP: Baxter senses danger as Swallows sack Madida, the TWELFTH coach gone this season

RARE SIGHT: Mandla Masango celebrates Kaizer Chiefs only PSL goal
in 2015 during the 1-0 win against Ajax Cape Town on March 4

EXACTLY a month ago, I wrote here about the Kaizer Chiefs annual slump, pointing out the danger of the mighty AmaKhosi letting things slip again after the Christmas break.

Since I wrote this http://neal-collins.blogspot.com/2015/02/in-three-short-years-it-has-become-one.html things have gone from bad to worse at Naturena, with points and goals drying up faster than a duck pond in the Sahara.

Two seasons ago, when Baxter became the first foreign coach to win the title in his first season, Chiefs hung on to win the title by a point from Platinum Stars. Last season, Mamelodi Sundowns swept past them to snatch the Absa trophy.

But this year, the slump is more of a collapse; though low-scoring “marksman” Kingston Nkhatha decamped controversially to SuperSport United (and scored a few early goals) little has changed in the camp, apart from the arrival of R4m striker David Zulu, who was carrying a knee injury before he left Chippa United.

When I wrote my last piece, Chiefs – unbeaten at Christmas and 18 points clear – contrived a 0-0 draw with Bloemfontein Celtic and a 2-0 defeat against Nkhatha’s SuperSport United as they resumed after the break.

Since then, they’ve beaten Ajax Cape Town 1-0; drew 0-0 with Orlando Pirates in a disappointing Soweto Derby and, just last week, suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Steve Komphela’s Maritzburg United. Komphela said afterwards: “The team that doesn’t know how to lose was beaten by a team which had forgotten how to win. We had exhausted every way to lose, so we had no option but to win.”

Saturday’s 1-0 defeat against Morocco’s African Club Cup semi-finalists Raja Casablanca was almost a relief. The early goal – from a Chiefs-style set-piece – was all the visitors could muster at the Moses Mabhida and, as Baxter said: “I wasn’t too disappointed with our performance after that.”

There were, of course, the 2-0 and 1-0 wins over Botswana’s Township Rollers in the African Champions League and a 4-0 win over Edu Sports in the Nedbank Cup, but if you discount those three, Kaizer Chiefs record in the PSL since Christmas reads:

Played FIVE, won ONE, drew TWO, lost TWO. That run has seen Mamelodi Sundowns close the gap to eight points, potentially five if Masandawana win their game in hand.

But how about goals scored? ONE. Yes, just that 15^th minute Mandla Masango rebound after George Lebese’s shot at Soccer City against Ajax. One goal in 450 minutes of League football from the runaway leaders. Shocking.

Tomorrow night at Dobsonville, Baxter’s strike force must muster SOMETHING against low-flying Moroka Swallows - who sacked their coach tonight - or the massive mid-season lead will have been frittered away in record time.

Following Fani Madida’s departure from Moroka Swallows tonight, here’s the full list of TWELVE PSL coaches who have moved posts this season:

Cavin Johnson (SuperSport United)

Kosta Papic (Chippa United)

Boebie Solomons (Polokwane City)

Craig Rosslee (Amazulu)

Zeca Marques (Moroka Swallows)

Tom Saintfiet (Free State Stars)

Steve Barker (Tuks)

Vladimir Vermezovic (Orlando Pirates)

Ernst Middendorp (Bloemfontein Celtic)

Roger Sikhakhane (Chippa United)

Clive Barker (Mpumalanga Black Aces)

Fani Madida (Moroka Swallows)

That means only SIX clubs out of SIXTEEN have survived the season so far: Stuart Baxter (Kaizer Chiefs, longest serving in the country at nearly THREE seasons), Pitso Mosimane (champions Mamelodi Sundowns), Gavin Hunt (Bidvest Wits), Roger de Sa (Ajax Cape Town), Steve Komphela (Maritzburg United) and under-pressure Allen Freese (Platinum Stars).

And as for the return against Raja Casablanca, what chance do the mighty AmaKhosi have? One of the best known brands on the continent face an early exit once more, along with Sundowns, who could only manage a 1-0 home win against TP Mazembe despite a first half red card for the visitors.

We all know how difficult Lumbumbashi can be for visitors – just ask Roger De Sa about the dubious penalties and red cards – and to be honest, will a 2-1 advantage be enough to stop the Taxmen finally getting their revenge on Doctor Irvin Khoza’s Orlando Pirates at plucky Uganda Revenue Service?

All of which will leave South Africa – like the English, who will probably see Arsenal and Manchester City fail this week – OUT of all continental competition. And with only domestic trophies to focus on.

Perhaps that will focus the mind for Katlego Mphela and Bernard Parker… or David Zulu and Hendrick Ekstein… or Mandla Masango and Matty Rusike.

Baxter insists: “We played better against Raja than in some games we’ve won. But  if you don’t score, you don’t win. It’s a worry. We’re working hard on it.”

Part of that process is getting James Keene, a 29-year-old from Portsmouth, England, over for a trial. A journeyman striker who scored 25 Bundesliga goals for Elfsborg at his peak, is a free agent after failing to score for NorthEast United FC in the inaugural Indian Super League season. He is expected to train with the AmaKhosi this week.

But Keene won't play against Swallows. If it's hard work you're looking for, I’d go for Ekstein and Rusike. Or perhaps, as I said last night on twitter, try the Manchester United 4-1-4-1 with Willard Katsande in front of the back four. String MaLeMa (Masango, Lebese, Maluleka) across the midfield with Ekstein and stick Zulu up front on his own (if fit).

It’s the one combination untried so far. Can’t be any worse than the last two months, Stuart.


James Keene video below: