Nothing could have laid bare the crisis afflicting Kaizer Chiefs as the final seconds of Sunday’s MTN8 semifinal second leg against Orlando Pirates.
At that point, with Pirates leading comfortably 2-0, the tie completely lost and probably Amakhosi just waiting for the final whistle to put them out of their misery, Erick Mathoho committed a foul which necessitated a second booking, meaning he would be sent off.
Not only did that moment of madness by Mathoho speak of a deepening malaise at Chiefs, precisely because Mathoho is a senior player and, at the time of committing the completely needless foul, he was wearing the captain’s armband. That he was the third player to be captain on the day also tells a story; that of coach Gavin Hunt’s failure to identify a suitable leader to aid his bid to dig Chiefs out of their current rut.
This column pointed out before Hunt took charge that one of his first major tasks would be to anoint a skipper, given the spectacular collapse that handed Mamelodi Sundowns the championship last season.
Lo and behold, five players – Itumeleng Khune, Willard Katsande, Lebogang Manyama, Bernard Parker and Mathoho – have been captain at one stage or another in the mere six matches Amakhosi have played under him.
On current form, not one of these players is guaranteed to start and finish games. My suggestion would be for Hunt to look no further than Daniel Cardoso who hasn’t been too bad amid the crisis.
Hunt of course inherited a dispirited dressing room, one which regrettably can’t be revived with new personnel thanks to Chiefs’ bungling of the signing of Andriamirado "Dax" Andrianarimanana, which triggered a two-window transfer ban for the club.
That transfer ban has directly had a negative effect of morale at the club. Senior players who are supposed to help at this desperate time have appeared too relaxed, knowing they are guaranteed to start the next match, however badly they perform. They give half-hearted performances and have appeared generally disinterested. They know they cannot be substituted either, as the bench is also thin.
This is where Hunt comes in. He must earn his stripes as a knowledgeable local coach who succeeded in similarly challenging situations at Black Leopards, SuperSport United and Bidvest Wits.
There’s little he can do about Chiefs’ transfer ban, so he should stop moaning about it.
The complaint about having had no pre-season training with Amakhosi is also invalid because the situation is the same for all teams.
Yes, Chiefs had a bad run in the title race's final stretch a few months ago, and that’s the main reason Ernst Middendorp was not retained. Hunt was hired to remedy that situation, the transfer ban notwithstanding. Evidence gleaned from the six games he’s been in charge of suggests he’s far off from taking Chiefs to new heights, with the club winning just two of those matches, and suffering heavy drubbings to their direct rivals, Pirates and Sundowns.
Where Middendorp was correctly chastised for being a one-dimensional coach who stuck with Plan A for all games, Hunt is increasingly appearing to be without any plan.
The past five games make for an even dire reading, with just one goal, an own goal, scored against Chippa United, and eight conceded.
Ultimately, coaches are held accountable mainly due to results, regardless of circumstances. Hunt will surely know this.
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