Naturena send 10111 distress call to Zwane
I am acutely aware that I am senile and while trying to lift my creaking knees off my rocking chair to pay a visit to the bathroom, I heard someone on the radio announce that Kaizer Chiefs have appointed a new coach, or have I imagined it?
Hell, old age can be cumbersome on certain days. The other day I silently turned the house upside down searching almost everywhere for my spectacles, dressing table, and the computer desk and even in the toilet bowl until my granddaughter pointed out, giggling herself silly for that matter, that I was wearing them.
So here I am, cursing out loud and searching for my hearing aid, just to ascertain that I’ve heard correctly that down Naturena way, they have indeed dialed the “10111” distress number and appointed Zwane as the new sheriff of Amakhosi.
To be honest, the signs have been there all along that Zwane was the right fit for Chiefs. He proved it during that short period after the ejection of Gavin Hunt, when he led Chiefs to the final of the CFAF Champions League.
Sadly, some smart Alec misread the script and in their misguided wisdom, shunted Zwane aside at the critical moment and appointed Stuart Baxter as the Chief of the Sioux tribe against a rampant Pitso Mosimane led Al Ahly.
Now that Baxter had found the going tough, unable to gather the Sioux warriors to launch a deadly enough assault on the village down Chloorkop way, he has in turn been shafted and Arthur “10111” Zwane recalled.
In addition, if you followed the man closely and listened attentively to him after his second elevation to the top post, he never minced his words. Quite often, local coaches tend to sugar coat everything and are scared to call a spade a spade.
Not King Arthur.
Long before he was appointed, he was never afraid to point out that the majority of the squad members at his disposal have grown long teeth, have gone past their sell-by-date and they must be shown the door.
Zwane it was who bravely pointed out, without fear of whether he would be sacked or demoted, that in order to regain their status as undisputed kings of South African football, Chiefs needed to recruit special players that are confident and comfortable on the ball.
I seem to remember even in my senile state of mind, that Zwane said Chiefs needed to recruit the kind of personnel that plays without fear, with a bit of cheekiness and arrogance and dominate their matches to instill fear in their opponents like it was the case many moons ago.
He was not only forthright in his summation of what needed to be done to ensure Chiefs became the dominant figure they were a decade ago, but his comments were from a calm and matured Zwane that appealed to some of us that “sometimes we dig trenches, searching for gold, when it is right here in front of our eyes!”
Thankfully, Chiefs have discovered before it was too late, that they have a diamond on their hands and appointed Zwane. Lastly, before my dentures go flying into the bath-tab, let me appeal to management to give Zwane unqualified support and I have no doubt he will deliver.
In any case, both Chiefs and Pirates are the life-blood of SA football and with both mis-firing for seven years, SA football was beginning to get boring and I hope Zwane will fire the Amakhosi to mount a serious challenge on the extremely dominant yellow nation!
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