Chiefs and Pirates need to open up the cheque book – Ndlanya
You can't expect a Toyota to beat a Ferrari in a road race, explains the Buccaneers and Amakhosi legend.
Gaston Sirino of Mamelodi Sundowns Pic: Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix.
Former Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates striker Pollen Ndlanya is not convinced that the Glamour Boys and Sea Robbers are doing enough when it comes to the transfer market.
Ndlanya told Phakaaathi that the Soweto giants need to dig deeper into their coffers and purchase quality players much like rivals Mamelodi Sundowns have been doing over the years.
“For a team like Pirates and Chiefs, they need to buy quality players for the sake of their reputation. These are two big teams and they have to buy quality so that they can maintain their standard. I really do not know how Pirates and Chiefs do their dealings but Sundowns have an edge over them and they need to catch up,” said Ndlanya.
“You cannot take a Toyota and a Ferrari and want the Toyota to win the race for you, never! The Ferrari is expensive because it has got all those qualities. You cannot take a Toyota to race a Ferrari, you are risking,” he added.
More often than not, Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane travels abroad to scout for players attacking wizard Gaston Sirino and Brazilians slick defender Ricardo Nascimento. Ndlanya says Amakhosi and the Buccaneers need to adopt the same strategy or at least have a vigilant scouting department.
“It is very important to have someone who is a scout. I don’t know who scouts for Sundowns but it looks like they have got someone who has got an eye on players and at the same time they open the cheque book. If you need quality, you must open the cheque book, that is just reality.
He continued: “Yes you can develop your own players but you cannot take all of the young players and put them in the senior team. You need to at least have three players from the development and buy quality players. Sundowns are really on top in scouting and opening the cheque book. You look at the likes of Gaston Sirino, Mauricio Affonso, those are the top players and they are delivering.”
Chiefs’ plans in the transfer market, however, are still resting on getting a transfer ban imposed on them by Fifa for the next two transfer windows overturned. Chiefs have an appeal that is set to be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland next month.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
