Jonty Mark

By Jonty Mark

Football Editor


Chiefs splash the cash, now they need to deliver the trophies

Amakhosi need to get the results and finally put some silverware in an increasingly dusty trophy cabinet.


Whoever handles Kaizer Chiefs’ social media accounts certainly seems to want to feel important, which is presumably the reason for the late night reveal of a host of new signings on Monday. 

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They then did exactly the same on Tuesday evening in unveiling Yusuf Maart.

Amakhosi could surely have unveiled their new ‘soldiers’ during normal working hours, but presumably wanted to ‘scoop’ the rest of the world.

They didn’t anyway, as the new signings had been widely reported before any official announcement came out.

Still, let’s not begrudge Chiefs their moment of glory, and their excitement over a new era that beckons for Amakhosi.

The main problem for Chiefs is that this excitement now needs to spill over to results on the pitch, which have mostly eluded the Naturena side for the last seven years.

If the Premier Soccer League was a popularity contest, Chiefs would win all its available trophies by a mile every season.

Amakhosi have mastered the art of attracting attention. Yet in recent times, they have been outperformed to an embarrassing extent by Mamelodi Sundowns.

While Sundowns have won trophy after trophy, Chiefs have fumbled and flailed around, with coach after coach failing to find a winning formula.

So can this ‘new era’ bring in the trophies under head coach Arthur Zwane?

Chiefs’ sporting director Kaizer Motaung Jnr looks to have been a main reason Zwane was given a chance in the permanent role vacated by Stuart Baxter last season.

And Motaung Jnr’s vision also seems to have caused a player clearout at Chiefs, followed by the recruitment of players from across the DStv Premiership.

And Chiefs have certainly snapped up some serious young talent, from Stellenbosch FC’s Ashley Du Preeez to Swallows’ Dillon Solomons.

The idea seems to be for Amakhosi to get back to playing an attacking brand of football that will also provide results, and Zwane, a wing-wizard in his playing days at Chiefs, is seen as the man to mastermind the revolution.

Yet for all the bluster, Amakhosi need to get the results and finally put some silverware in an increasingly dusty trophy cabinet.

Otherwise they will continue to look like a brilliantly-marketed yet dismally-run football team. 

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