OPINION: Mbatha should think again before joining Orlando Pirates
Richard Ofori is the clear number one at Pirates these days, meaning any 'keeper that joins right now will be spending most of his time on the bench.
Siyabonga Mbatha is set to join Orlando Pirates. Picture: Steve Haag/BackpagePix.
There is no doubt that Siyabonga Mbatha is a supremely talented goalkeeper, who has been unfortunate, in a sense, to lose his place in the AmaZulu team to Veli Mothwa.
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Mothwa has been in unbelievable form for Benni McCarthy’s side, and it is far more because of this, than down to Mbatha’s own flaws, that he has been sitting on the sidelines, only playing twice for the KZN high-flyers all year.
In this light, it is natural, too, that Mbatha would choose to seek employment elsewhere next season, and Phakaaathi has already reported that his new role will be at Orlando Pirates.
Yet it does seem a strange decision for him to sign for the Buccaneers, given that there is already a clear number one choice at Pirates, in the form of Ghanaian ‘keeper Richard Ofori.
The 27 year-old Ofori is out injured for Pirates at the moment, but there is little doubt he will be restored to the side once he is fully fit.
It is a reasonable question to ask why Mbatha would want to move from one bench to another, playing deputy to Ofori when he is injured, as veteran Siyabonga Mpontshane is currently doing.
It would surely be better for the 31 year-old to seek a number one role at another club, so that he can play more regularly. Even if Josef Zinnbauer were to offer him a role as Pirates’ goalkeeper in the Nedbank Cup, it really doesn’t seem worth it.
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