Impatience in PSL is worrying

Manqoba Mngqithi.

Manqoba Mngqithi.

Published Aug 25, 2012

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Johannesburg – The departure of Manqoba Mngqithi from Chippa United should not come as a surprise given Absa Premiership teams’ penchant for firing coaches.

While it is easy to dismiss the decision of Chippa Mpengesi, the Chippa owner, as an irrational act by a confused, immature club boss, it should be highlighted that he’s merely following a perturbing trend in the domestic game.

Looking across all 16 Premiership teams from last season, you’ll find that only a handful did not have a coaching change; worryingly, some had more than one.

Eight teams – Orlando Pirates, Kaizer Chiefs, AmaZulu, Maritzburg United, Golden Arrows, Platinum Stars, Black Leopards and Santos – changed their head coaches during last season, and while in some cases such a change brought about positive results, in others it proved detrimental.

Pirates are the perfect example of a coaching change bringing about positive energy in the dressing room, with Augusto Palacios taking charge of 12 league matches and leading them to championship glory. AmaZulu, too, were wallowing in relegation trouble before Roger Palmgren guided them to seventh place – their highest finish in Premiership history – ironically after replacing the same Mngqithi whom Chippa had seen as a potential hero.

At Chiefs, the departure of the reviled Vladimir Vermezovic heralded a series of poor results, ensuring Amakhosi went trophyless for the first time since 2002. In spite of two coaching changes, Santos could not survive the drop.

Of course, keeping a coach for an entire season is no guarantee of success, as seen with the eight other teams who didn’t sack their coaches last year. The most obvious example is that of Jomo Cosmos, who were condemned to a third straight relegation in spite of the same man being in charge. BIDVest Wits, too, hugely underachieved despite being led by Roger de Sa.

De Sa has since bitten the dust, albeit that his departure from a club where he had served as acting chief executive had more to do with boardroom squabbles and little with performance.

Stability has been seen from the likes of Free State Stars and Bloemfontein Celtic, whose coaches have now been there for two or more seasons. For the first time under the presidency of Patrice Motsepe, Mamelodi Sundowns ended a season with the same coach who started it.

The most secure coaching job in the land has to be that of SuperSport United. Having been at the helm of Matsatsantsa for more than five years, Gavin Hunt is the longest-serving coach at a single Premiership club. His predecessor, Pitso Mosimane, had been there for almost seven years, meaning just two people have managed SuperSport in the past 11 seasons (Sundowns have had 12 coaches in the same period of time).

Consistency in the coaching department is key to success and for a club like Chippa, who are making their Premiership debut, a change this early paints a picture of tactless, poor management. Chippa should have known that Mngqithi had been out of the coaching realm since his sacking by AmaZulu early last season, and thus surely should not have expected a lot from him. Similarly, firing him after losing two games to Mamelodi Sundowns, who arguably have the strongest side in the country, and Free State Stars – who required a late winner on Wednesday – exposed Chippa as a shortsighted club who deserve to go straight back to the lower leagues. Sadly, Chippa are not alone in this irrational mindset, with several other coaches – notably Palmgren at AmaZulu – finding themselves under pressure barely two matches into the new season.

This culture of intolerance and impatience will not help SA football one bit. We should dream of the day when a PSL club has a coach lasting longer than five seasons. Expecting these teams to aspire to keep someone for about the same time as Arsene Wenger or Alex Ferguson have been with Arsenal and Manchester United respectively is plainly improbable because our clubs are unnecessarily trigger-happy. – Saturday Star

*Follow Matshe on Twitter @Nkareng

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