Can Mokwena help Chilli Boys reignite their fire?

DURBAN – Chippa United are forever fighting against relegation because of the club’s poor management style.

The Chilli Boys attract talented players and top coaches but the environment is never conducive for them to flourish.

Each coach who arrives starts well and the club plays entertaining attacking football. But the trigger-happy management seldom allows coaches to settle, and poor results sees them fired.

Rhulani Mokwena is the current coach, having joined after no less than three predecessors. It remains to be seen if he will see out the season which has six matches to go should it be continued when the coronavirus-induced break ends.

Such is Chippa’s nature that discussions around Mokwena are not about whether he will turn the club’s fortunes around as is the case at other clubs when they have new coaches.

The Chilli Boys are 12th on the log and six points clear of bottom-placed Black Leopards.

Their season in a nutshell:

Clinton Larsen saved Chippa from relegation last season and was expected to build from the positives of that campaign. Unfortunately there was no time for Larsen to do that as he was shown the door at the Eastern Cape club. He was replaced by his assistant Duran Francis who also didn’t last. Then came the Zimbabwean Norman Mapeza who stabilised the ship but resigned last month.

Mokwena took over on a rare ‘loan’ deal from Orlando Pirates. That’s has been the story of Chippa United - changing coaches and instability. No wonder they are in the relegation dogfight.

Rhulani Mokwena has other options after life at Chippa. Photo: BackpagePix

Coach’s tactics:

With the change of coaches, Chippa have played different styles. Under Larsen they played more on transition but are still very effective when in possession. Over the past few years, Chippa have been renowned for keeping possession and building from the back.

That has been their identity. But Larsen changed that and made them rely more on pace and wing play. Francis also lasted three games and could not really imprint his ideas on the team’s style.

He was still trying to find his feet and didn’t change much from how Larsen did things. When Mapeza took over, Chippa were more resolute defensively and thus kept more clean sheets during his tenure. The defensive organisation got better. But they were not the same Chippa we’ve come to know going forward. Mokwena has been in charge for just one match but you could tell how he wants them to play. Expect Chippa to dominate possession and attack with verve under Mokwena’s regime.

What they have done right (strengths):

Chippa are renowned for their attacking flair but it’s been a different story this season. They have struggled in front of goals. It is at the back where they have excelled and have conceded 23 league goals in 24 matches. They are one of the teams with the better defensive record in the relegation dogfight alongside Baroka FC.

What they have done wrong (weaknesses):

Chippa have lacked consistency. They have failed to put in a consistent run of positive results which has led to the precarious position they find themselves in. They are the lowest scorers in the league alongside Baroka and AmaZulu. Only Usuthu have scored fewer goals than Chippa with 14 strikes. They are followed by Chippa and Baroka on 15 goals.

That’s something Mokwena will look to refine. They fired blanks in his debut match against Bidvest Wits before the season was halted by the pandemic.

Veli Mothwa has kept a remarkable eight clean sheets in 15 league outings. Photo: BackpagePix

Key player: Veli Mothwa

Mothwa was not the first choice at the start of the season but after a string of poor performances by Patrick Tignyemb, the head coach at that time, Norman Mapeza, was left with no choice but to introduce Mothwa. He proved to be the missing puzzle. Mothwa has kept a remarkable eight clean sheets in 15 league outings.

He has now become a vital cog for Chippa and his command of that defence has ensured Mothwa has made his presence felt.

Quotes:

Rhulani Mokwena (Head coach):

“What will make me happy will be to see this team playing good football and maintaining its status in the Premiership. That is something that is possible because as much as we are six points from the team at the bottom we are also six points from the top eight. We are as close to the top eight as we are in the relegation.”