If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it – so goes the old cliché, and so goes, it seems, Moroka Swallows’ philosophy for the upcoming Premier Soccer League season.
Gordon Igesund may have come and gone, whisked way by Bafana Bafana, but the Birds have stuck to another of the hired guns of last season, Zeca Marques promoted from assistant to head coach.
And the Swallows coach, in turn, has kept his own faith, adding just one thus far to the squad that told the fairytale of last season.
It is a remarkably placid statement in an era of frenzied transfer activity, and it will be fascinating to see how it works in the coming season.
The cliché gets a bad press in this world (in fact, the wild beasts of literary originality would probably have me beaten in public for using one as my first sentence). And yet, it would not become a cliché without some kind of universal truth.
Swallows finished second in the Absa Premiership last season, just two points behind Orlando Pirates at the top, and above the likes of the monied Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns.
So what exactly is there to fix? Sundowns, Chiefs, and even Pirates have again been lobbing the chequebook around. But signing a mass of talented players gives no guarantee of silverware – just ask Patrice Motsepe.
Quality over quantity, oops, another cliché, appears to be the Marques mantra. And on the one hand it is eminently sensible. Swallows will probably go into the season as the side most settled into its rhythm, the same players plus Felix Obada, and a coach with a similar philosophy to Igesund.
Then again, there is a decent argument to say Marques is also taking a gamble of immense proportions.
Swallows’ success last season lied heavily on their ‘Golden Oldies’, top scorer Siyabonga Nomvethe, captain Lefa Tsutsulupa and winger Joseph Makhanya three of the stars of the show, on the wrong side of 30.
Can Nomvethe, who turns 35 in December, top the scoring charts again? Can Tsutsulupa continue to charge tirelessly around, controlling games from midfield? Even on the right side of 30, can the superb David Mathebula possibly repeat his heroics of last season? Would it not then have been wise to buy some back-up, to add a little ammunition to an already well-loaded rifle? These are questions, of course, that can only be answered with time.
Either way, whether Marques can repeat what Igesund achieved last season, or better, will make scintillating viewing.