An awful run, disgruntled supporters and a silent chairman have made up a tense couple of weeks for Kaizer Chiefs’ coach Steve Komphela. But should he stay or should he be sent packing? There are arguments for both.
Keep him because
1. It’s a mere seven-point gap
Yes, Chiefs are falling behind in the championship race, but the inconsistent nature of the Absa Premiership gives them hope that they can catch up.
On Tuesday, the season will reach its halfway mark, and no team wins the league around Christmas. There is a lot of ground to cover and Komphela has his work cut out, but it’s not impossible to turn this around.
With the upcoming break - one enforced by the Africa Cup of Nations in January - the coach could take advantage of that and the transfer window to win back the dressing room.
2. Judge him when the season’s over
One of the reasons chairman Kaizer Motaung gave for backing Komphela when he found the going tough earlier in his tenure was that the coach needed to build his own team following a year in transition.
Komphela inherited a team that had clinched two league titles in three years with his predecessor, Stuart Baxter, but inevitably felt the need to give the squad his own imprint, hence they struggled at first. It makes sense to allow him to continue doing that in the next five months.
3. Find him a proven striker
There are signs that forward Michelle Katsvairo could eventually lead the line and be convincing at it.
However, given the pressure Komphela is under, Chiefs need a quick-fix to convert the chances they create during a match.
Amakhosi lost twice in their eight-game winless run, which perhaps suggests that had they been clinical up front, the story could have been slightly different.
Fire him because
1. The winless run is embarrassing
How he’s made it this far is puzzling. Maybe Motaung really is considering the arguments above.
The club’s poor run is almost identical to last season when they ended up in fifth place and subsequently surrendered the PSL title to Sundowns - a repeat shows that the job might be too big for him.
2. Komphela doesn’t know his starting line-up
Chiefs’ fans have become accustomed to the coach chopping and changing the team even after a year-and-a-half in charge.
Form players should be rewarded as expected, but to make a minimum of two changes per match is a sign that Komphela is still unsure of who deserves to keep their place.
He has also recently introduced a 3-4-3 formation, one that got tongues wagging as Amakhosi conceded four goals in two matches (the ones they lost) using that system.
To prove that his men weren’t quite taking to it, Komphela reverted to the traditional 4-4-2 and positive results are still not coming.
3. He has not won a trophy
Komphela did come close last season after reaching the finals of the MTN8 and Telkom Knockout but failed to win either.
That almost doesn’t count, and the fickle fans don’t forget. Already this season, Chiefs have been dumped out of the MTN8, in the opening round, and have stumbled at the quarter-final stage in the Telkom Knockout, leaving just the Nedbank Cup and the league title on offer. At this rate, Amakhosi don’t look like contenders for either.