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Please, please, please . no more toy tossing

Considering that Simon Mann's team got such a snotklap from Equatorial Guinea, Parreira's unveiling as Bafana coach would not be a coup. Even Joel Santana had the measure of the Malabo mob.

As it turned out, Mann has scampered home to England, where 10000 gin and tonics await him. He's had enough of Africa, and the feeling is mutual.

Speaking of mutual disaffection, are Bafana fans ready to forgive Benni McCarthy, provided he honours his call-up for the Japan and Jamaica friendlies?

For too long, the debate about Benni and Bafana has amounted to nothing more than circular, pointless name calling. The anti-Benni camp have refused to accept that Bafana desperately need his quality, no matter how arrogant he has been in the past.

And the pro-Benni camp has refused to accept that Benni's arrogance cannot be blamed entirely on Safa's arrogant provocations.

The truth, as always, is slumbering in a humble tent somewhere between the two camps. Grown-up footballers should loyally serve their countries, while grown-up administrators should treat footballers like grown-ups.

With any luck, Benni's rough patch at Blackburn will boost his patriotic fervour. He barely gets a game for Rovers anymore, with coach Sam Allardyce opting to start with the less-than-deadly Chelsea reject Franco di Santo. But Di Santo is young, fit and runs all day.

If finishing ability is your only criterion, few strikers on earth would start ahead of Benni. He's a born murderer in the box - but nowadays, he can scarcely reach the box from open play. The passage of time and the growth of his girth are finally conspiring to make him unselectable.

You'd think that the chance of a heroic World Cup swan song would motivate him to nuke the love handles and get fitter than ever.

That he hasn't done so yet isn't just a matter of laziness: his heavy build is genetic. Benni has been at least slightly overweight since his early 20s, even when he was acceptably fit and scoring goals by the truckload.

So this sounds like a job for Bafana fitness trainer Francesco Gonzalez. The merciless Brazilian excelled to get Kagisho Dikgacoi, Lance Davids and Katlego Mphela into peak condition for the Confederations Cup.

And even if Gonzalez can't remove 10kg from Benni, he should play a role at the World Cup.

He could come off the bench, with 20 minutes left, and take the fifth penalty in any shootouts that may arise.

With Mphela maturing into a wonderful striker - 11 goals in 14 games for Downs this season is some going - Bafana's hopes no longer hinge on Benni, and he needs to grasp that.

Somehow he has to discover the joy of being an ordinary member of the team, just as the fans and the media must make him feel wanted.

And please, please, please, no more toy tossing. There's some serious football to be played.

The Benni-Safa soapie must be taken off the air, or thousands of innocent South Africans will die of boredom.