Sombre spirits at Amakhosi intensified by supporters’ discontent with Steve Komphela

You can almost reach out and touch the tension as you walk through the gates at Kaizer Chiefs’ Naturena headquarters in the south of Johannesburg.

The air of confidence that greeted visitors like an invisible cloak of expensive cologne as they walked past the security checkpoint is noticeably absent these days, and the indomitable swagger of old has been replaced by a mist of self-doubt and uncertainty.

Guests only have to look around the state-of-the-art buildings dotted around the well-manicured gardens before a scent of incertitude suddenly hits them in the face like a bucket of cold water.

These are tough times in Naturena and a club that used to be ridiculously blessed with the style and finesse of a romantic novelist is now almost unrecognisable.

Gravity has not been very kind to Kaizer Motaung’s club and their free fall down the standings to their current seventh place is no accident.

They have played 12‚ won four‚ drawn five and lost three matches during a roller-coaster run of results.

Amakhosi have not won a game since beating Ajax Cape Town 2-0 in October and at the rate they are going, winning another game before the end of the year would be a miracle.

  - this column was first published in Business Day

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