When there’s a dark cloud hovering over your head, it’s normal to think there’s no way out.
You see no light and all you hear are people who may be rejoicing in your hour of need or sympathising, but have no way to put an end to your misery.
That’s the type of analogy which came to mind when I thought of Kaizer Chiefs being barred from signing new players in the current and next windows.
This means the team won’t be allowed to add new players in the 2020-21 season and that can’t be easy for coach Gavin Hunt.
Amakhosi were punished by Fifa’s Dispute Resolution Chamber (DRC) before the end of last season and the Court of Arbitration for Sports (Cas) ratified that decision when it dismissed Chiefs’ appeal against a two-window ban on Tuesday.
It all stems from the way the team signed their former player, Andriamirado “Dax” Andrianarimanana, in 2018. Amakhosi were found guilty of not paying compensation to Dax’s former club, Fosa Juniors FC, when the player was still under contract with the team from his native country, Madagascar.
In a normal situation, the official responsible for such an error — normally at Chiefs it’s the job of team manager Bobby Motaung — would have been sacked or punished.
The better qualified the appointee, the better the chances of such silly, but very costly, mistakes being avoided. But that’s not case with the Motaungs.
So don’t hold your breath on seeing Motaung fired for his shenanigans at Chiefs. He boldly pronounced a few years ago that Chiefs is a family-run business, as if anyone needed help figuring that out.
So go figure, Motaung will remain in his cushy position.
But what if you were new coach Hunt and in charge of the thin squad that is Chìefs, where an injury to one talismanic player, such as Khama Billiat, may create a huge crisis, just as it has with injured striker Samir Nurković? What do you do?
It is in this kind darkness that one may feel there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. Well, upon close scrutiny and in truth, there is light. It’s just that it needs the one in the dark to reinvent the wheel a bit and think outside the box a bit more.
That job is, unfortunately, Hunt’s, who was not even in Naturena when Chiefs dug the dark hole they’re in now.
If I was Hunt, and I’m sure being the wily and decorated tactician that he is he’s thought about this, I would get my priorities right. There are a lot of battles he won’t win this season, but there’s one, maybe even two, which he may if he boxes clever.
Luckily for Hunt, one of those battles is just three matches away from the crown, the MTN8 competition. Here, Hunt has a tough but attainable task in Chiefs beating their biggest rivals, Orlando Pirates, starting in the first leg of the semifinal at Orlando Stadium on Saturday.
Another positive for Hunt is that Chiefs woes are taking place while their overzealous, hungry fans are sitting at home, unable to head for the stands. That means less pressure and greater time and space for Hunt to push his theory with his players.
Indeed, if I were Hunt I would treat the league campaign as a lost cause — one that should have been attained by former Chiefs coach Ernst Middendorp last season.
Chiefs have to fight tooth and nail, while they still have most of their players early in the new season, to win the MTN8.
Maybe, and this is a big maybe, they can then try to win the Nedbank Cup, but the current competition is the one they must charge down, because that’s where their bigger chance is of salvaging this season.
The other big positive for Hunt is having undisturbed rhythm in his team, especially if key players, such as Billiat, avoid long-term injuries.
Already the strain of not signing new players has given young players, such as Nkosingiphile Ngcobo, Reeve Frosler, Siyabonga Ngezana, Lebohang Lesako, Keletso Sifama, Happy Mashiane and Njabulo Bloem, a greater chance to stake their claim in the starting XI. So there’s something positive in this darkness.
A full season of regular play will do a lot to up the confidence of these young players.
It is old crocks such as Willard Katsande, Ramahlwe Mphahlele, Itumeleng Khune and Bernard Parker that Hunt will worry about if they get injured because, at their ages, they’ll obviously take longer period to heal.
But if Hunt can work his magic with this team and get at least one piece of silverware to end the ever-looming drought that’s stretched to an unprecedented five years, he’ll become an instant and eternal hero at Naturena.
Think about it. Chiefs have had no less than three coaches in Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas and Middendorp trying to win trophies without the kind of restraint in signing new players that Hunt has. They all exited without one trophy earned.
So if Hunt wins one trophy this season he may well be within his rights to demand that Chiefs supremo Kaizer Motaung build a statue in his honour at Naturena. Such are the dire straits Amakhosi are in now.
But had they put their ever-reckless manager on the straight and narrow there would be no need for such worry. However, if it’s still an almost 100% family-run business, I guess Chiefs fans just have to chill and live with it.
But the sooner the family stranglehold on the club is divided into proper corporate divisions, where unfathomable business decisions are punishable (no matter who commits them), the better.
For now, however, Hunt has to chase down the light in that dark space he’s found himself in. Luckily there’s some glimmer of hope in that MTN8 trophy.
