The honest truth is that RhulaniMokwena’s tenure as a coachof Orlando Pirates since takingover fromMilutin Sredojevic has divided opinion about whether it was premature handing a young, inexperienced coach among themost volatile jobs in the country.
His case has been complicated by the fact that results have not been forthcoming. In his first dozen games he won just three, lost five and drew four – three of them goalless stalemates.
The goalkeeping department and the defence has looked chaotic with 15 goals conceded in those 12 games, the midfield has been changed at the toss of a coin with the only hope being the energy provided by Gabadinho Mhango and the goals scored by Tshegofatso Mabasa.
Though the season is not even at the halfway stage, the reality is that Pirates will neither win the league nor even be challenging for the top three having fallen so far off the chasing pack.
What hurts The Ghost is that they were knocked out of the MTN8 at the first hurdle and then were felled by rivals Kaizer Chiefs in the quarterfinals of the Telkom Knockout, which now leaves the Nedbank Cup as the only piece of silverware to play for.
Added to that a first round exit from the CAF Champions League at the hands of Zambian side Green Eagles, and it has been a disastrous fewmonths for the club.
The circumstances that led to Mokwena being handed the job at Pirates were unforeseen but the fact that he chose to agree to take over spoke of his courage and belief that he feels he can do this job.
“It was wrong of Pirates to give this boy that job,” states yesteryear Pirates forward Andries ‘Local is Lekker’ Sebola.
“They were not supposed to hire him as head coach, he should have been an interim coach for a couple of games while they looked for a coach. You can see the boy doesn’t have the experience of coaching a big team like Pirates.
この記事は Kickoff の December 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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この記事は Kickoff の December 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
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Should He Stay Or Should He Go?
Three months after taking over Orlando Pirates, Rhulani Mokwena hasn’t elevated the club to where the fans expected. This has naturally raised questions about whether it was premature to hand him the job. KICK OFF’s Lovemore Moyo investigates Mokwena’s appointment, tenure and what could possibly be the way forward.
‘We Know How To Win The League'
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Chiefs' Missing Link
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Mano A Mano In Combat With Mano-Mano
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Silencing The Critics
Having joined as a relatively unknown striker, with no eye-popping history of his ability, Gustavo Paez has begun to settle in well at Kaizer Chiefs over the last six months, and is looking to help Amakhosi return to their glory days in the 2017/18 Premier Soccer League season. Everyone took a dig at his journeyman background and they expected to see another failed mercenary unpack their suitcase at Naturena. Oh, how wrong they were …
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