Kaizer Chiefs head coach, Ernst Middendorp, finds himself in a spot of bother, not because his team suffered their first loss of the season in five league games played. It is, however, his utterances that have caught the German mentor offside with some of Amakhosi's supporters.
It all started with a candid radio interview that the 60-year-old gave to SAfm last week Thursday, where he was as forthcoming in his answers as ever. There was little of the diplomatic and scripted answers to the questions posed to the Absa Premiership August Coach of the Month. While many found the interview interesting, it was until the following comment that people started changing their tune. Middendorp was asked about one of the fan-favourites, Siphelele Ntshangase, who has hardly had a look in so far this season. In fact, all theories and rumours of the former Black Leopards and Baroka FC midfielder not being a favourite of his head coach were put to rest when Middendorp made the following remark.
"Honestly, in the moment, errr I don't see him (Ntshangase) competing into the first 11. I think we have seen him last year, several times, he had a huge opportunity playing in the Carling (Black Label) Cup. He was voted into it… he's a nice player, he's a nice soccer player. He likes combinations even in the last game… around the box in the penalty area, before finishing, he likes always another pass, another pass, another pass but football is about scoring, football is about scoring and football is about finalising something. There are certain elements he has to change in the team. Sometimes it looks very nice, it is very entertaining, it is absolutely brilliant but (sighs) you want to see results, we want to see results and I can't talk and tell each and everybody 'be patient'…"
Was Middendorp right to use a platform like that to discuss his player's weaknesses and even, unwittingly, rule out any possibility of Ntshangase getting into his team anytime soon? Was he right to be so honest about his player? There are a couple of ways to look at this. While I fully understand the outrage from some of Chiefs supporters because, especially considering how much they 'fought' for this player to join Amakhosi even from his time at Leopards, it can't be easy for them not to see him in action. Was the coach supposed to lie or be diplomatic and say "Ntshangase is working hard at training and the supporters can expect to see him in the team soon. He's definitely in our plans," knowing that the player stood no chance of game-time at the moment? A few games down the line, the same people would be asking why the player hasn't played when the coach said to expect him soon. When is the right time to be honest? Damned if you do, damned if you don't! The club has promised to deal with the coach regarding his utterances that included his lambasting Khama Billiat playing the whole game for Zimbabwe when they were "building" him up as he had just returned from injury. It remains to be seen what will become of the club 'dealing with the coach'.
Before Middendorp went on air to discuss Ntshangase's situation, did the player know about his shortcomings and what the coach wants him to improve on, before he can get any chance of breaking into the team? Did the coach discuss the player's areas of improvement with him and started working on them before going public about his dissatisfaction? One hopes the coach has addressed this with the player and even developed a training method to improve this talented midfielder so that he doesn't become another statistic that came to Chiefs with high hopes and faded into obscurity. South African football doesn't want to see another Gert Schalkwyk and the late Emmanuel Scara Ngobese situation under coach Middendorp at Chiefs. It would be suicidal for the German mentor if he made those remarks without discussing them with the player first as it has a potential to turn his change room against him. It would also highlight his poor man-management skills, which is highly important in football. Remember, players are loyal to players.
Ntshangase can also look at the situation as an opportunity to step up his game, double his effort and improve. He could look at it as reverse psychology applied by his coach and therefore go out of his way to improve and stake a claim for a place in the team. Players have a tendency and attitude of saying, "Play me and I will show you," whereas coaches believe in "Show me and I will play you." If that's the case between the coach and his player and it is not communicated, then chances are they will continue to push in opposite directions and never find each other. It would be sad to see Stash's name added to the growing list of the victims of the 'curse of the Chiefs jersey number 10' in recent years.
Cheers,
VeeJay
