It's Down To The Final Four!

Firstly, big-ups must go to the individual winners of their categories in the Soccer Laduma Readers' Awards. For the last nine weeks, Soccer Laduma readers have been voting for their favourite player of the season.   The Soccer Laduma Readers' Coach of the Season goes to Stuart Baxter, who pipped Roger de Sa to the post. Mzansi's favourite overseas-based player is Thulani Serero, which is only fitting considering he has just won the league title in Holland and had a very promising season. He beat out Dean Furman in the final who, by contrast, is fighting relegation over in England, but clearly remains a massive fan favourite here in South Africa.     We're into the Final Four as far as the overall Soccer Laduma Readers' Player of the Season here in the PSL goes. The four finalists are: Itumeleng Khune, who has been voted by the readers as the PSL's top goalkeeper; Bryce Moon, who, despite being injured for some time, has managed to get enough votes to be named the readers' best defender of the season; Willard Katsande, who smashed Keagan Dolly in the final to earn the right to be called the readers' best midfielder; Chiefs' Zimbabwean front-man Knowledge Musona, who edged out teammate, Bernard Parker, for the title of Mzansi's favourite striker according to the Soccer Laduma readers.     Two weeks of voting now remain as Itu, Bryce, Katsande and Musona go head-to-head. When the voting lines open on www.snl24.com/soccerladuma today (Wednesday), Soccer Laduma readers will be able to cast one vote per day for the player they think should be crowned the overall Soccer Laduma Readers' Player of the Season. On Monday, April 5 at 16h00, the voting lines will close, and the two players with the least number of votes will be eliminated.    In week two, the final, two players will then go up against each other in what should be a cracking ultimate round. Over 140 000 votes have been casted so far to get to this point! A massive thanks to everyone who has taken part! Please continue to make your voice heard as we crown your Soccer Laduma Readers' Player of the Season.         Before I go, in my last column I wrote about coaching being the worst job in football and I stick to my guns on that. Over the last week there has been a lot of news from the coaching world. Ryan Giggs made his coaching debut for Manchester United. It was glorious to see how the players reacted to being given the freedom to play.    Yes, at the end of the day it was against Norwich and they shouldn't be able to get close to a Manchester United team, but it was nice to see the famous Reds shine the way they did.    Staying in England, I have to say I was disappointed with the 'Special One', Jose Mourinho. Considering the quality of players he has in his squad, and considering the type of football he could put out there, to continue to park the bus in high profile games is sad for football. Yes, he wins, but the way he wins doesn't sit well with me. I just get the feeling that he wins for himself – he wins for his CV, for his reputation. He couldn't care less that Chelsea supporters have to take abuse about parking the bus. Maybe I'm getting it wrong. Maybe Chelsea fans are ecstatic watching 11 players in their box behind the ball. Perhaps they take pride in the fact that they can take a battering for 90 minutes and counter attack when the opportunity presents itself. But for me this anti-football is disappointing.    Another disappointing coaching decision taken last week that irked me, was Stuart Baxter deciding to send his team into Africa and choosing not to travel with them. I understand that a 'B competition' in Africa is not where the focus is. I understand that the league is the focus, but it just comes across as disrespectful to the tournament and sends out the wrong message to the players who are doing battle, not only for Kaizer Chiefs, but who are also flying the flag for South Africa.    Kaizer Chiefs are out of the tournament and you have to wonder if, in fact, it is actually mission accomplished with that being the goal all along. I guess the reason I feel we should be getting as much continental competition as possible is that when it comes to qualifying for World Cups and African Nations Cups, it's the experience gained from continental club competition that is going to make us more prepared. For all the bells and whistles that are attached to the PSL, for all the hype about us being one of the best leagues in Africa, when it comes to being competitive in Africa, we clearly have a long way to go.   Whether they like it or not, club coaches in this country have a huge role to play in making our national team stronger, and they need to deliver on that responsibility.      Finally it's tragic to hear the news about the passing of former Barcelona coach, Tito Vilanova, who died last Friday having lost the battle to cancer at the age of 45. May his soul rest in peace.   Shapa, Clint