Back in April, as the PSL season was coming to an end and the fixture chaos was at it's peak, I wrote a blog slating the league's administrators and pleading for them to rethink things for the next campaign.
In that piece my main qualm was the lack of forward thinking and the fact that they seemingly had no faith in South African clubs in CAF competition, rather planning for them to fail than planning for them to succeed.
Now, I'm a proud fella, but I'm not adverse to giving credit where it's due, and given the PSL's actions in the last few months, I certainly feel that it's due.
This time around the PSL has been pro-active, talking to CAF about which weekends the Champions League and Confederation Cup will be played on, and planning around them. Just something as simple as this means that Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs, Bidvest Wits and Orlando Pirates can properly plan their season without the fear of CAF massively affecting their schedule.
When you look at things on the face of it, three games a week is a lot of football, but as trained athletes it should be a schedule that professional footballers can adhere to. However, when the training schedule that is planned by their coaches, sports scientists etc. is cut apart days before a game, it makes it difficult.
The fact that the league has sought to think ahead this year rather than change fixtures as and when a problem arises, is a huge step forward in my eyes. It's fantastic that South Africa has four teams in CAF, they should all be given a helping hand.
As well as the CAF games, the PSL have also taken into account the senior international fixtures which could affect clubs in South Africa, as well as planning for the youth tournaments that, with some clubs opting to use young players in their side, may also force coaches to alter their starting XIs.
In my last blog I said that, with South Africa having four teams in CAF competition this season, if something wasn't done, it could be absolute carnage in South African league football this season. Now, as I look at the steps that the PSL has taken in order to counter that, I have to doff my cap to them.
However, as we all know, it doesn't take long for things to change in football. While I'm pleasantly surprised with the forward thinking of the league in the lead up to what is sure to be an exciting PSL campaign, I won't give them too many plaudits just yet. The proof is in the pudding.
Yours in football,
Joe
Follow me on Twitter: @YesWeCrann
