Since Cavin Johnson was appointed interim coach, the buzzword has been for him to restore 'The Kaizer Chiefs way'. But how did the club supposedly lose their culture and identity?
Over the years, Amakhosi supporters have not only been raising the obvious complaint and displeasure to the club's management of not winning titles.
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However, what has been the concern is that the club seems to have lost their identity.
Even when the last coach to be successful at the Glamour Boys, Stuart Baxter, was winning trophies between 2012 and 2015, he was not really playing the Chiefs way but the concerns about the style of play were generally put in the back-burner, because the team was winning.
In that respect, Amakhosi going off the rails of their famous culture of playing with flair and attacking bravery, can be traced back to 2005 when Ernst Middendorp dismantled the back-to-back league title side under the late Ted Dumitru after he replaced the esteemed legendary coach.
Former Amakhosi coach, Farouk Khan, who was involved with the Glamour Boys' development, as well previously being an assistant to Muhsin Ertugral and Dumitru, says he got demotivated and left the club completely after Middendorp sidelined skillful players like the late Emmanuel 'Scara' Ngobese.
"I think there was a bit of conflict when I was there at Chiefs, the chairman supported and loved what I did. I think when Ernst Middendorp came, his philosophy, what he did, did not coincide with what I was all about, with all due respect," Khan said on Playing The Field With Shakes YouTube channel.
"I respect what he did but it was just not worth it for me to have players like Scara Ngobese etcetera, sidelined simply because there was a feeling that they were overdoing things.
"I always believe that as South Africans we have a certain quality of players and we need to ensure that we promote and encourage those types of players. Look at our history, some of our great players, the Ace Ntsoelengoes, Shakes (Kungwane), Scara Ngobese, the Teenage Dladlas, were never restricted on using their skill. If I go to Brazil and say, 'Listen, Neymar dribbles too much!' they will look at me and say, 'Are you mad!?'
As Chiefs search for a permanent coach after the departure of Molefi Ntseki, if they need to restore the glory days, they need someone who would encourage and embrace the South African culture of skillful players and also someone who is brave enough to give youngsters a platform and proper opportunities in the first team, because most Amakhosi stars in the past were from the academy.
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