With two games left in the DStv Premiership season, Kaizer Chiefs sit eighth in the league table. If we look at their basic defensive stats, they have conceded 28 goals to give them just the ninth best defensive record across the division. Some three years into his career at Chiefs, Njabulo Ngcobo has still not established himself. In fact, he is quite clearly sitting fourth in the central defensive pecking order. Should Amakhosi renew his contact? How is his competition performing? Has the time come to accept that the 2020/21 PSL Defender of the Season won't be seen at his best level again? In this feature, we delve into the Kaizer Chiefs' centre back pairings used this season, the pecking order under recent coaches, Ngcobo's brief stint as Willard Katsande's replacement and whether the player himself should choose to cut ties with Chiefs.
Confusing First Season For Ngcobo
The 2021/22 campaign was meant to see Njabulo Ngcobo come in to be Kaizer Chiefs' defensive leader. The problem for the former Moroka Swallows centre back is that Amakhosi coach had never seen him play a match. Stuart Baxter admitted publicly: "I didn't see him play last year. I wasn't in South Africa. The reason for him not starting is that I had never seen him before. You talk about last season, I didn't see one minute of last season, so the first minute I saw him was when I walked through the gate at Naturena."
In the absence of intimate knowledge of the player, Baxter simply selected Erick Mathoho and Daniel Cardoso as their centre back partnership… Ngcobo would need to prove himself from scratch. With just one start up until October, Baxter eventually decided that the stylish defender would be better served as a defensive midfielder. Of his first 11 starts in a Chiefs shirt, nine came in that midfield position and only two as a defender. His stats were pretty good in the "Katsande role". He was strong in the duels and made a good number of tackles. His best match came in the Soweto Derby with eight interceptions and 11 duels won.
Hugo Broos wasn't a fan of the change at all and spoke out against Baxter's judgement:
"He's not a midfielder. He's a very good defender and that's why I took him as a defender. It is a bit surprising to me that the best defender of the country, because last season he was the best defender, doesn't play in his team."
The season ended on a sour note with Arthur Zwane restoring Ngcobo to the defence but seeing a number of howlers and then an angry reaction to being substituted early. You could argue that he has never truly recovered from that disruptive first campaign where he lost a lot of confidence, and his reputation took a beating.
Which Pair Gets Used The Most?
All season, Chiefs have played a back four. Whilst coaches like Steve Komphela, Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt and Baxter used a back four with some regularity, this season under Molefi Ntseki and Cavin Johnson has only seen four defenders used at any one time. With 28 PSL matches played, which central defensive partnership has been selected most often?
The answer is that Given Msimango and Thatayaone Ditlhokwe have played 10 matches together with Msimango and Edmilson Dove next in line with nine starts. Had Ditlhokwe not needed shoulder surgery, we may have had seen a different story. As for Ngcobo, it's just eight starts in 28 league matches. Ntseki dropped Msimango for his final two league matches in charge and brought "Roadblock" into the starting XI. He helped the team beat Sekhukhune United 2-1 and then played in a 1-0 loss to Cape Town City, missing Chiefs' best chance of the match from a set-piece.
A third straight start followed in Johnson's first match in charge, a 2-1 loss away to Golden Arrows. After six league matches on the bench, Ngcobo was back for a 0-0 draw at Royal AM as he started in his home province. Amakhosi only allowed one shot on target in a clean sheet performance, so it was harsh Ngcobo was dropped for the next match. However, Dove was back, and Johnson went for a left footer alongside Msimango.
In the 0-0 draw against Moroka Swallows, Dove was sent off after 47 minutes but even though Ngcobo was on the bench, it was instead Zitha Kwinika who moved to centre back with Dillan Solomons coming on at right back. The bizarre selection criteria continued as Ngcobo helped Chiefs to a 1-0 win against Golden Arrows in Dove's absence but was dropped for the Soweto Derby with Kwinika back in the XI.
Ngcobo has started three of the last six league matches and two in a row. The first start was to allow Dove to play at left back whilst the last two matches have only come because Msimango and Dove have served suspensions. All season, Kwinika has only started one match in central defence so we can quite easily draw the conclusion that he is seen more as a defensive right back and sits fifth in the pecking order in the middle. However, Ngcobo is most definitely only the fourth-choice centre back. With Msimango's suspension over, it will be telling to see who starts on Saturday against Polokwane City.
Should Amakhosi Buy A Central Defender?
A big question for Chiefs recruitment department is whether it makes sense to divert some of the transfer budget to a new centre back. They already signed Msimango and Ditlhokwe in June last year but the move to acquire the late Luke Fleurs perhaps indicates that they weren't satisfied with this part of the squad. The tragic loss of Luke Fleurs, someone who had been in Bafana Bafana squads and had partnered Ditlhokwe at club level, means that there is a hole in Chiefs' plans for the future.
If we look around the PSL, are there clear or outstanding options to target? As we know, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates' centre backs have dominated recent squads for Broos. None of those players will be on the market for Chiefs this summer. A top young player like Ime Okon is probably out of Chiefs' financial range and he may be set for a move to Europe instead. Of the other options around the league, only three really jump out based on their performance levels: Ismail Toure at Stellenbosch FC, Rushwin Dortley at Cape Town Spurs and Pogiso Sanoka at TS Galaxy. The latter has excelled for the Rockets but is now too old for what Chiefs should be targeting. Dortley is at the other end of the scale – perhaps too inexperienced for a big move and he is a left footer where Dove and Ditlhokwe already fill that need. That leaves the aggressive, emotional Toure.
He has been outstanding for the Winelands club and would be an upgrade for Chiefs defensively. He plays left centre back most weeks for Stellenbosch FC and could therefore partner Msimango. The question is how much he would cost or whether Amakhosi should keep doing almost all of their shopping at Stellenbosch FC! Maybe it simply makes sense to hold onto what they have and spend their money on a left back and a ruthless striker instead.
AmaZulu Chasing KZN Defender
In his client's three years at Chiefs, Ngcobo's agent Sboniso Ngubane has been quite vocal. Under Baxter, he spoke out about the situation, saying: "Every player wants to play. He wants to play for Bafana, so if he doesn't get a chance to play at Chiefs, it is going to be difficult to get Bafana call-ups going forward. If you know football, you understand why Njabulo can't be happy. The team has been conceding goals. The coach already has pressure."
In recent weeks and months, noise around the defender has increased as his contract will have just 46 days left to run at the time of this edition hitting the shelves. His agent said on Ukhozi FM that talks were already starting with other clubs: "Kaizer Chiefs is a professional club, they communicate about their intentions. Unfortunately, they have not said anything about Njabulo Ngcobo. We are in talks with different clubs in the DStv Premiership, including AmaZulu FC."
Those sorts of utterings could distract the player and also harm his chances of being selected by Chiefs.
Big Calls Ahead
Having been in Bafana Bafana squads and sought-after in the PSL for his ball-playing ability and defensive nous, Ngcobo has not worked out at Chiefs so far. Having said that, allowing him to depart for free means that a new centre back may need to be purchased. Chiefs won't have an unlimited budget and priority has to be given to more concerning areas than yet another centre back, either as a starter or as a rotation option. What is clear is that Kwinika is not really trusted and the rumoured R3 million fee hasn't proven value for money. Ngcobo is far from perfect and has his faults, but his treatment is a bit shoddy at times.
He tends to get thrown into the starting XI against Golden Arrows, Royal AM and AmaZulu, perhaps due to roots in the KwaZulu-Natal. Even when he helps the side to clean sheets, he doesn't get selected for the next match. He has only started eight league matches but all three goalkeepers have been behind him, and he has partnered three other centre backs in his starts. It has hardly been easy to perform with all that disruption. One aspect we are ignoring is whether the player should ignore Chiefs' wishes and find himself a club where he will play. It may be time to step off the bench, out of the shadows and back into the spotlight.
