A former goalkeeper feels that Kaizer Chiefs keeper coach Lee Baxter should take some blame for the errors by the team’s shot-stoppers.
In recent weeks, Itumeleng Khune has been under fire for some of his mistakes which resulted in the team conceding soft goals and losing points.
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One such mistake was in a recent match against AmaZulu and former goalkeeper Shu-Aib Walters says the Chiefs technical team should not have rushed in bringing Khune back after his long absence.
“I can’t really blame Daniel (Akpeyi) for the Richards Bay loss. Maybe coming back from the Nedbank Cup loss, Gavin just wanted to show the country and the supporters that there are changes that have been made. I don’t think I would have played Itu until a time when Daniel is doing bad and I don’t think that Daniel has been doing badly.
“If I was Lee Baxter and not even Gavin, I would have had faith. At the end of the day you as a goalkeeper coach you work most of the time with your goalkeepers. Him (Baxter) coming with his Scottish UEFA A goalkeeper coaching licence and expertise in working with all these goalkeepers, I feel that he needs to come in when times are like this.
“I know that in that UEFA they work with psychology and I feel he should have a little bit of influence. I would have said let’s stick with Daniel as he has been playing regularly and hasn’t been making errors. Why chopping and changing? You don’t want to change the goalkeeper because you lost a game. I mean, Southampton lost 9-0 to Manchester United and they never changed their goalkeeper. They analysed the game and the goals, and understood,” said Walters.
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“At the end of the day it’s a collective but I wouldn’t have made the change. I would have made the change and bring in Itu when I felt the time was right but right now Kaizer Chiefs need points and they need wins and the time will come for Itu and I don’t think the time is now. It’s just my personal opinion. For me, the goalkeeper coach needs to stand up.
“ As a goalkeeper coach, I would tell my coaches that the goalkeeping department is mine. If my goalkeepers make errors, you don’t have a go at my goalkeepers, but you have a go at me, and I have a go at my goalkeepers. I feel that as much as people feel that Gavin is at fault, I feel that Lee must also take responsibility,” the former Cape Town City goalkeeper said.
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