Forewarned is forearmed they say.
Forewarned is forearmed they say.
I hate saying it, but I warned Premier Soccer League clubs a few seasons ago that they better knuckle down to some serious business of developing their own talent.
What I said then was from the bottom of my heart and thus, I still remember every word as if it was said yesterday.
My point was: clubs should start developing players who would be groomed in a culture of professional football and throw them into the deep end if they merited.
I used Orlando Pirates as a case in point then and that is where most missed the point.
Instead of arguing the facts, I was at the receiving end of a litany of insults insinuating I was at it again, singing the Buccaneers' praises.
I could not care a damn. I knew I was telling the truth. I also took it as an honour, to be accused of nailing my colours to the mast of an entity that I thought was doing right.
Now, I could not have asked for better vindication. New Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, pictured - and, they don't come bigger than that - through his actions, agrees.
Pirates, like Ajax Cape Town, strong believers in home brew, have three each in Parreira's first batch of players "to be scrutinised closely".
This scenario is certain to raise some eyebrows, but one shudders to think what would have happened had Gift Leremi not veered off the rails, with Excellent Walaza and Joseph Makhanya getting the game-time that they deserve.
What uproar would it have cost had the Buccaneers not cheaply let go of Siyabonga Nkosi and Jimmy Tau who have been selected as Kaizer Chiefs players.
What would be said of Ajax and Parreira had Moeneeb Josephs been with Ajax and so was Dillon Sheppard. There is also Mkhanyiseli Siwahla, who might soon catch Parreira's interest.
Success and development are not the most compatible, parallel partners but once the team matures, it does and goes on a while longer.
It is those who completely lacked vision who could not forecast that at a certain point we would do away with all the chancers we have called national coaches and go for a real deal like Parreira, a man with a mind of his own and free of influence from nefarious agents.
There is no doubt in my mind that only a few, if any of these youngsters, will disappoint. I see most of them in the pool of 48 players.
Carlos has vindicated me
Forewarned is forearmed they say.
Forewarned is forearmed they say.
I hate saying it, but I warned Premier Soccer League clubs a few seasons ago that they better knuckle down to some serious business of developing their own talent.
What I said then was from the bottom of my heart and thus, I still remember every word as if it was said yesterday.
My point was: clubs should start developing players who would be groomed in a culture of professional football and throw them into the deep end if they merited.
I used Orlando Pirates as a case in point then and that is where most missed the point.
Instead of arguing the facts, I was at the receiving end of a litany of insults insinuating I was at it again, singing the Buccaneers' praises.
I could not care a damn. I knew I was telling the truth. I also took it as an honour, to be accused of nailing my colours to the mast of an entity that I thought was doing right.
Now, I could not have asked for better vindication. New Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, pictured - and, they don't come bigger than that - through his actions, agrees.
Pirates, like Ajax Cape Town, strong believers in home brew, have three each in Parreira's first batch of players "to be scrutinised closely".
This scenario is certain to raise some eyebrows, but one shudders to think what would have happened had Gift Leremi not veered off the rails, with Excellent Walaza and Joseph Makhanya getting the game-time that they deserve.
What uproar would it have cost had the Buccaneers not cheaply let go of Siyabonga Nkosi and Jimmy Tau who have been selected as Kaizer Chiefs players.
What would be said of Ajax and Parreira had Moeneeb Josephs been with Ajax and so was Dillon Sheppard. There is also Mkhanyiseli Siwahla, who might soon catch Parreira's interest.
Success and development are not the most compatible, parallel partners but once the team matures, it does and goes on a while longer.
It is those who completely lacked vision who could not forecast that at a certain point we would do away with all the chancers we have called national coaches and go for a real deal like Parreira, a man with a mind of his own and free of influence from nefarious agents.
There is no doubt in my mind that only a few, if any of these youngsters, will disappoint. I see most of them in the pool of 48 players.
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