WATCHING Orlando Pirates' fortunes decline under the guidance of Vladimir Vermezovic brings to question the logic behind our teams' preference for hiring foreign coaches.
Around this time last year, Pirates were on a high when a local, Roger de Sa, led them to the African Champions League final.
The Buccaneers are now almost unrecognisable from that side who almost conquered the continent, and while the trauma of losing Senzo Meyiwa cannot be overlooked - especially in relation to the latest failure in the Telkom Knockout - it is difficult to see precisely what value Vermezovic has added to the Pirates ship.
He did bring them Nedbank Cup success at the end of the previous campaign, but this was a Pirates side who, after failing three times earlier in the year under De Sa, were hungry to conclude the season on a positive note. Credit to Vermezovic for overseeing that, but the latest free-fall paints a gloomy picture for Bucs.
They find themselves 14 points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs, to whom they lost in the MTN8 final, and saw their run of cup finals ended by SuperSport United last Saturday in an unsurprisingly disjointed display.
Vermezovic's record is by no means a wretched one, but it's not earth-shattering either. In fact, it is no better than that of De Sa, whom Vermezovic replaced in February.
Vermezovic was a shock choice in the first place, having been dismissed by Chiefs in 2012 following a run of indifferent results.
Somehow, though, the Pirates hierarchy thought he would be an instant hit. Yet this is a man who, before ascending to the Chiefs throne, had very limited experience in top-flight coaching, having clinched the league championship in his native country, Serbia.
His hiring by Pirates on the back of his Amakhosi record brings to the fore the question as to whether our top teams trust unknown European coaches more than locals.
Could Eric Tinkler and Tebogo Moloi, Vermezovic's current assistants, have done a worse job had they been at Pirates' helm?
To be fair, Pirates did give local coaches like Owen da Gama and De Sa a chance in recent years, but their biggest success, in 2011, was achieved under 1970s World Cup finalist Ruud Krol, who also didn't have an excellent start to his Bucs tenure.
But it is difficult to imagine Vermezovic would change Pirates fortunes so much that one day they would clinch a treble. He couldn't do it at Chiefs, and the task is proving to be beyond his competence at Pirates.
To his credit, though, he has got rid of the know-it-all attitude of old, where he lashed reporters as "people who don't understand football".
But the signs are there that under him, Pirates won't rule the domestic scene, with inconsistent team selection and indifferent results.
While I'm against the willy-nilly firing of coaches, I'm all for employing those who make a difference. VV does not fall under this category because I honestly cannot see how he can pull Pirates out of their rut.
They seem to be rapidly deteriorating under him, to the point that losing at Orlando Stadium is no longer a shock. The earlier our top clubs stop recycling foreign coaches, the better for our football.
Follow me on Twitter @Nkareng
Clubs must stop recycling foreign flops
WATCHING Orlando Pirates' fortunes decline under the guidance of Vladimir Vermezovic brings to question the logic behind our teams' preference for hiring foreign coaches.
Around this time last year, Pirates were on a high when a local, Roger de Sa, led them to the African Champions League final.
The Buccaneers are now almost unrecognisable from that side who almost conquered the continent, and while the trauma of losing Senzo Meyiwa cannot be overlooked - especially in relation to the latest failure in the Telkom Knockout - it is difficult to see precisely what value Vermezovic has added to the Pirates ship.
He did bring them Nedbank Cup success at the end of the previous campaign, but this was a Pirates side who, after failing three times earlier in the year under De Sa, were hungry to conclude the season on a positive note. Credit to Vermezovic for overseeing that, but the latest free-fall paints a gloomy picture for Bucs.
They find themselves 14 points behind leaders Kaizer Chiefs, to whom they lost in the MTN8 final, and saw their run of cup finals ended by SuperSport United last Saturday in an unsurprisingly disjointed display.
Vermezovic's record is by no means a wretched one, but it's not earth-shattering either. In fact, it is no better than that of De Sa, whom Vermezovic replaced in February.
Vermezovic was a shock choice in the first place, having been dismissed by Chiefs in 2012 following a run of indifferent results.
Somehow, though, the Pirates hierarchy thought he would be an instant hit. Yet this is a man who, before ascending to the Chiefs throne, had very limited experience in top-flight coaching, having clinched the league championship in his native country, Serbia.
His hiring by Pirates on the back of his Amakhosi record brings to the fore the question as to whether our top teams trust unknown European coaches more than locals.
Could Eric Tinkler and Tebogo Moloi, Vermezovic's current assistants, have done a worse job had they been at Pirates' helm?
To be fair, Pirates did give local coaches like Owen da Gama and De Sa a chance in recent years, but their biggest success, in 2011, was achieved under 1970s World Cup finalist Ruud Krol, who also didn't have an excellent start to his Bucs tenure.
But it is difficult to imagine Vermezovic would change Pirates fortunes so much that one day they would clinch a treble. He couldn't do it at Chiefs, and the task is proving to be beyond his competence at Pirates.
To his credit, though, he has got rid of the know-it-all attitude of old, where he lashed reporters as "people who don't understand football".
But the signs are there that under him, Pirates won't rule the domestic scene, with inconsistent team selection and indifferent results.
While I'm against the willy-nilly firing of coaches, I'm all for employing those who make a difference. VV does not fall under this category because I honestly cannot see how he can pull Pirates out of their rut.
They seem to be rapidly deteriorating under him, to the point that losing at Orlando Stadium is no longer a shock. The earlier our top clubs stop recycling foreign coaches, the better for our football.
Follow me on Twitter @Nkareng
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