It took one positive result for Kaizer Chiefs fans to feel good again, and this bodes well for the PSL season ahead.
After years of sorrow, decline and underachievement, many of Amakhosi’s fans finally found their voices as they celebrated a rare great start to the season when their team came from behind to beat Marumo Gallants in Bloemfontein at the weekend.
Some of the fans went overboard, passing jokes about how their “top-of-the-table” team could now compete with the best in the world.
The hurt and insults of the past years had all been forgotten, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Marumo, brought about by the new regime of Nasreddine Nabi, the Tunisian coach who has been entrusted with making Chiefs a force again.
But amid the celebrations, reality should now set in for Chiefs fans. The weekend result was just a start. The road ahead will be long and treacherous.
We should caution the fans against burdening the team with over-expectation. As Nabi himself conceded, it would be foolish to start talking about mounting a championship challenge when Chiefs finished a distant 10th last season.
There have been too many changes to the team, apart from a completely new technical bench led by Nabi. In their match with Gallants, Chiefs had five players – Fiacre Ntwari, Miguel Inacio, Rushwin Dortley, Bradley Cross and Gaston Sirino – making their official debuts for the club.
Despite somehow managing to win, it’s common knowledge that new players, as well as new coaches, need to find their feet before any team can be said to have found a rhythm.
Chiefs will not be an exception. There will be good days, as well as bad ones, and when this happens, fans must exercise a bit of patience. Over the past decade, which coincides with their barren spell, Chiefs fans have exerted pressure on management to make hasty changes to the technical team, setting them back big time.
We hope this time the club hierarchy will back the technical team – irrespective of whether results come or not. Amakhosi’s management should move to lower the fans' expectations and communicate the message that this is a rebuilding phase that only seeks to improve from last year’s lowly finish.
That way, there won’t be too much pressure on Nabi and the new players as they attempt to make Amakhosi kings again.
SOWETAN SAYS | Chiefs fans, please hold your horses
Image: File Photo via Muzi Ntombela/BackpagePix
It took one positive result for Kaizer Chiefs fans to feel good again, and this bodes well for the PSL season ahead.
After years of sorrow, decline and underachievement, many of Amakhosi’s fans finally found their voices as they celebrated a rare great start to the season when their team came from behind to beat Marumo Gallants in Bloemfontein at the weekend.
Some of the fans went overboard, passing jokes about how their “top-of-the-table” team could now compete with the best in the world.
The hurt and insults of the past years had all been forgotten, thanks to a 2-1 victory over Marumo, brought about by the new regime of Nasreddine Nabi, the Tunisian coach who has been entrusted with making Chiefs a force again.
But amid the celebrations, reality should now set in for Chiefs fans. The weekend result was just a start. The road ahead will be long and treacherous.
We should caution the fans against burdening the team with over-expectation. As Nabi himself conceded, it would be foolish to start talking about mounting a championship challenge when Chiefs finished a distant 10th last season.
There have been too many changes to the team, apart from a completely new technical bench led by Nabi. In their match with Gallants, Chiefs had five players – Fiacre Ntwari, Miguel Inacio, Rushwin Dortley, Bradley Cross and Gaston Sirino – making their official debuts for the club.
Despite somehow managing to win, it’s common knowledge that new players, as well as new coaches, need to find their feet before any team can be said to have found a rhythm.
Chiefs will not be an exception. There will be good days, as well as bad ones, and when this happens, fans must exercise a bit of patience. Over the past decade, which coincides with their barren spell, Chiefs fans have exerted pressure on management to make hasty changes to the technical team, setting them back big time.
We hope this time the club hierarchy will back the technical team – irrespective of whether results come or not. Amakhosi’s management should move to lower the fans' expectations and communicate the message that this is a rebuilding phase that only seeks to improve from last year’s lowly finish.
That way, there won’t be too much pressure on Nabi and the new players as they attempt to make Amakhosi kings again.
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