End is nigh for the once beautiful, revered Swallows

The sight of Moroka Swallows propping the National First Division log is conclusive proof that a once illustrious, respectable club is about to take a final bow.

Swallows have been on their knees for quite some time and, whereas they previously were able to somehow resuscitate themselves, there's no coming back this time. Obituaries of this team, which veterans recall as once a model of success, can already be written.

It's a sorry state of affairs that a club who once ranked among the giants of domestic football, and produced so many classics and superstars, now find themselves on the brink of extinction.

The once Beautiful Birds have been plunged into this disaster not because they found the standard in the NFD too high for their barely existent squad. Nor is it solely because they cannot afford to pay salaries - what with the lucrative R1.5-million monthly grant which comes with campaigning in the Absa Premiership now gone.

Rather, Swallows have sunk to these depths after years of mismanagement and incompetence, which the club's leadership under Leon Prins simply wished away.

For years it surprised us that the bosses at Swallows thought the club could be sustained on a bizarre transfer policy of recruiting only players who were either out of contract or unwanted elsewhere.

They became known as a retirement village, where players went to look for a last-hurrah cheque.

At times, this would work wonders, as was the case with Siyabonga Nomvethe who almost led them to the championship in 2011/2012, when they were pipped by Orlando Pirates on the last day. They also won the MTN8 the following season, perhaps an indication that they had some competitiveness about them.

Such relative success will have given the club's management false belief that everything was rosy; that there was nothing wrong with their policy of recruiting only has-beens, while letting go of their better players.

Armed with a trophy and a runners-up place in the Absa Premiership, they believed the Birds could only fly higher.

Alas, the past three seasons have shown how wrong the Swallows management were.

From scaling the heights in 2012 when they amassed 56 points, the Birds returned 41 points and ninth place the following season, which meant they were unable to defend their MTN8. In 2013/2014, they finished 13th, just three points ahead of Polokwane City, who occupied 15th place.

In spite of this overwhelming evidence of perpetual decline, Prins and Co still did not heed the warning signs, which led to last season's ultimate nadir, when the Birds were relegated after failing in the play-offs.

This year, with unpaid players and staff, Swallows have become an embarrassment in the NFD, where failing to get three points against them is seen as gross under-performance.

It's almost inevitable that they will drop out of the NFD, and eventually, almost certainly out of league football.

Swallows can only go down from here, with the unhappiest dressing room in the land, as summed up by coach Ian Gorowa on Monday. "You cannot have a go at players if they do not put any effort because they will say 'coach, we are not getting paid'," he told this newspaper following the 5-0 loss to Milano United.

Indeed Swallows are beyond resuscitation.