Ex-Kaizer Chiefs captain Neil Tovey doesn’t agree with the Amakhosi fans resorting to violence but understands the frustrations which boiled over after the 1-0 loss to SuperSport United in Rustenburg in their penultimate PSL fixture last Saturday. 

Beleaguered head coach Arthur Zwane was struck by an object which was thrown from the stands and sustained an injury underneath his eye.  

Zwane was swiftly escorted off the pitch by club officials and police as disgruntled Chiefs supporters vented their anger. 

Chiefs have been without silverware for eight years and since the Naturena-based club last enjoyed success, Sundowns have accumulated 15 trophies which puts the former’s plight into context.  

Amakhosi have also had a high turnover of head coaches, with Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt and Stuart Baxter (in his second coaching stint), having all preceded Zwane, who penned a three-year contract in 2022. 

“What happened to Arthur was obviously disappointing and I’m not condoning the bad behaviour at all but the Chiefs fans have been frustrated for a long time,” says Tovey, who made 364 appearances for Kaizer Chiefs from 1990 to 1999.  

“The club’s slogan is ‘Love and Peace’ but the fans are fed up and the club needs to address the situation.” 

Tovey notes that the Amakhosi fans, who are extremely passionate, are taking strain owing to a lack of success, having last won the 2014/15 DStv Premiership.  

The 1996 Afcon-winning captain, who vacated his post as Safa technical director in 2020 after five years at the helm, believes the malaise at Chiefs could well rest on two key pillars. 

“The problem can’t be around the professionalism of the club because Chiefs are totally professional, so where they are lacking is the quality of players or the technical side or both,” says the 60-year-old, who jointly coached Sundowns to the league title in 2005/6. 

“I don’t know if the current players realise how big the club has been because certainly in their era they haven’t won anything.  

“In the past, Chiefs would have had six or seven players in the national squad and how many do they have now?” the ex-defender asks. 

Tovey, who is second only to Doctor Khumalo as the most-capped Kaizer Chiefs player of all time, believes the club should look to install a technical director where player recruitment falls under his portfolio.  

He questions whether Chiefs have people around who are scouting for personnel or whether it is being left up to the technical team to find players and do the coaching.  

The man, who the Chiefs fans famously nicknamed Mokoko, hints that it could be the latter which is why a shake-up at the club is required. 

Defeat to SuperSport United ensured that Chiefs will be without continental football next term but Tovey says the club, founded by Kaizer Motaung in 1970, should rather focus on the domestic front and take baby steps to regain their lofty status within SA football. 

“My message to the current Chiefs team would be: “First try to get your act together and win things on home soil and only then worry about continental competition. Doing well domestically will get Chiefs the results to compete continentally,” he concluded.