FOR letting Ruud Krol go three years ago, Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza deserves to be forced to watch reruns of Mamelodi Sundowns captain Alje Schut lifting the Premiership trophy.

FOR letting Ruud Krol go three years ago, Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza deserves to be forced to watch reruns of Mamelodi Sundowns captain Alje Schut lifting the Premiership trophy.

This might sound as if I'm poking at old wounds, but the team Krol built would have dominated domestic football for the better part of the decade.

And by that I mean they could have won every available trophy on every seasonal circuit.

Khoza deserves to be stuck in solitary confinement, with nothing but water in an enamel mug, and made to listen to Pitso Mosimane's interviews as he articulates how he snatched the championship from Kaizer Chiefs.

And as Khoza begins to tire, growing weary with anger and agitation, the warder (presumably Vladimir Vermezovic) should slip in the DVD of Hlompho Kekana's rocket against Pirates that splattered goalkeeper Senzo Meyiwa during the 1-0 defeat in February.

Whatever differences Krol and the chairman had, they could have been resolved for the sake of building a dynasty.

So solid was the structure the Dutchman built in the three years he was at the helm that most of the coaches who succeeded him dished up meaty servings of success.

Julio Leal was first in the queue at the buffet table and helped himself to two trophies in 2011 - the MTN8 and the Telkom Knockout.

When the Brazilian left there was enough stew in the pot for Augusto Palacios to win a league title.

Roger de Sa came along thinking he'd be scraping the bottom of the barrel, but to his surprise there was enough gravy to take the team to three cup finals, including a whimsical CAF Champions League run, in his four months in charge of the Buccaneers.

When you consider that at some point in 2011 all available domestic trophies were at Pirates' Parktown headquarters, you can't help but wonder what would have happened if Krol and the chairman had seen past their differences.

Instead, the opportunity to truly dominate, in the way we saw Barcelona rule Spain and Bayern Munich Germany, now belongs to Sundowns.

Mosimane has proved himself an able postman and, judging from the way he picked Sundowns up from the doldrums, he could deliver yet more treasures to Chloorkop.

Meanwhile, in Orlando they will be staring longingly at their TV screens watching Mosimane build an empire, wondering what might have been if pride hadn't got in the way.