Chiefs and Pirates will struggle to compete – Booth

Former Mamelodi Sundowns and Bafana Bafana defender Matthew Booth believes there is a clear power shift in the South African game and that Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates will struggle to compete for this season’s Absa Premiership title.

With the league kicking off tomorrow, much has been made in the build-up of the way the two Soweto giants have fallen off the pace in the past couple of campaigns.

Amakhosi won the title in the 2014/15 campaign, but finished 15 points behind champions Sundowns the following year, and last season ended up 10 points behind Bidvest Wits.

Pirates have been even worse and are without a title since 2012 – the Buccaneers finished an astonishing 27 points behind Wits last season.

Booth sees Downs, Wits and SuperSport United as the main contenders for this year’s title.

“To separate those three is very difficult right now,” he said.

“I think it could all hinge on how far they get when they start playing in Africa.”

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In ruling out Chiefs and Pirates’ title chances, Booth is critical of their lack of activity in the transfer marker.

“With the amount of money they get through sponsorship, they should be signing marquee players, and they haven’t gone into the market. The three teams we have spoken about have overtaken both, and for me to say that (they can’t win the title) when both (Chiefs and Pirates) are not involved in continental football (this season) says a lot.

“If you look at the starting XI’s of both sides they do have quality, but they don’t have the squads to go for a full season. They still have time to make signings and my opinion might change, but they don’t seem ambitious enough.”

Booth believes last season’s surprise package Cape Town City, under new coach Benni McCarthy, will again fall just short.

“I certainly hope they can (challenge). What they did last season was fantastic and I wish Benni, as an ex-player and a team-mate of mine, to do well. Realistically I think they will be in touching distance, but I think those other three will have a bit more.”

Former Amakhosi assistant coach Farouk Khan, however, believes City will be contenders.

“City are under a new coach and going through a bit of an adaptation, I think Benni wants to play a bit more of an elaborate game, Eric Tinkler was similar to Stuart Baxter, with speedy counterattacks … but as we saw last year, there is a great set-up at City, and Benni with his experience in Europe, I think they will definitely be among the contenders,” said Khan, who also gives Chiefs and Pirates a shout, though he does admit they have fallen behind teams like Wits and Sundowns.

“(Yes), if we are honest enough, not emotional, and we don’t want to be politically correct. But they (Chiefs and Pirates) could become like dark horses, and take on a role that say Wits used to take.”

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