Five reasons why Kaizer Chiefs failed to win league title

A 1-1 draw with Baroka FC on Saturday afternoon and a 3-0 win for Mamelodi Sundowns against Black Leopards gave the title to the Tshwane giants who made it their 10th, completing a campaign they had named ‘La Decima’ which is Spanish for 10th.

READ: Middendorp coy on Chiefs future after losing out on Premiership title

There are a number of factors that may have contributed to Amakhosi tripping just before hitting the finish line and here we look at he five reasons that may have contributed to such an embarrassment for Ernst Middendorp’s side.

Over reliance on Samir Nurkovic

In his first season with the Phefeni Glamour Boys, the Serbian striker was quickly made the main man. And he didn’t disappoint as he took the role up front with aplomb, contributing a decent 13 goals to the course. But, when he was unavailable – through injury or  suspension – the team struggled for goals.

George Maluleka’s early departure

It is not only that Maluleka was a vital cog in that team. The midfielder was also the glue that kept the team together. His friendly manor made every player in the team feel special, especially the new comers. He instantly hit it up with Nurkovic and was seen driving him around while getting him to groove to local sounds which also led to the striker’s nickname of ‘Kokota’ after he danced to the local party hit song ‘Kokota Piano’ by Kabza De Small.
Losing Maluleka at a crucial time when the team had just come out of Covid-19 enforced hibernation was very detrimental. The side lacked some spark. He was also the side’s workhorse, ensuring a smooth transition from defence to attack and vice versa with his box-to-box abilities.

Uncertainty about coach’s future

The club’s management did a shoddy job of protecting Ernst Middendorp from criticism. He was constantly under fire from the fans who felt his style didn’t suit their beloved team. But with a five-year drought, Amakhosi could have come up with some form of campaign to get the supporters behind Middendorp. Something like a campaign to stress that what was important was winning the league rather than playing fancy football at the moment. But their #AmakhosiAbuyile slogan just didn’t do anything.

Prioritising the wrong games, and constant chopping and changing

Middendorp got it wrong in some games, like the ones recently where he opted to rest his players who were sitting on three yellow cards when he played Stellenbosch FC just before a titanic game against Sundowns. He rested Erick Mathoho, Samir Nurkovic and Willard Katsande, saving them for the Sundowns match. He eventually had to play Nurkovic after Leonardo Castro got injured. Nurkovic received his fourth booking and missed the Sundowns game. I believe that had he gone with his full strength team against Stellies and got the full points instead of playing to a draw, they would have won the league that day as the gap would have been six points going into the Sundowns game. His constant chopping and changing of the team also saw them lose their rhythm and spark as players took long to understand each other.

Manyama’s injury

What could perhaps be the biggest mishap however must have been Lebogang Manyama’s injury. Although unexplained and probably being hidden from the public, Manyama didn’t look the same after the break. He failed to spark the team into life and was rested for some games and that robbed the team a great deal. With Maluleka already lost, the weight shifted squarely into Manyama’s shoulders but the mystery injury meant he couldn’t carry it and it showed.

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