Five coaching flops in the PSL in recent years 

And while the term “plumbers” that he used may have been harsh and maybe even vulgar, his statement had some truth in it because there have been a number of flops who have tried their luck on the continent. 

READ: How Bafana lost out on a big ‘Hunt’ for trophies 

In South Africa, Premier Soccer League clubs have not been spared from the disgrace of hiring a prospective coach only for them to turn out to be a flop.

We look at five coaches who turned out to be duds in recent years:

1. Roger Palmgren – The Swedish coach had a mouthful to say about local football when he was introduced at Thanda Royal Zulu when the club was launched. Most notable in his pronouncements was when he questioned what our style of play had won us at international level. But he failed to help Thanda and also failed when he was given a second chance at AmaZulu.

2. Mark Harrison – Having done fairly well in Botswana with Township Rollers, the Englishman was hired at Chippa United. He was fired after three months, but with the club’s reputation when it comes to firing coaches, nothing much was made of it. He was then hired by Golden Arrows, but left under a cloud with players complaining that his system was unplayable.

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3. Muhsin Ertugral – Most will be surprised that the much-revered Turk makes this list. But his last three stints as a coach in South Africa proved he had perhaps lost the magic that saw him successful at Chiefs. He failed so spectacularly at Pirates that he had to resign live on national television. He then went back to Ajax where he couldn’t last and his last job was at Maritzburg, where he was fired after just five games. He failed to realise that the time for tough task masters was long gone in local football. 

4.  Kjell Jonevret – Announced amid much fanfare as the messiah who would resurrect Pirates a few years ago, the Swedish mentor proved to be just another flop. He couldn’t turn things around and after six months he was gone.  

5. Giovanni Solinas – Having had a decent stay at Free State Stars, the only doubt that was there when Solinas was hired by Chiefs was that he had not been working for almost a year. But six months later, it was clear he was all at sea and would not be the answer the club were looking for to curb the downward spiral they were in.  

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