Ndlanya blasts PSL strikers

Former Kaizer Chiefs prolific striker Pollen Ndlanya is not impressed with the goal return of DStv Premiership forwards.

The Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot award was shared by Mamelodi Sundowns‘ Peter Shalulile and Khanyisa Mayo of Cape Town City who both ended last season on 12 goals each.

In his heyday, Ndlanya’s exploits in the PSL earned him a contract abroad to play in Turkey but it was at Amakhosi where he flourished, particularly in the 1998/1999 campaign where ended with 21 league goals to win top goalscorer award.

“It’s (current state) not good for the country,” Ndlanya said to Thabiso Mosia on Radio 2000.

“If you look in Europe (Harry) Kane and (Erling) Haaland they score goals. It’s also not fair for the supporters because they go to the stadium to see goals and not 0-0 draws. I feel sorry for our supporters because they go to the stadium and watch boring football with no goals. Football is about goals and entertainment.

“To compare with our football in my playing days, Kaizer Chiefs had me, Sundowns had Daniel Mudau and Pirates had Jerry Sikhosana and it was competitive because we wanted to be top goalscorers at the end of the season.

“These things start from training, scoring is not just something you go on the field of play and start banging goals. It’s something you have to train harder for in terms of finishing but right now I don’t know what’s happening and I so wish I could see how they train but it improves your confidence if you practice finishing.”

Put in the work

The former South African international also revealed doing extra work in training is what made him deadly in front of goals.

“We didn’t have a strikers’ coach as such but I personally used to ask my teammates like Shakes Kungwane and Thabo Mooki to help me work on my finishing,” he said.

“I didn’t have a strikers’ coach but it was all about me, I wanted to compete and had the desire to hit my (goal) target. When you’re a striker, you always want to set a target to say if I can at least score 20 goals I will be happy. I don’t know if strikers today have the ambition to set targets because if you don’t get to your target you can definitely be sure that you will be close to it.

“Manchester United is a big team but they have brought in Benni McCarthy to help in the striking force and look at what Rashford is doing so it’s something that our so-called big bosses need to look at.”