OPINION: Pirates, Mhango fiasco costing the club

The fiasco surrounding Orlando Pirates and striker Gabadinho Mhango is doing more damage to the club and the player and there is no one winning, truth be told.

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There is still no logical explanation from Pirates as to why the Malawian-born striker has not been given game time at the club despite his good displays for the Flames in the Caf Africa Cup of Nations.

It really doesn’t make sense as to why a player of such quality, a striker, who is able to score goals and win crucial matches for the club, remains an outcast while the team is suffering on the domestic front.

We all know that Pirates don’t have a lethal goal-poacher at the moment, a striker they can rely on to get those important goals, but, instead, the team has had to rely on the brilliance of Bandile Shandu, a right-wing-back who is currently on seven goals in all competitions.

Mind you, as Mhango has been left out of the team, the Bucs technical team has kept on alternating between Kwame Peprah, Zakhele Lepasa, and Terrence Dvzukamanja as their strikers. But, the three strikers, including Tshegofatso Mabasa, aren’t doing any justice in terms of scoring goals.

Before I go any further, I know some might say, but, yeah, a striker’s role is not only about scoring, but as a striker you also have to be able to link up with your teammates and create chances for them. But, let’s not fool ourselves, the main objective of having a striker is for that striker to score goals, that’s just it.

Peprah, Lepasa , Dzvukamanja and Mabasa haven’t been delivering, but you continue to sideline Mhango, it really does not make sense.

I might not know the real issue with Mhango’s omission because transparency in the soccer industry is nothing, but just a wish. However, if there were any discipline issues with the striker, I am sure this is something that the technical team and the management could have dealt with instead of letting the team suffer.

Pirates are through to the quarter-finals of the Caf Confederation Cup, but, they could have done much better in the DStv Premiership with Mhango’s presence, no doubt about that. And with the way things are, a second place finish on the log is a huge ask for Bucs.

With his contract set to expire in June, I won’t blame Mhango if he leaves the club at the end of the season.