The new Premier Soccer League in South Africa is in its third week and already there's trouble at one of the biggest clubs, Kaizer Chiefs. The upheaval stems from within, thanks to the club's restless supporters.
Restless is an understatement to describe a largely belligerent horde ready to trash and clobber, as they showed once again at Mbombela on Sunday 20 August after losing to TS Galaxy.
Chiefs are not winning matches because they are goal-shy, scoring just 1 goal in their opening three matches of the league. That is not the scoring rate to win football matches. But instead of directing their anger to the team's forwards, and to some extent the rest of the outfield players, the supporters are blaming the coach and the goalkeeper.
Chiefs No 1 keeper Brandon Peterson is a having a torrid time from the fans, despite his form saving the team from serious embarassment game after game. Against Galaxy last week a stopped four certain goal attempts, and earlier in the month he made seven saves against a rampant Sundowns.
Chiefs lost both matches 1-0, but Peterson was loudly blamed by the supporters for the two defeats.
But numbers show that the fans are barking up the wrong tree with their blame game. To date Chiefs have played 3 league matches, scoring 1 and conceding 3 with 1 point in the bag.
It's messy numbers and they clearly call out the efforts of the strikers and their fellow outfield players. How do you win matches with a scoring rate of 1 goal per 3 matches? Where is the fault of the goalkeeper in this matter, more so that Peterson often fights alone in defence as his backline is leaking?
Even the outcry over the new head coach Molefi Ntseki is misplaced; he has played just 4 matches so far, with 1 draw and 1 win in MTN 8 cup competition. By any reasonable assessment that does not translate to crisis.
The crisis at the club at this stage is being fomented by the combative conduct of the supporters. Many pronounced on Ntseki early departure as soon as he was announced as the new head coach. That means these followers were never prepared to give their new coach a chance to settle into the position, which has turned out to be the hottest seat in the PSL.
The team starts the new season with a new coach because of the same quarrelsome supporters who gave the previous coach, Arthur Zwane, a hellride in just his first season in charge. It was too much, and caused unnecessary panic as the club demoted Zwane. He did not do badly as he worked hard to build a team that was supposed to be unleashed in his second season. A system was beginning to be visible and his players appeared ready to die for Zwane, which augured well for the following season.
Historically, Chiefs are not in the game of firing coaches willy-nilly; it's a new phenomenon which has been enforced by restless, antagonistic supporters. Ntseki is in charge now and that means the club's plan with Zwane was sabotaged by its followers.
Earlier I said Chiefs panicked with their decison but they coud have removed Zwane to protect him and his honour as a club legend against a sustained onslaught by the supporters.
Given the poisonous noise in the stands, bars and social media the players cannot be in the right state of mind knowing they are under attack from the club's followers.
The team is not in a good place emotionally as a unit and that is a recipe for disaster. As a player, how do you give your all when you know you have no support when you're down?
It would appear today the No 1 enemy of Kaizer Chiefs is within; and that is their pugnacious supporters.
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