We
can’t help but notice ukuthi Kaizer Chiefs now have a new trend, beside already
in use: "one per season". The new one is, if you are 30 in their team
you are as good as gone and should you be kept till maybe 34 then your God is
good. We've seen Thabo Mooki, Arthur Zwane, Gerald Sibeko, Fabian McCarthy,
Cyril Nzama, Patrick Mayo, John "Shoes" Moshoeu and now recently
Tinashe Nengomasha - all being dropped like hot potatoes or forced to early
retirement.
Mind
you these players were a force in their back to back league success in 2004/05
and 2005/06. Nengomasha was offered a lousy 2-year-deal extension at 30 plus a
one year "in the office" contract, this means his playing days must
be over at Naturena at 32. Bare in mind we are not talking about any South
African typical lazy player here, this is a Rhodesia and by nature these people
has an excellent work ethic plus he is rarely injured and all his 13 years at
Chiefs, he has never cheated Chiefs.
In
the team's defense Bobby Motaung (football manager) tells "us", we
must remember he (Nengomasha) is not a youngster, my question is how old is
Reneilwe 'Yeye' Letsholonyane, Siyabonga Nkosi and Morgan Gould?
We
all know there are no guarantees ukuthi Yeye will finish this season without
spending time ko physio (physiotherapy) room and Nkosi is not as tough as they
come because to give the Kaizer Chiefs midfield a nod, you need to look at what
Pirates and Sundowns have as they are their direct competitors.
In
conclusion, this whole Nengomasha saga was not looked at in totality. Yes he is
30 (a young man when compared to Paul Scholes), he could still cover more
ground even at 33 with rate he is going. He lives a clean life and that should
give him even a longer staying power in the game and he is fashionably available
for team selection.
In
Italy I'm told they even take players in their 30s to some scan where it tells
more or less how long could a player still play hence you see most of the over
30s playing in Italy. In South Africa we desperately need that scan, poor
Siyabonga ‘Bhele’ Nomvete and Benni McCarthy, their good work the past season
has gone unnoticed in some villages of the country.
By Xilla Tutu
