THE Motaung family has one thing in common with Nero, Rome’s abominable emperor; they both fiddle while Rome is burning.
Kaizer Chiefs, owned by Kaizer “Chincha Guluva” Motaung, are about to complete nine seasons without a trophy. The club has not deemed it fit to stage an official commission to establish what’s behind its dire situation, but that might be because they know the reasons.
What is most worrying though is that the present hierarchy, which is solely to blame for the club’s dire predicament, is unveiling plans for the future. Surely, the officials responsible for the present mess can’t be the ones deciding the club’s future.
Ironically, these officials know when to show coaches the exit door when results are not forthcoming.
In the past decade, the sequence of former coaches goes: Molefi Ntseki–Arthur Zwane–Stuart Baxter–Arthur Zwane–Gavin Hunt–Ernst Middendorp–Giovanni Solinas–Patrick Mabedi–and Steve Komphela.
It’s only a matter of time before the coaching revolving door gains momentum when Cavin Johnson joins the list of former coaches.
Recently, Bantu Holomisa, better known as a politician, publicly called on members of the Motaung family to remove themselves from the Chiefs management. He appealed to the storied club to “outsource” the management positions rather than hand them to family members.
The key football management positions are held by the Motaung siblings. Bobby Motaung is the club’s football manager, and younger brother Kaizer Junior operates as the sporting director.
Holomisa, a close friend of club chairman Motaung, has appealed to Chiefs to set up structures aimed “at professionalising the management of the club” so that the club can start thriving again.
During a recent radio interview, former Chiefs coach Muhsin Ertuğral was probed for his thoughts on the crisis at the club. He said the “illusion of knowledge” was at the heart of the problem.
He said the management had specific roles in the running of the club, but the problem was that they were not equipped, although they failed to realise it.
Nowadays, Ertuğral works as a consultant to the Turkish Football Federation and world governing body Fifa. During his time at Chiefs, he won several trophies, so he knows a thing or two about ending a trophy drought.
Against this background, it would seem the time is ripe for a Motaung family coup. None of them, it seems, want to heed the warning signs. It may be the only way to salvage the goodwill the fans have for this club, easily the most storied in South African football history.
The most important thing that the club needs to do straight away is to appoint a coach. They should use the method Safa used when appointing Hugo Broos as the national team coach.
Let former coaches and players make a call and then run with their decision.
Also, heed Ertuğral’s advice that the club appoint a sporting director who has similar credentials to Flemming Berg of Mamelodi Sundowns.
If only the Motaungs could adhere to Ertuğral’s sage advice, the club would be on the road to recovery.