Transfer Window Update

Bidvest Wits have captured the signature of the 5 times league winner Daine Klate from Orlando Pirates
according to a statement released by Wits CEO  it reads“We are delighted to have on board a player of the calibre of Daine. Both Gavin [Hunt] and myself have had the pleasure of working with him and his quality, professionalism, and unwavering commitment on the field of play will undoubtedly be an asset to our club.”

In the other News, Supersport United have been the most active PSL team in the market having signed, New Zealand international defender Boxall, Phemelele Bhengu, the NFD top goalscorer with 22 goals. thus far.

At Kaizer Chiefs, rumours are doing rounds that Itumeleng Khune and captain Tefu Mashamaite are on the verge of leaving the reigning champions. Kaizer Chiefs are set to host a press conference to clear the air on the speculations by releasing an official statement. There is also rife speculation that the head coach, Stuart Baxter may also leave during the current transfer window.

We will keep on updating you, our loyal reader so watch the space

Transfer Talk

Supersport United have failed to agree on personal terms with Daine Klate over a new long term contract, this comes after Klate spent the last 6 months of the season on loan at United. Now it seems the left winger will be heading back to Orlando Pirates fc in the hope of extending his contract which expires month end of June this year 2015. This was confirmed via @Supersportfc


In the other News, Tefu Mashamaite's business manager Jazzman Mahlakgane has assured the fans that the lanky defender is committed to Chiefs and they look to conclude a deal today (Tuesday). This is amid interest from Bidvest Wits, Supersport United and Mamelodi Sundowns.

Staying with Chiefs, Mandla Masango could be lost to Mpumalanga Black Aces if the rumours that Muhsin Ertugral is planning the speedster, are anything to go by. The Black Aces management is said to be aware of the situation that Masango is under, having just a under a month to extend his contract which expires at the end of June.

At Orlando Pirates, Patrick Phungwayo is rumoured to be a Chiefs target, according to the Daily Sun. The left back is struggling for game time at Orlando Pirates fc, as Thabo Matlaba is the preferred choice by head coach Eric Tinkler.

Staying Orlando Pirates, earlier this week it was confirmed that Eric Tinkler will continue on his duties as head coach of Orlando Pirates for the 2015/16 season, despite rumours suggesting that the team would look for an "xperienced" coach for the hot seat.

Thandani Ntshumayelo is set to meet with the Orlando Pirates chairman Dr Irvin Khoza after the Ac Kaloum Caf Confederations to discuss his future with the Club. Much like many players in the PSL right now, his contract ends at end of June 2015. He will be hoping to stay with the Club.

Wits open to local offers for Vila

Wits are now reportedly open to local offers for their star player Sibusiso Vilakazi. This comes after the proposed overseas moves have not materialised, initially Wits said put a not for sale tag on Vila to local clubs.

 

According to a Wednesday paper, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates have joined the race for the talented attacking Midfielder and Wits are said to have put a price ranging between R12-15 Million for the 25 year old. Considering the fact that Vila has a contract with Wits that runs till June 2018, together with the quality of the player, the price is somewhat justified.

 

Kaizer Chiefs are well known admirers of Sibusiso Vilakazi, but history shows that Kaizer Chiefs are not one of the big spenders around, the price would  put  Cheifs  behind in  the bidding war between South Africa's big 3. Mamelodi Sundowns are the only team that would match Bidvest Wits' asking price as they are Known to stop at nothing get their man. Orlando Pirates also stand a chance of getting Vilakazi, having a good working relationship with Wits, having bought the likes of Sifiso Myeni and Patrick Phungwayo in the past.

 

This season's Kaizer Chiefs midfield pair of Willard Katsange (CDM), 29, Reneilwe Letsholonyane, (CM), 32, are not young anymore and it is in Chiefs' interests to invest in the future in acquiring the likes of Vilakazi into their ship. But one thing that Vilakazi will need to consider is the fact that, in the attacking mid or the false nine position, termed the "Parker role" is played by name sake Bernard Parker, this is the position that Sibusiso Vilakazi is most effective on. The question then will be, is Vilakazi capable of dethroning Bernard Parker from his role, considering the fact that Parker has been playing the role for 3 seasons now, secondly Coach Stuart Baxter is known for sticking with the same starting line up otherwise known as the winning formulae.

 

On Mamelodi Sundowns' side, the club has gained a reputation for signing every quality player in the market.This season's midfield has been Hlompho Kekana playing Central Defensive Mid (CDM), 31, and Teko Modise Central Mid ( CM), 32. Coach Pitso Mosimane has also called upon Bongani Zungu who was signed as an offensive player into defensive mid, and played Zungu as a defensive player. This could be something that Vilakazi would need to look into, and another worrying factor is the constant tendency of Sundowns signing players only to bench them and loan them out midway through the season.

 

At Orlando Pirates, the midfield had Issa Sarr, (CM), 28, Thandani Ntshumayelo, (CM), 25 and Oupa Manyisa, (CAM), 26 have been regulars this season. Vilakazi plays in the same role as Captain Oupa Manyisa, but Manyisa's contract is ending in June and should Manyisa move elsewhere, Pirates would be a perfect fit for Vila. Should Manyisa not move then Vila will face stiff competition from the team's captain, but in all fairness to Vilakazi, there's a chance of making a name for himself if the news that Orlando Pirates are looking for a new coach. This would put everyone on the same level as everyone would fight for the first eleven jersey.

 

It will be an interesting Transfer window, and fans will equally curious to see which team will lend the talented centre attacking midfielder, will it be his childhood favourite team Chiefs?, will he join his best friend Myeni at Pirates? or will it be Sundowns that wins his signature?

Motaung clears the air

The Kaizer Chiefs Chairman, Kaizer Motaung Snr has explained why there are delays in player contracts at Kaizer Chiefs. Fans have been asking questions as to why would a big club like Kaizer Chiefs can drag their feet in extending the contracts of key players such as Itumeleng Khune and Captain Tefu Mashamaite and Motaung had this to say

 

"You guys [the media] obviously write those things because you have to sell newspapers. But as far as we're concerned it's a work in progress," when asked by the Sowetan

 

he went on to say "We know the intricacies of contract renewals. If I tell you we started negotiating a year ago, you won't believe it. But there's another element that plays a part, not only the player. It's what you call intermediaries, because they're no longer called agents,".

"They create some of the challenges because they use tactics to get to within the last six months of the player's contracts, because then they have better leverage," he concluded.

PSL Awards Nominees

Below are the Category and the Nominees (Alphabetically):
FOOTBALLER OF THE SEASON: R250 000
Cole Alexander (Polokwane City)
Eric Mathoho (Kaizer Chiefs)
Tefu Mashamaite (Kaizer Chiefs)
ABSA PREMIERSHIP
Absa Premiership Players’ Player of the Season – R150 000
Tefu Mashamaite (Kaizer Chiefs)
Eric Mathoho (Kaizer Chiefs)
Teko Modise (Mamelodi Sundowns)
(Plus an additional R10 000 if the winning candidate is an Absa account holder)

Absa Premiership Goalkeeper of the Season – R50 000
Anssi Jaakkola (Ajax Cape Town)
Moeneeb Joseph (Bidvest Wits)
Patrick Tignyemb (Bloemfontein Celtic)
(Plus an additional R10 000 if the winning candidate is an Absa account holder)

Absa Premiership Defender of the Season – R50 000
Thulani Hlatshwayo (Bidvest Wits)
Tefu Mashamaite (Kaizer Chiefs)
Eric Mathoho (Kaizer Chiefs)
(Plus an additional R10 000 if the winning candidate is an Absa account holder)

Absa Premiership Midfielder of the Season – R50 000
Cole Alexander (Polokwane City)
Willard Katsande (Kaizer Chiefs)
Teko Modise (Mamelodi Sundowns)
(Plus an additional R10 000 if the winning candidate is an Absa account holder)

Absa Premiership Young Player of the Season – R50 000
Rivaldo Coetzee (Ajax Cape Town)
Abbubaker Mobara (Ajax Cape Town)
Phumlani Ntshangase (Bidvest Wits)
(Plus an additional R10 000 if the winning candidate is an Absa account holder)

Absa Premiership Coach of the Season – R75 000
Stuart Baxter (Kaizer Chiefs)
Pitso Mosimane (Mamelodi Sundowns)
Kosta Papic (Polokwane City)
(Plus an additional R10 000 if the winning candidate is an Absa account holder)

Absa Premiership Absa-lutely Awesome Goal of the Season – R50 000
Menzi Masuku (Orlando Pirates)
Aubrey Ngoma (MP Black Aces)
David Zulu (Chippa United/ Kaizer Chiefs)
(Plus an additional R10 000 if the winning candidate is an Absa account holder)

Absa Premiership Top Goalscorer – R25 000
(Plus an additional R10 000 if the winning candidate is an Absa account holder)

NEDBANK CUP
Nedbank Cup Player of the Tournament: R150 000                                                          
David Mathebula (SuperSport United)
Tasreeq Morris (Ajax Cape Town)
Teko Modise (Mamelodi Sundowns)

Nedbank Cup Most Promising Player of the Tournament: R50 000
Bantu Mzwakali (Ajax Cape Town)
Tashreeq Morris (Ajax Cape Town)
Riyaad Norodien (Ajax Town Cape)

TELKOM KNOCKOUT
Telkom Knockout Player of the Tournament: R200 000
Siyabonga Mpontshane (Platinum Stars/ Orlando Pirates)
Thuso Phala (SuperSport United))
Dove Wome (SuperSport United)

MTN8
MTN8 Last Man Standing: R80 000
George Maluleka (Kaizer Chiefs)
Mandla Masango (Kaizer Chiefs)
Tefu Mashamaite (Kaizer Chiefs)
NATIONAL FIRST DIVISION
Top Goal scorer of the Season:
Phumelele Bhengu (Thanda Royal Zulu)
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee of the Season
Kulasande Gqonqo
Robert Smith
Shumani Phillip Tinyani
Assistant Referee of the Season
Peter Chauke
Luvuyo Pupuma
Zakhele Siwela

Kaizer Chiefs fc has achieved a lot this season, breaking 10 national records. It comes as no surprise that their captain who has had a solid and impressive season is nominated on 4 categories with the prospect of becoming this season's big winner.
The awards will be live on Supersport, Sunday the 17th of May 2015.

Ertugral to take over at Aces

Black Aces have shown that they mean business ahead of the 2015/16 season by restructuring their technical team as soon the 2014/15 season ended with no further delays.

Black Aces finished the season with Jacob Sakala at the helm, who replaced Clive Barker in March and Sakala did a splendid job guiding the side to a 10th position n the log. Clive Barker has since been roped in as Technical director of football at Black Aces.

Muhsin Ertugral last coached Ajax Cape Town but had to leave halfway through the season due to family reasons ( December 2013). Prior to signing for Aces, Muhsin was also on the wanted of Turkish giants, Galatasray and locally by Orlando Pirates.

PSL Awards

The PSL has announced the PSL awards are to be held on the 17th May 2015 for the 2014/15 season.
The event will take place at Sandton Convention Centre, this is according to the PSL official twitter page.

Contract Issues at Chiefs

It is no secrete that there are contract issues at Kaizer Chiefs, with a number of their star players yet to agree to new terms. The likes of Itumeleng Khune, Mandla Masango, including captain Tefu Mashamaite all yet to agree to new terms.

Itumeleng Khune was seen yesterday greeting fans in the match between Chiefs and Bidvest Wits, with some media outlets suggesting that it could be his last goodbye. Earlier this year, Stuart Baxter said Chiefs can be able to live without Itumeleng "Itu" Khune now as they believe they have enough cover in the goalkeeping department, Brilliant Khuzwayo and Reyaard Pieterse having done well when called upon. When Baxter was asked about Khune by the media, he had this to say;
I’m not privy to the status of negotiations if they’re ongoing. My information is that there’s no impasse in the negotiations, that they’re still cordial, and that both parties are trying to find a solution.
and he concluded by saying;
“I can’t tell you if he’s staying or going, because I don’t know if he’s staying or going. I know that it’s an ongoing process and that he’s training hard, showing a very good attitude, and that I’m happy to have him in the squad.”

In the Tefu Mashamaite story, The Kaizer Chiefs captain will be a free agent in just under two months something that would not sit well with the Kaizer Chiefs captain and the Amakhosi faithful. Tefu has played a pivotal role in the Chiefs campaign and helping the side get back to winning ways, claiming the both the MTN8 cup and the Championship. History shows that Chiefs captains are not lucky luring new lucrative contracts in the sides when their current contracts ended, Patrick Mabedi, Cryil Nzama, Fabian McCarthy, Tinashe Nengomasha and recently Jimmy Tau all left when they all captains and no one expected them to leave considering their input in the season prior. Now the question on everyone's lips will be, could history repeat itself on the current Chiefs captain?

Mandla Masango showed his qualities this season, contributing an impressive 6 goals, but he was at his best during the first half of the season.  Masango didn't really live up to his form, maybe due to a lot of matches played in Bafana Bafana and at Chiefs or maybe the contract issues did affect his game on the field. The Chiefs winger known for his blistering pace and skill is an international player and features regularly on the National team and is part of the "vision 2020" set by Coach Shakes Mashaba, all this and more could be the reason why Chiefs and Masango are not agreeing on the new contract.

Kaizer Chiefs have already indicated that they will not be extending the contracts of Josta Dladla and Siyabonga Nkosi.

Kaizer Chiefs are not knowing for big spending, so only time will tell if whether they will afford to keep these star players, but having grossed around R19,5 Million this year it should not be hard to. Otherwise coach Baxter could be faced with a tough job next season, having to rebuild from scratch a team that has won him a 2 league tittles in just under 3 seasons.

Black Label Votes updates

At present Brighton Mhlongo tops the charts in the Orlando Pirates starting line up chosen by the fans.
This is how the fans have voted thus far:

Orlando Pirates' Carling Black Label starting XI:
Brighton Mhlongo (32386 votes)
Lehlohonolo Majoro (8108 votes)
Kermit Erasmus (7354 votes)
Oupa Manyisa (7222 votes)
Thabo Rakhale (5695 votes)
Issa Sarr (5230 votes)
Sifiso Myeni (4392 votes)
Thabo Matlaba (4600 votes)
Happy Jele (4207 votes)
Siyabonga Sangweni (3590 votes)
Rooi Mahamutsa (3435 votes

In the opposite side, At Kaizer Chiefs Itumeleng Khune has proven to be a darling among Chiefs fans and once again tops the charts. This is how the charts look as of 12-05-15

Kaizer Chiefs CBL Starting XI:
Itumeleng Khune (73639 votes)
Erick Mathoho (10715 votes)
Tefu Mashamaite (9172 votes)
Tsepo Masilela (8295 votes)
Siboniso Gaxa (6114 votes)
Bernard Parker (10412 votes)
David Zulu (6649 votes)
Reneilwe Letsholonyane (5990 votes)
George Lebese (5958 votes)
Siphiwe Tshabalala (5593 votes)
Willard Katsande (4758 votes)

The Lesley Manyathela Golden Boot

with just two games left the Top goalscorer has tallied just 13 goals ( 28 games played). The PSL strikers have experienced a somewhat dry season upfront, one would attribute that to how teams in the PSL have improved their defensive organisation. for example the 2014/15 Champions, Kaizer Chiefs have only conceded a mere 13 goals, ironically an amount equal to the top goalscorer tally.
Meanwhile, for those wondering, the record for the worst defensive record since the NSL was formed in 1985 was set by Dangerous Darkies back in 1992 when they were relegated after conceding 122 goals in 42 games.

Last season's top goalscorer was Bernard Parker who netted a mere 10 goals in 30 games, and there was much talk about the lack of goalscorer in the league which many experts pointed to a lack of development structures in place to help curb this national problem. But what many fail to see that the defensive aspect of the whole South African game has improved, this can be attributed to the fact that between 2004 up to now there has been a lot of European coaches who have came and introduced and implemented their philosophies, it is evident that the first thing they did was to work on the defensive duties of the team.

The next was to ensure that not only strikers are responsible for goals but everyone, just as much defensive duties are shared, hence we have seen defenders netting as many as 8 goals per season, at one point Morgan Gould and Bongani Khumalo were top goalscorers midway through the season when Supersport United won the league. Midfielders have also come to the party, the Teko Modises, Thuso Phalas, George Lebeses.

Another aspect that has changed in the modern game, is that we see a lot of teams playing with a lone striker upfront, this then means there is no one to help upfront, demanding a very clinical finisher in this formation a part of the game which we say is still growing when we talk about South African football.

One would hope that next season the strikers will come back to their scoring boots and South African football lovers would again witness 25 goals scored in one season. the record holder is still Collins Mbesuma who netted 35 goals in all competitions ( 25 in the league), Mbesuma nowadays plays for Mpumalanga Black Aces

2014/15 Golden boot contenders

Lerato Lamola (Bloemfontein Celtic) - 13

Moeketsi Sekola (Free State Stars) - 12

Puleng Tlolane (Polokwane City) - 11

Cuthbert Malajila (Mamelodi Sundowns) - 10

Kermit Erasmus (Orlando Pirates) - 9

Geofrey Massa (University of Pretoria) - 8

Lehlohonolo Majoro (Orlando Pirates) - 8

Atusaye Nyondo (University of Pretoria) - 7

Bernard Parker (Kaizer Chiefs) - 7

George Lebese (Kaizer Chiefs) - 7

Khama Billiat (Mamelodi Sundowns) - 7

Ndumiso Mabena (Platinum Stars) - 7

Teko Modise (Mamelodi Sundowns) - 7

Tendai Ndoro (Mpumalanga Black Aces) - 7

Thabo Mnyamane (University of Pretoria) - 7

Dove Wome (SuperSport United) - 6

Goodman Dlamini (AmaZulu) - 6

Lerato Chabangu (Moroka Swallows) - 6

Mandla Masango (Kaizer Chiefs) - 6

Mohammed Anas (Maritzburg United) - 6

Oupa Manyisa (Orlando Pirates) - 6

Abafana Besthende back in the PSL

 

Golden Arrows are the 2014/15 NFD champions. having accumulated an impressive 57 points from 29 games, boasting a 7 point gap from second placed Jomo Cosmos. The Shaun Bartlet led team will now be playing in South Africa's topflight in the 2015/16 season.

 

Lamontville Golden Arrows have been crowned National First Division champions after playing to an exciting 1-1 with Cape Town All Stars, in the other news second-placed Jomo Cosmos suffered a 2-1 home defeat to an inspired Thanda Royal Zulu.

 

The match Arrows between All Stars at Chatsworth Stadium was played at a high pace as both teams knew the importance of grabbing maximum points.A tenth minute strike from the talented Amigo Memela gave Boebie Solomon’s side their opening break and  Abafana Bes’Thende fought back to level matters via Prince Nxumalo.

 

Mato Madlala will be delighted to have his team back in the PSL and surely will look to reinforce her side to avoid the last season's mistake and also have a squad strong enough to withstand the demanding schedule of the PSL.