Chiefs gave Morapedi a raw deal
| Friday February 28, 2014 12:20
After serving Chiefs loyally for eight years, former assistant coach, Innocent Morapedi is understood to have dragged the club before the labour tribunal seeking his terminal benefits.
After being with the team through thick and thin, I did not expect the Chiefs management to put him through this stress, especially that his leaving was said to be mutual or amicable.
In fact Chiefs general manager, Sebele Morakanyane, was quoted as saying they were even considering him for the head coach position if he could be available full time.
To Saed Jamal and Mclean Letshwiti I say; it is time you clean up the old habit of the team so as to generate goodwill and be professional leaders. The cowboy mentality where only the strong and ruthless survive has to be discarded.
Honouring agreements is one of the cornerstones of professionalism. Equally, after giving its coach Dragojlo Stravanoljic extended leave of absence from work, I hope the team’s management will use the opportunity to reflect properly rather than take another hasty decision.
The search for a new coach should not be a cut and paste sort of thing but should reflect the ambition of the club. There is no harm in seeking the advice of some of the technical gurus when interviewing potential coaches instead of administrators making emotional decisions.
The experiment with an unknown coach from Serbia who was hired by virtue of googling through the Internet has left Chiefs badly bruised. The Serbian has left the entire Chiefs family licking its wounds.
His unprofessional conduct coupled with his limited tactical acumen created a lot of tension within the camp. The telling signs were there when the Serbian decided to sit on the bench when he only had two days in the country during the Barclays Kabelano Charity Cup and belted instructions even when he did not know a single player.
This said a lot about his professionalism and surprisingly he was given the credit for the win at the expense of Morapedi who had been battling with the team during the off-season.
But it was not long before the then Chiefs acting general manager, Livert Ntwayagae whispered “this guy is no better than Morapedi and I think we are better off with Morapedi than him”.
This was a telling point and soon the wheels came off and Chiefs lost their position at the top of the league. The Chiefs management was divided on whether to sack him or not and the longer the decision, the more the damage was done.
Supporters started staying away from games thus putting more strain on the coffers of the team and some openly declared that they would not be attending games unless management removed the Serbian.
The onus now is on Odirile ‘China’ Matlhaku to stop the rot. However, the Chiefs management ought to display more professionalism in its conflict resolution with its employees.
Mascom Top 8
Despite having spent a couple of seasons in Botswana as a coach, many a soccer fan still does not know who Elijah Chikwanda is. He is by and large still a closed book or an unknown quantity.
After being sacked by Nico United as its head coach BDF XI employed him to carry over where Letang Kgengwenyane left off. His dress code at BDF XI is that of a happy man. He looks more like a fired-up boy who has just found a new beautiful girl.
However, Chikwanda’s coaching credentials will be put to the test this weekend in the final of the Mascom Top 8 Cup when BDF XI take on Township Rollers.
Both these sides have not met in a cup final before and therefore it would be quite interesting to see how they play against each other.
Rollers coach Madinda Ndlovu and his two assistants Mogomotsi Mpote and Zachariah Muzadzi have tested glory before. For Mpote it was while he was still a player at TASC and Muzadzi while an assistant at Chiefs. For BDF XI, Barney Marman is also a champion having grabbed the now defunct Coca-Cola Cup and Premier League titles. But still all eyes will be on Chikwanda. If he wants the Botswana soccer community to take him seriously, then he has this chance at the expense of rejuvenated Rollers to do it.
This therefore means that the mental state of his players will be key.
Rollers will obviously come with a lot of supporters to intimidate Matebele and this could be a plus factor for them. But what will be more crucial will be the tactics and strategy for the day as well. The technical team that can read the game better and make timely interventions will win the cup.
If I had my way, I would choose referee Lekgotla Johannes to handle the game. Locally he seems to do well in high profile games. He is not easily intimidated and players seem to respect him.
He is one of the few referees that can give a smile just to ease the tension. Players also perform better when they have trust in the referee.
Otherwise I wish both teams good luck.