Rollers� re-branding an eye catcher
Dennis Keagile | Friday December 5, 2014 22:01
However one of my friends took exception and promised me to watch the space as I will then see what really branding is.
This friend of mine talked of a mother of all launches that would take Botswana by surprise and leave all dumb founded.
In my Ikalanga there is an expression, which says ‘nlomo uno chuluka gwizi gu li zhele’ which means that talk is cheap but action is real.
Well I am still waiting for the mother of all launches and the other goodies promised and for now I will not reveal which club my friend belongs to. Rollers’ re-branding has yielded positive results on the pitch. Interestingly the Be Mobile league race is following a similar pattern like last year’s title race.
The script has not changed and the bitter thing for Mochudi Centre Chiefs is that after a bright start, it has lost the league leadership to bitter rivals Township Rollers.
Both clubs do have ownership issues outside the pitch Rollers have done far much better just like BMC. But where really has Rollers upstaged Chiefs and where has Chiefs gone wrong? Unlike Chiefs, Rollers has refurbished its wardrobe not with known brands but has instead tried to build its own brand. In other words Rollers has recruited well concentrating a lot on potential and age than going for the tried, tested and tiring which I think is the case with Chiefs. With Chiefs save for Ayanda Molefe, Pontsho ‘Piro’ Moloi is still the live wire. Like an old wine he is getting fresher and fresher in terms of his football brain. Overall Chiefs are a bit average in most departments. This means that the team has to rely a lot on collective ability than perhaps individual ability. The problem with collective ability is that when the opponent has closed you down without individual brilliance you are doomed.
The same cannot be said about Rollers where Segolame Boy has to be denied the space to operate. Can Rollers therefore be stopped from winning the league for the second year running? Looking at the statistics or archives, if Rollers has ever surrendered the lead in the league race from way, way back in the 1980s.
Besides, most of their players are maturing as last season. Last season Rollers was handed the title on a silver platter by the BDF XI case and Chiefs’ instability.
Already BDF XI have parted ways with Elijah Chikwanda, while Chiefs recruitment has not been the best. The team is not convincing. Lesego Galenabotlhale is performing below par and so is Kekaetswe ‘Mara’ Moloi.
Ontse Ntesa has not rekindled the same performance that he used to display while at ECCO City Green and as if that is not enough, the club is still chasing the likes of Phenyo Mongala.
Mongala has struggled even before his DRC move. Generally, the script has changed but it looks like Chiefs and Gaborone United are sticking to the old script of relying on names.
But can Rollers surrender the log leadership and ultimately the title? Statistics do not suggest so which means other clubs will have to do more. Looking at the contenders, only Michael Sithole and Rahman Gumbo have the experience of winning the league, but they do not have the necessary material to put up a consistent and concerted title challenge. Chiefs in particular ought to revisit its recruitment pattern.
AFCON 2015
What a draw the AFCON 2015 finals produced. Without a doubt the pick of the draw is Group C, which is made up of Ghana, Senegal, South Africa and Algeria. This for me is the Group of Death. Another interesting is Group D featuring Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Mali. But when all is said and done, Zambia who have Cape Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tunisia in Group B, may struggle in this group.
The DRC seem to be on the rise and could be one of the surprise teams of the tournament. My money is on Algeria and Cameroon.