Mikia Kalati
Premier League giants Linare have lost three of their four opening matches of the 2014/15 football season and one of the defeats was to rookies Likila United.
The Hlotse-based side were unstoppable in 2013/14, particularly in the second round of the campaign, during which they only lost once and also reached the final of the LNIG Top 8.
This is a team I predicted to challenge for honours this season based on their growth over the last two years and third-place finish in the league title race last term, and of-course, their squad, which I feel is one of the strongest in domestic football.
Yet it appears I’m not the only one worried about Linare’s form, as the team’s own supporters demanded answers for the poor performances after last Saturday 1-0 loss to army-side LDF. This was the team’s third straight defeat since the current Premiership campaign got underway on 23 August.
After the team’s impressive run last season, Linare inexplicably decided to shake-up their technical department, bringing back club legend Thulo Leboela as head-coach following his sacking midway through 2013/14.
Leboela’s dismissal had also raised eyebrows because he had revived Linare, and the team was doing well at the time he was shown the door.
But Tse Tala supporters could not complain that much as the team continued to deliver under his replacement, Freese Ntene, and ended the campaign strongly behind league-winners Bantu and runners-up-Lioli.
With Leboela back in the fold, Ntene has been relegated to the position of assistant coach, while the club also has Sejoale-joale Molefe in its technical set-up.
Both Leboela and Molefe have legendary status at the club and are well respected by Tse Tala players for what they achieved during their playing days.
Ntene, on the other hand, has proved himself as a coach and also very good at nurturing young talent.
However, during their loss to Matlama, Linare were very disorganised on the bench. At halftime, I saw more than four people, including the coaches, addressing the players at the same time.
The people addressing the team included a well-known businessman, whose passion for football is well-documented, while the same cannot be said about his coaching credentials.
So is it his place to go down to the pitch to address the team at halftime?
These are scenes you can only see here in Lesotho because there are no dressing-rooms for coaches to address their players without disturbance from high-profile supporters as it has been the case with Linare, many other Premier League teams.
What I have seen from Linare players over recent weeks is they are lacking confidence, and again, the goal conceded by Dyke Tšiu against LDF was proof that is not well at the club.
Tšiu has been one of the best goalkeepers in Lesotho football over the years, but his performance has dropped dramatically this season.
I now even feel that for Linare to recover from this early nightmare, there is need to bring stability to the dressing room because I suspect there could a clash of philosophies between Leboela and Ntene, leading to confusion among the players.
Before I go, I would really like to express my disappointment at the acts of hooliganism, which prematurely ended an otherwise highly entertaining match between LCS and Lioli at the LCS Ground last Sunday.
This has to be made very clear: we have no place for such terrible behaviour in our football and I hope the relevant authorities will deal with this matter urgently and firmly to ensure such violence never takes place at our matches again.
