Mikia Kalati
Bantu have appointed their third coach this season after sacking Katiso Mojakhomo and Motlatsi Shale for poor results.
Now all eyes are on Bafokeng Mohapi, who was announced Shale’s replacement last week.
Well, for me, this was a bit of a surprise because this is a team that has been operating professionally over the last three seasons or so and their brand growing with each passing year.
There have been a lot of stories coming out of the Bantu camp as to what really happened, resulting in Shale’s dismissal alongside five players.
The fact that Bantu sacked first-choice goalkeeper, Kholoue Phasumane, who was also their player-of-the-season last term, reveals the extent of the problems at the club.
Phasumane is an experienced campaigner and there is no way a club could let such a player go if their relationship had not broken down irretrievably.
Yet I had always maintained that Bantu were wrong to let Shale go before the start of the season, after deciding not to extend his contract.
This was the man who had ended the club’s 87-year wait for the premier league title in 2013/14 and losing the championship to Lioli last season was not a valid reason for the club to show him the door.
While the club swallowed their pride and recalled Shale two months ago, the timing was very bad as the team was enjoying a good run under caretaker coach, Caswell Moru.
It was under Moru that A Matšo Matebele ended Lioli’s unbeaten run in the 2015/16 league season, as well as winning the highly contested Independence Cup at the expense of bitter rivals Matlama, Lioli and LCS.
As far as I’m concerned Bantu management should have persuaded Moru to remain in charge until the end of the season since he had already made it clear that he was too busy to coach the team on a fulltime basis.
Bantu had shown so much potential over the last three years and I am a bit disappointed with the way management has handled the team’s technical department.
I always expect big teams like Bantu and Lioli to lead by example when it comes to such issues.
I hope for the sake of the club that management will go back to the drawing board and get their house in order before it’s too late.
I still feel there are unresolved issues between management that needs all the honesty among members in order for the team to return to their best once again.
All I want to see is Bantu at their best once more and competing for honours and not fighting relegation because it will make the premier league competitive again.
It will now be very interesting to see if the new coach can turn it around considering the fact that coaches of the calibre of Mojakhomo and Shale were fired.
