It has been eight seasons since South Africa’s most storied club – once dubbed ‘the Cup Kings’ – last lifted a trophy.
The club’s hierarchy has tried just about every trick in the book to bring back the glory days but hasn’t managed to get it right.
They have appointed coaches such as Steve Komphela, Giovanni Solinas, Ernst Middendorp, Gavin Hunt, and Arthur Zwane in an attempt to turn things around.
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However, none of these tacticians were able to bring the success that was last brought by Stuart Baxter in 2015 when he led the team to the Premier Soccer League title.
His return in 2021 didn’t bear any fruit for the club either and he was replaced by Zwane.
Now, the club has turned to Molefi Ntseki and GOAL looks at whether the Chiefs are finally turning the corner under the former Bafana Bafana mentor.
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Slow start
It’s safe to say Ntseki was not the coach many Chiefs supporters were hoping the club would turn to and he’s had to win them over.
The slow start to the season, which saw Chiefs go without a win in four matches including two pre-season games, didn’t help Ntseki’s course.
They lost to Young Africans and Township Rollers in pre-season before starting their campaign with a stalemate against Chippa and then losing to Mamelodi Sundowns.
The lowest point so far under Ntseki was when Chiefs lost 1-0 to TS Galaxy after which angry supporters displayed their displeasure.
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Signs of improvement
Although Ntseki’s tenure as Chiefs mentor started slowly with inconsistent results, there have been some signs of improvement of late.
They have only failed to find the back of the net twice in official matches this season, one of which was the defeat to the Rockets.
Under Ntseki, Amakhosi look like a solid unit that can only get better as the season progresses. They have even managed to hold their own against the mighty Sundowns in what was their biggest test.
Although they lost 2-1 to Downs in the league, they were alive in that game for the better part and they followed that up with a solid 1-1 draw in the MTN8 most recently.
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Players beginning to gel?
Ntseki inherited a team that was undergoing plenty of changes with a number of players signed at the beginning of the season.
The likes of Given Msimango, Thatayaone Ditlhokwe, Edson Castillo, Pule Mmodi and Tebogo Potsane to name a few, all needed to settle in and find their feet quickly.
It has taken Ntseki a few matches to settle on a preferred team that he believes can get the job done on a more consistent basis.
There aforementioned new recruits are beginning to find their feet and impact games and this could change Chiefs’ fortunes for the better.
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More consistency needed
Inconsistency has plagued the Glamour Boys in these past few seasons as they struggled to string together wins on the spin.
At the beginning of the season, it appeared as though they had not found a way to get rid of their Achilles heel.
But successive wins over AmaZulu and Stellenbosch FC in the league even a 0-0 draw against Royal AM means Kaizer Chiefs Football Club may go for a victory against Supersport United on the 20th of September.
Kaizer Chiefs are also on the lookout since they are set to defend their MTN8 title against Mamelodi Sundowns in the MTN8 semifinals which Mamelodi Sundowns have an away goal advantage.
