Tag Archives: Gavin Hunt

10 Reasons Gavin Hunt’s Kaizer Chiefs Is Performing So Bad

Gavin Hunt’s first season at Kaizer Chiefs has been, to put it politely, underwhelming. It may be fitting to call it a disaster, here are the 10 reasons why:

1. Not Being Able To Sign Players

Kaizer Chiefs were unable to sign players for the last two transfer windows due to a FIFA transfer ban. It’s always difficult for a new coach to succeed at a new team without being able to make personnel changes that he sees fit. 

2. The Goalkeeping Situation

Gavin Hunt’s two goalkeeping options at Kaizer Chiefs: Daniel Akpeyi and Itumeleng Khune, have not performed well this season. Akpeyi is known to have butterfingers and Khune this season has made some uncharacteristic mistakes that cost them points. In addition to their goalkeeping errors, Gavin Hunt constant rotation of the two could not be helping the situation. 


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3. Defensive Mistakes 

Gavin Hunt has lamented the mistakes of his defence. Nowadays, it has become too easy to score against Kaizer Chiefs. Should we blame the defensive coaching or should we blame the lack of quality defenders? We do not have the answer to that question yet. 

4. Kaizer Chief’s Squad’s Confidence

Gavin Hunt adopted a team that was low on confidence. After being on top of the table for 90% of the 2019/2020 season, Kaizer Chiefs lost the league title on the last matchday to Mamelodi Sundowns. That must have been a traumatic experience for most of the squad. Players low on confidence second guess every decision they make on the field. They would be better suited to play on instinct. 

5. No Supporters Being Allowed in the Stadium

It may not be a big deal for other DSTV Premiership teams but it is for Kaizer Chiefs. Amakhosi supporters pack stadiums where ever their team plays. Crowd support plays a role in giving confidence to players. 

6. Gavin Hunt’s Rigid Tactics

Kaizer Chiefs have become somewhat predictable under coach Gavin Hunt. All you have to do as an opposing coach is put your best defender on their centre forward (Castro or Nurkovic) set your team up narrow, force them to go wide, and be the first man to the ball when they cross it. 

7. Kaizer Chief’s Experienced Players Under-Performing

Itumeleng Khune, Samir Nurković, Lebogang Manyama, Willard Katsande (in his defence, he has hardly played), Eric Mathoho, Daniel Akpeyi, and Benard Parker have all had sub-par seasons. 


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8. Gavin Hunt Playing Players in Wrong Positions

Daniel Cardoso is not a central midfielder, Njabulo Blom is not a central midfielder, Siyabonga Ngezana is not a fullback. 

9. Gavin Hunt Playing Players That Are Off Form

As mentioned before, some of his senior players have not come to the party but Gavin Hunt has insisted on playing them and not going other players a chance. 

10. Gavin Hunt’s Reliance On Samir Nurkovic and Castro

It may be that Gavin Hunt needs them for his game plan but there doesn’t seem to be a plan B. Both strikers are target men who are physical and good headers of the ball but they are one-dimensional. Kaizer Chiefs may need another strategy to employ when their strikers aren’t having the best of games. 

By Cheez

Don’t forget to tune into ‘The Soccer Podcast With No Name’ podcast every Thursdays at 17h00 pm. Also follow me on TwitterFacebookTikTok, and Instagram.

 

The Soccer Podcast With No Name (Yet) Ep.30

https://soundcloud.com/thabang-cheez/the-soccer-podcast-with-no-name-yet-episode-30

 

Topics on today’s show!

1. Pitso Mosimane is not interested in the Bafana coaching job,

Is Pitso being unpatriotic or is he well within his rights to not be interested in working with SAFA again?

2. Speaking of the Bafana Bafana job, TimesLIVE has reported that Philippe Troussier and Carlos Queiroz tell Safa they want the Bafana Bafana coaching job.

Which of the two would you like to take Bafana Bafana over?

3. After a less than impressive start to his Kaizer Chiefs coaching career, Gavin Hunt still insists he can win with Kaizer Chiefs.

He said on KickOFF: “the club has brought me here to win trophies, and they will win trophies with me”

How confident are you that Gavin Hunt is the right man to end Amakhosi’s drought?

4. Let’s move overseas to the Champions League.

In the quarter-final second legs, PSG lost 0-1 to Bayern but held on to win the game 3-3 on the away goals rule, Chelsea went down 0-1 to Porto but won the tie 2-1 on aggregate. Last night Liverpool couldn’t overcome their 3-1 first-leg deficit when they drew 0-0 with Real Madrid and Manchester City beat Dortmund 2-1 again to win the tie 4-2 on aggregate.

What did you make of all the games and results?

5. In the Champions League semi-final, Chelsea will go up against Real Madrid and Manchester City will lock horns with PSG,

who are your favourites to make it to the final and why?

6. There are a couple of very good players in this year’s free-agent class: Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Sergio Aguero, David Alaba, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jerome Boateng and Javi Martinez.

Which players will be the most sort after and by which teams?

7. Quick Hits

7.1 PSG star Neymar has confirmed he is set to renew his contract with PSG saying: “This (renewal with PSG) is no longer an issue. Obviously, I feel very comfortable and at home here at PSG. I feel happier than I was before.”

Is it a wise move by Neymar to stay at PSG?

7.2 Recent Ballon d’Or Feminin winner Megan Rapinoe has made an emotional plea to Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and other football stars to become involved in the fight against racism.

How can the two GOATS help?

7.3 Speaking of racism, EPL clubs are set to boycott social media for a full matchday weekend to protest against racial abuse,

Do you think this boycott will make a difference?

7.4 Reports from Italy say Manchester United may pursue a swap deal with Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba, surprisingly enough the Manchester United fans on social media are not for the idea…

Do you think it would be a good move for United?

7.5 Sticking with Pogba, The French superstar signed a deal with Amazon and set his first project with the streaming giant: A documentary series about his life, titled The Pogmentary.

Out of 10, what’s your excitement level?

7.6 Sundowns host Orlando Pirates today in the Quarter-final of the Nedbank Cup,

Who do you got?

Gavin Hunt Says Itumleng Khune and Daniel Akpeyi Have Cost Chiefs All Season

I did say Gavin Hunt is going to have goalkeeping issues at the start of his career as Kaizer Chiefs coach. No, I am not psychic or a Sangoma (even though I am pretty good at picking winners with my bets, listen to my podcast Cheez on Sports on Fridays to make money with yours). This is an issues Chiefs had last season under then-coach Ernst Middendorp. Gavin Hunt feels his goalkeeping duo of Itumeleng Khune and Daniel Akpeyi have been a big reason for his team’s bad results this season. 

Yesterday Kaizer Chiefs drew 2-2 against Stellenbosch. In his post-game interview, Coach Gavin Hunt bemoaned the type of goals conceded.

All in all disappointed with the result, I thought we’ve got to do better than that and see these games out,

But they obviously got a foothold in the game after getting the early goal and then once we get an equaliser, we went down 2-1 again.

The second goal was a real schoolboy error. The same position again as well, really bad defending and it’s something that has cost us all season.

Like I said we were chasing the game and there has been two areas of the pitch that has cost us the whole season.


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The ‘two areas’ being the defence and the goalkeeping position. Gavin Hunt has seen both Itumeleng Khune and Daniel Akpeyi make mistakes that cost them games. 

Former South Africa number 1 Itumeleng Khune is low on confidence. He has picked up a violent case of Butter-Fingeritis. Daniel Akypeyi is Gavin Hunt’s preferred goalkeeper but his errors are even more comical. 

Gavin Hunt should pick a goalkeeper and stick with him through his mistakes. Goalkeepers are creatures of habit and this constant chopping of the two kills their confidence and rhythm. 

By Cheez

Five Question That Will Define Gavin Hunt’s First Season as Kaizer Chiefs Coach

At the end of last season, Kaizer Chiefs fired head coach Ernst Middendorp after losing the league title on the last matchday. Amakhosi needed only three points against relegation-threatened Baroka to win the title. They drew (1-1), their supporters cried, and German mentor sealed his fate.

In mid-September, Kaizer Chiefs announced Gavin Hunt as their new coach. The arrival of Hunt, South African football second-most winningest coach, breathed new hope in a deflated fanbase.

Gavin Hunt, however, has begun his Glamour Boys adventure in the worst possible way. His team has lost three, drawn one, and won two of its first six games. In those matches, they have scored three goals (two set pieces and one own goal) and conceded nine. Kaizer Chiefs’ performances have ranged between “not too shabby” to “this is the worst I’ve seen a Kaizer Chiefs team play in my life”.

Amakhosi cannot make any signings this season because of their FIFA imposed transfer ban. This is the squad Gavin Hunt is going to have to encourage to play better than “not too shabby”. Let’s take a look at the Kaizer Chiefs picture—and the factors that could shape their future under their new coach:

  1. What is the Kaizer Chiefs management expecting from Gavin Hunt this season?

Gavin Hunt was a free agent after Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila F.C. (TTM) bought the PSL status of his previous team, Bidvest Wits. It took days of negotiations for Kaizer Chiefs to meet Hunt’s demands. Satisfied with what Chiefs were offering, the 56-year-old put pen to paper and signed on as their new head coach.

Having a coach like Gavin Hunt doesn’t come cheap but you’ll probably get what you pay for. Hunt’s reputation comes before him, he has won four league titles and four trophies in South African football.

What would the Chiefs top brass consider to be a good season for the team?

Amakhosi are a big team who should compete for every available trophy, every season. Ernst Middendorp got Kaizer Chiefs, with the same players, to 30 minutes away from winning the league. It would only be fair for Hunt, a far more accomplished coach, to do him one better or to at least win a cup.

But, Gavin Hunt has inherited a team low on confidence. The loss last season did have an effect on them, you can see it in their performances in the first few games. Without the ability to bring in new players to lift spirits and quality of play, it would only be fair to give Gavin Hunt a bit more time.

  1. What are the supporters expecting from Gavin Hunt this season?

Kaizer Chiefs fans celebrated (on social media anyway) as if they won the league after their new coach was announced. They put their team’s heart-breaking slip up on the last day of the season behind them, and looked toward a brighter future, filled with trophies and happy face emoji’s.

What would Chiefs fans consider to be a good season for their team?

Amakhosi supporters may have rejoiced a bit too early and also misjudged the type of season they had under Ernst Middendorp. Yes, they didn’t win anything in their last campaign but they did well considering the talent pool the German coach had at his disposal. Middendorp was working with a small ageing squad that had not been replenished with top talent in years. He worked miracles to get them playing as effectively as they did.

Mamelodi Sundowns (3-0) and Orlando Pirates (3-0 and 0-2) have already exposed Kaizer Chiefs’ lack of quality and squad depth this season. These three losses against their closest rivals hurt but I have not seen or heard a Chiefs supporter placing the blame at Gavin Hunt’s feet – yet. Kaizer Chiefs are now in their six-season without silverware. Their trophy cabinet is gathering dust, their supporters are the butt of memes and not-so-funny TikTok videos. Will the fans be okay with another cup-less campaign? How much longer will Chiefs fans take the abuse from their opposing peers before they are grumblings of discontent?

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Who Needs To Win This Game More, Mosimane or Hunt?

Tomorrow sees the return of South African football with the semi-final of the Nedbank Cup. As much as I would like to act like I care about the first semi-final between Baroka and Bloemfontein Celtic, the truth is I don’t and you probably don’t too. The game we are both interested in is Mamelodi Sundowns versus Bidvest Wits. Pitso Mosimane versus Gavin Hunt. The infamous spenders versus the now, infamous sellers. 

In the run-up to Saturday’s clash, Gavin Hunt has been saying all the cliche politically correct things a person who is about to be jobless in a month would say:

“It is important for us as professionals to finish as professionals and do a proper job,” said Hunt.

“Let us treat the game with respect. It will be difficult because we have so much to deal with. We will show professionalism until the end.

“It is not only the physical but also psychological issues we have to deal with.”


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Pitso Mosimane kept to his style of 10% complementing the opponent, and 90% playing mind games. 

“We have a big game against Wits and if you listen to their statements they’re saying that they want to go out in style,” said Mosimane.

“Wits’ players and coaches have a lot of incentives to win the cup and that’s why they’ve prioritized the Nedbank Cup.

“Over the last few days, they have only spoken about the Cup. It gives me an indication that the league is not a priority,” he added. “I am not talking on their behalf but just talking about what they have said.”

Bidvest Wits, in the public sphere, have turned into a club that everybody is feeling sorry for. Their sale came out of nowhere and no one at the club, except for the owners, knew about it or even expected it. It’s a sad way for a club that has been in the league for so long to go out.  But, and the great poet Tupa Shakur once said ‘Life Goes On’.  There is a football game that needs to be played.

Who needs to win this game more? 

Wits want to go out with a bang. The pride of the players and the coach is a stake. They are definitely going to bring the game to Sundowns. Downs have their own reasons as to why they’d like a place in the Nedbank Cup final. They are on the march for a domestic treble. They have already clinched the Telkom Knockout and they are still very much in the league race. 

With a game where both teams have about the same amount of quality, it will boil down to desire. I think Wits want this game more than Sundowns. Mosimane, like Hunt, would love to win the Nedbank Cup, but Jingles has bigger fish to fry in the Absa Premiership.

By @cheezfootball (the greatest footy journo on the internet)

Pitso Mosimane: ‘Wits priority Nedbank Cup not league’

Mamelodi Sundowns host Bidvest Wits in the semi-final of the Nedbank Cup Saturday night. I use the word host loosely because (a) the game will not taking place at Loftus and (b) there will, of course, be no supporters in the stadium. Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane spoke to TimesLIVE about the upcoming clash. Mosimane touched on the sale of the Wits franchise to Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM). He also said he feels Gavin Hunt’s team seem to be prioritizing the Nedbank Cup.  

“We have a big game against Wits of course and if you listen to their statements‚ they’re saying that they want to go out in style‚” Mosimane told TimesLIVE.

“Obviously there are a lot of incentives for the (Wits) players and the coaches (to win the cup)‚ so that’s why they’ve prioritized the Nedbank Cup. I’m saying what they’re saying in the media.

“They haven’t said anything about the league. They have only spoken about the cup‚ so that gives me an indication that the league is not the priority to them.

“I’m not talking on their behalf‚ but I’m talking about what they’ve said.”


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Football is a cruel game. Not only on the pitch but also in the boardroom. The sale of Bidvest Wits came as a shock to many and most surprisingly, it came as a shock to the players and team’s staff too.  

In the same interview, Pitso Mosimane called Bidvest Wits “a wounded lion”. I think he may be poking the wounded animal with a stick. I’m not too sure what Pitso is trying to achieve by pointing out Wits’ priorities. Mosimane says Wits “…haven’t said anything about the league,…” However, all statements made by players and Gavin Hunt about the game on Saturday, came when said players and coach were asked about said game.

Could this be his masterplan? Pitso’s Mamelodi Sundowns side found Bidvest Wits hard to beat in the league this season having played two draws. Is Mosimane throwing down the gauntlet to Bidvest Wits to show how much they really want the Nedbank Cup? Like: “You guys said you want to win this right? So come and win it.” This would put his team at an advantage because of the less emotional approach to Saturday’s game. 

Maybe Mosimane is right. Maybe Wits should and are focusing on winning the Nedbank Cup over the league. Wits are 6th, 10 points behind log leaders Kaizer Cheifs with 9 games left to play. I am not liking their chances to win the league. Injuries to key players and losses in big games has hurt them. And put them in a hole that may be too deep to climb out of.  All that being said, I still wouldn’t put it past Pitso Mosimane playing mind games on the eve of a big game. 

By @cheezfootball (the greatest footy journo on the internet)

‘I don’t know where I will end up next season…: Thabang Monare

Bidvest Wits Thabang Monare, like a few other senior players in the team, doesn’t seem keen on signing a contract with Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila F.C.

Monare is uncertain where he is going to end up next season.

At this point I am just focusing on playing for [Wits],” Monare told the Citizen.

“I don’t know where I will end up next season but I still have games to play for Wits and that is my main focus.”

For those of you who have been living under a rock or have been out of data because your R350 SASSA money has not made it to your bank account yet; Bidvest Wits is no more.

Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM)  announced the purchase of the PSL status of Bidvest Wits in mid-June.  By the end of the 2019/20 season, all of the Bidvest Wits squad members, coaching, medical, and administrative staff will be posting their CV’s on pnet.co.za. 


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Big clubs have been circling around Bidvest Wits like sharks. Their mouths salivating at the opportunity to snatch players on the cheap or for free from the sinking Titanic. Thabang Monare has been linked with a move to Kaizer Cheifs. But, Amakhosi are banned from making transfers in the next window as per sanction handed out by Fifa. 

Mamelodi Sundowns are stacked in Monare’s position. They even had to let go Oupa Manyisa to make room for George Maluleka recently. I doubt Pitso Mosimane will be looking for another central midfielder. Orlando Pirates are another team with the rich people problem of having too many talented midfielders. The likes Fortune Makaringe, Linda Mntambo, Xola Mlambo, and Ben Motshwari are all competing for a place in the first team. 

The only team I could see Thabang Monare going to is Supersport United. Dean Furman has said he is leaving for the UK to be with his wife and family. This, of course, leaves a gap in the midfield that can be filled by the talents of Monare.


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