KHAMA PITSO’S KARMA

By Herrold Lamola 

I know it is a bit of a cliché but Mamelodi Sundowns mentor, Pitso Mosimane, has himself to blame for the slump that his side is going through.

Mamelodi Sundowns has lost three consecutive matches for the first time since Mosimane took over from the Dutch legend- Johan Neeskens- in 2012. Mosimane has blamed either match officials or opponents when results aren’t forth coming. More often than not- Mosimane is right- always has his finger pointed at someone- but the truth is, he is the one who instigated Sundowns misfortunes. In his words “We never score when Khama Billiat is not on the pitch.”

True to Pitso’s word: Khama has featured rarely this season due to injuries and Sundowns wasn’t the same team that opponents feared the most. Pitso blamed Kaizer Chiefs winger, Joseph Molongoane, for the absence of Billiat after his side’s loss to Amazulu. ‘Jingles’ says things that he shouldn’t be saying in the media. Billiat is a good player but- saying Sundowns can’t score if Billiat forgets his scoring boots in the dressing room is an insult to his teammates. This can go as far as causing a division within the team. Mosimane has cursed his team- it is his duty to refrain from such comments in future. Manchester United manager, Jose Mourhino, has left some comments to football commentators- I dare Pitso to do the same.

Billiat is a shadow of his former self. He is not the same Khama who swept all the individual accolades the season before last. The boy no longer enjoys his stay at Chloorkop. Billiat has made it clear that he will not commit to the Patrice Motsepe owned club. The Zimbabwean international is too good to go four games without rattling a net- but he has a mere one goal this season. Billiat’s mind is somewhere else and Mosimane must just give the boy his blessings before idols turns into rivals.

Mosimane can’t afford to rely on someone who wants to be released from a club. I really don’t understand how a team of Sundownws stature can rely on the services of one player. Bafana Ba Style has quality in their depth and they can afford to play a different strong line up every second game. As they say it in football- you are as strong as your bench. How can Pitso weep over losing Billiat while he can just make a u-turn and look at his bench and call up on Leonardo Castro, Sibusiso Vilakazi, Yannick Zakri or Anthony Laffor to do the duty for the team? It remains a rhetoric question to me because Pitso can’t answer it or yourself the reader.

It was expected for Sundowns to perform below par at one stage after a successful run in the Caf Champions League. Going three seasons without a break could catch up with them at some point. My argument remains- Sundowns has adequate quality to be relying on a single player- like Mosimane does. Some of the coaches that have worked with Mosimane before- hold him highly as a psychologist- I expect him to read the situation different to how he does at the moment. He can’t expect Billiat to give his best when he is not happy. Just to tweak an old idiom: You can force a horse to the river but you can force it to drink. Billiat can be forced to stay at Chloorkop but can’t be forced to deliver.

Billiat was part of the now defunct CBD (Castro, Billiat, Keagan [Dolly]) attacking trio that tormented opponents week-in and week-out, two seasons ago. The departure of Keagan Dolly to the French side Montpellier meant Pitso needed another player to complete his attacking puzzle. Billiat has a good first touch and knows where the back of the net is but when he is not- on the right frame of mind- his instincts won’t be as lethal. The dismantled CBD played a huge role in Billiat’s drop in performance. He now has to forge attacking partners and be lethal as he used to be. Mosimane has to give the boy what he wants before Khama joins the long list of football stars that saw their dreams of becoming world beaters evaporating into the thin air at Chloorkop.

@Lamola_Herold