By Perkins-Tino Bare.
Harare. (News Of The South) – Apart from producing an awful 7 goals, match day 16 in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League also had 5 goalless draws which just left most wondering what had become of Zimbabwean strikers for the goals haven`t been coming of late.
Looking at the footage of the matches played this past weekend I really have to say some of the misses were rather amateurish to say the least. There was nothing professional about most of the misses that I saw and it is really sad the extent to which the standard of our league has fallen. When player is still struggling with the basics like just keeping the ball down when heading it in or not knowing what to do on a one on one situation with the goalie it is then worrying for you then wonder where exactly our football is headed.
Nothing is as frustrating to a footballing fan as a goalless draw especially just sitting in the stands and watching agonisingly chance after chance going begging. Goals are truly vital to the sustenance of the league in terms of it being exciting let alone remain competitive with the other regional leagues like the Botswana League or the Zambian, or even what has become every football haven, the ABSA Premiership.
Blame It All On ABSA
The ABSA Premiership has really taken a lot of the blame in terms of it milking the regional leagues and we have also used it as an excuse for failing to take responsibility for the development of our game. When we have a case whereby all of the talent is being ferried raw to Mzansi we then have a case of deficiency and it makes it all the more harder for players to be patient enough for their talent to mature when somewhere in their heads it’s been established that, once one has broken into the ABSA premiership then they have made it.
Looking at this ABSA argument from a global perspective we have the EPL were almost every European footballer wishes to play in and most do get the chance it’s just that they either make it or they are spew out and they are never the same.
Last year we had Charles Sibanda with the golden boot but he only had a paltry 12 goals and halfway through the league the guy who`s leading the pack has 7 goals as well from 16 games and it becomes hard to idolise such a person let alone create a hero out of that. But then where they are going it is acceptable for top goal scorers to have just 12 goals and our players are then content with failing to score regularly.
Most players in the league are coming from the developmental leagues which is the Division 1 and therefore they still have a lot to learn. But take that same player, as amateurish as they are and as raw as they are, they make the cut in the ABSA Premiership for they would have just spent a year in the premiership and it does not allow for their talent to mature and those who are back. What really hurts is that when they fail to make it despite having shown glimpses of being a star, we had Gwekwerere, Takesure Chinyama they never go back to being that same player again as they are affected psychologically and they then believe that maybe they are just not that good enough.
Junior Policy Fundamental
Another crucial factor in dealing with this problem is that of setting up viable grassroots structures which ensure the full development of our strikers within our leagues without having to blame other leagues for literally killing our teenage prodigies.
According to the PSL clubs are required to register 5 junior players who are supposed to be under the age of 20 if I`m not mistaken but then they do not get to be fully utilised and the coaches themselves do have faith in the system itself. Most coaches are overwhelmed with the pressures of delivering results and therefore do not focus on developing the raw talent under their ranks. But how will a junior policy help us in getting the goals we need from our strikers?
As I said some in fact most of the misses that I saw going through the footage were just shoddy and one truly wonders how professionals would miss such chances. The case is that in our premiership we have players who do have talent but they still have a lot to learn which is why they are still struggling with the basics.
Now this is something usually addressed at the prime stages of one`s career and it is also expected that by the time one makes it into the premiership they should have at least matured enough to master the basics. We have an issue were talent is not really being nurtured for our boys truly are good enough it`s just that they do not train hard enough and also fall short in terms of aptitude. Most of them are left as amateurs and coaches turn to the old lads who will deliver the results which is why even after such a goal-stricken match day, Joel Luphahla was still able to get a goal for ZPC, as for these kids they are not getting enough in terms of instruction and they therefor lack that sixth sense as a striker.
Credit really has to be given to Bheki Nyoni and his guys at his academy for being able to try and get something in the grassroots going. It surely takes a lot of patience to make a date every Weekend to go and see kinds playing and I really have to say hats off to Bheki, it’s just time to engage with the primary schools for they house the kids and the local councils who have the council schools and are sitting on resources.
The other thing that has also been alluded to is that the `modern day` footballers are just not good enough and they no longer have that knick for the game as the guys back then for they have their eyes on the money. In contrast to these awful performance by our strikers, guys like Alois Bunjira and Moses Chunga used to bang in regularly 20/30 odd goals per season but then we are no longer in that era anymore yes the golden generation may have been produced back then but let’s just focus on how we can make the best out of these boys we currently have.
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