A promise that was never delivered

. . .The sad tale of Ndiraya & Dynamos

. . . coach caught by surprise

Ishemunyoro Chingwere
“For me the only thing that was left was to agree terms of the contract with the club, only to be told that my services were no longer needed. It’s a case of a promise that was never delivered.”
TONDERAI NDIRAYA says his jettisoning from Dynamos came as a massive shock.
The 38-year-old looked set to get another shot at leading DeMbare this year with club president Keni Mubaiwa and secretary general Webster Chikengezha both telling the media that he would remain in charge.
lt is on the back of those assurances that Ndiraya, who took over from David “Yogi” Mandigora mid last season, crafted a pre-season programme.
However, that programme will now have to find its way to the bin after DeMbare made a sensational summersault and appointed Portuguese national Paulo George Silva as their coach.
Lloyd Mutasa bounced back to the club as assistant coach while Gift “Umbro” Muzadzi and Richard “Nyoka” Chihoro stayed put.
Ndiraya was left in the cold.
“It came as a surprise to me because I was actually planning for the forthcoming season having gotten the executive’s word that I would continue,” he said.
“For me the only thing that was left was to agree terms of the contract with the club, only to be told that my services were no longer needed. It’s a case of a promise that was never delivered.
“However, I respect their decision because at the end of the day, the most important thing for us all in this is Dynamos.
“My only worry though is that they could have done better by communicating their decision early to afford me a chance to look elsewhere for other opportunities.”
Dynamos lost just once under Ndiraya’s watch in 13 league outings but it seems that was not enough for him to win over the hearts of the club’s godfathers.
Despite expressing reservations with the manner in which he was fired, Ndiraya stands ready to come back “home” in any capacity if recalled.
“I don’t have any hard feelings against anybody or the club. If anything, I want to thank the executive and the board for affording me such a rare and prestigious honour to lead the club.
“We had a very great working relationship with the players and management and I felt everybody supported me during the five months I was at the helm.
“I wish the new coach and everybody at Dynamos success in the upcoming season. It’s a club that made us what we are today in football and even if they are to call me today to come and work in any capacity, I will be ready to honour that call just like any other Dynamos son will do,” he said.
As Ndiraya waits on new offers, DeMbare are looking ahead with Chikengezha insisting that the club did not have to break the bank to secure Silva’s services.
Chikengezha revealed that their salary bill has increased by just $2 000.
“Look, we were honest with the coach right from the start. We told him what we can afford and he was comfortable with it,” said Chikengezha.
“He also understands the value of the US dollar. We are paying him from the sponsorship that we get from BancABC. His arrival has not changed much on our salary bill, but what I can tell you is that from this season onwards, we will be topping $2 000 on the salary bill and it’s not beyond us,” he said.
The DeMbare secretary general said they first became aware of Silva’s interest to coach Dynamos at the end of 2014 when they were hunting for Kallisto Pasuwa’s replacement.
The adverts, according to Chikengezha, generated a lot of interest locally and internationally but the club opted to go for 1980 Soccer Star of the Year David Mandigora, who however did not last the distance.
“Remember we advertised for the post of head coach at the end of the 2014 season and there was overwhelming interest in the role. That is when we got initial contact with him (Silva) and I kept his details, together with those of a number of other foreign coaches.
“We want to win the league title and he also wants the same. Our target and his are aligned so we are good to go,” said Chikengezha.
“We obviously would want to open avenues to export players straight to Europe because you need to push two or three players per season in order to survive in the environment that we are operating in.
“Having European contacts will enable us to attract the best talent locally because local players will always identify with the club that gives them the best opportunity to make the big breakthrough into professional football,” he said.

Ooops, DeMbare did it again

Makomborero Mutimukulu
Sports Editor
UNPREDICTABILITY is one key attribute of a successful football team and Dynamos have it in abundance.
Sadly, most of it is off the park, it’s in the boardroom.
On the pitch, they have become a pale version of the team that was nicknamed Chazunguza by fans who felt DeMbare was an irresistible force capable of moving hitherto immovable objects, a club that could pull Houdini Acts consistently.
However, Dynamos are just being good old Dynamos, indicating left but turning right.
Soon after the conclusion of the 2014 season club, president Keni Mubaiwa spoke of plans to capacitate head coach Tonderai Ndiraya.
“Ndiraya will remain our coach because we feel he has tried his best,” Mubaiwa was quoted as saying early December.
“As an executive, we will sit down and plan for next season so that the coach will have a smooth execution of his duties. Of course, we expected him to help us win something but it happens in football when you do not win anything. We hope for a better future with Ndiraya and his job is safe.”
And if anyone thought that it was just a way of not spoiling the coach’s Christmas holiday, the DeMbare boss reiterated the position on several occassions this month.
“As you are aware, Ndiraya was working alone and so we are looking for an assistant. When we put him in charge it was until December 31, but we would want him to continue and we do not have plans to hire another coach.
“He should start his pre-season with the club on January 18,” Mubaiwa was quoted as saying by The Herald on January 12.
How fast things change at Dynamos!
In a flash, Ndiraya was left jobless. A Portuguese named not Jose Mourinho but Paulo George Silva was named coach and Mubaiwa, with a straight face, began singing a different tune.
The same Mubaiwa who had a few weeks ago lauded Ndiraya for “trying his best” was highlighting that trying your best just doesn’t cut it at Dynamos.
Ndiraya has every reason to feel hard done but he should draw comfort from the fact that this is Dynamos, the club he still speaks passionately of even after it gave him the boot right on the groin area.
Having grown in the system, Ndiraya ought to have known that the Glamour Boys go about business like cowboys, they live for the here and now.
Tomorrow will worry about itself.
Maybe Dynamos have not made a mistake by appointing Silva but a club that commands the biggest following in the land has to have some resemblance of order.
It must have the capacity to handle change in a much more professional way, a manner that gives confidence to sponsors who are keen on getting into long term partnerships with it.
They claim to be one of the biggest teams in Africa but DeMbare have nothing to show for it, not even a team bus.
Maybe it is such unpredictability, such unprofessionalism – that sees them saying one thing and doing the exact opposite – which makes them Glamour Boys by name only.