adminSikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
FORMER Highlanders vice-chairman Mgcini Mpofu has blasted the Bulawayo giants’ decision to bring in foreign players at the expense of youngsters from the team’s junior structures.
Bosso’s foreign legion of Manuel Esono Obiang Buale from the Equatorial Guinea, Tambwe Kalunga and Yvves Ebabali from the Democratic Republic of Congo have failed to justify their coming to Bulawayo although Buale is yet to get his work permit, almost half way into the season with little explanation being given as to why the club is not pushing for the normalisation of the papers, especially if he was really a talented player.
Ebabali has made unimpressive cameo appearances and Mpofu believes a foreigner must have exceptional skills that will justify the signing, instead of raising the team’s salary bill.
For the first time since the Premier Soccer League introduced the junior quota of five players, Highlanders only registered two youngsters, Bukhosi Ncube and Nkosana Ndlovu from their junior ranks with Denzel Khumalo who came from Bantu Rovers also in the same bracket.
Questions have always been asked about Buale’s football history although the club claimed he is a former national team player but numerous checks have all hit a brick wall.
Mpofu took to his Facebook post to express his anger.
“According to the PSL log table, after 13 games Bosso has scored 13 goals and conceded 13 meaning it’s an average of a goal per game both scored and conceded. Even if we were to subtract the three goals given to Dynamos, this is not acceptable.
During the transfer period ,we signed four strikers including three foreigners and my question is ,why sign foreigners if you are not going to use them? I believe that every foreigner signed has to be exceptional.
There is a vacuum in our midfield and I still believe if we had given our youngsters game time we could be talking something else now. King (Nadolo), Denzel (Khumalo), Brian (Banda) and Godfrey Makaruse, these boys need game time and they can deliver the results, otherwise we are just wasting them.
Our defence is shaky and porous, guys it’s time to take stock if we are to win anything this season otherwise we will struggle and continue to blame referees even though we have our own short comings,” posted Mpofu.
@skhumoyo2000
Bongani Ndlovu