Will we get a new champion?

Bothwell Mahlengwe
WE have seen the dominance of one team in the domestic football arena for the past four years and with six games into the 2015 season, questions are being asked as to who will stop all this?

It is unhealthy for a league to be dominated by one club and a lot of people are hoping a team, which is not Dynamos, will be the champions.

The job seems to have been made easier by the departure of coach Callisto Pasuwa and a number of influential players.

CAPS and Highlanders do not seem to have done enough to dislodge Dynamos from the throne.

In essence, they seem to have weakened.

CAPS have flattered to deceive, with their financial woes their biggest handicap.

The club’s financial challenges are likely to continue unless a quick solution is found to avert the problems that seem to have set permanent residence at CAPS.

The stay of Englishman Mark Harrison at the club remains in doubt and the end result is CAPS will continue to play second fiddle to Dynamos.

Highlanders haven’t been the same team since they last won the championship in 2006. The engagement of the Zambian gaffer, Kevin Kaindu, brought some hope in recent years.

But he couldn’t win the league and it cost him his job.

The appointment of Bongani Mafu on a one-year contract has done little to dispel the thoughts. Even the Bosso executives themselves don’t have faith in the lad.

Coupled with the signing and promotion of junior players, it doesn’t look like Highlanders will offer much this season.

The notable teams that seemed to have done enough to pose a meaningful challenge to Dynamos’ dominance are Harare City, FC Platinum, Chicken Inn and How Mine.

How Mine engaged the nomadic Luke Masomere midway last season and coincidentally their ship, which was sinking, steadied.

This season he went on and brought in a number of seasoned players, signalling that their intentions are to get immediate results.

Masomere’s weakness has always been his ability to do well against the traditional big teams and then losing relatively easy games.

He normally makes sure that he challenges and wins a trophy to keep his paymasters hopeful.

Unfortunately, that’s as far as he goes and that has gone on to be a pattern.

Six games into the season and How Mine haven’t done enough to look like championship material.

The best that we can expect from How Mine is for them to steal some points from Dynamos, but not getting enough to dislodge them from the crown.

Harare City has done well in terms of setting up solid professional football structures and the team looks well balanced on paper.

Unfortunately, they have taken long to find the right combinations, resulting in a slower than expected start to the season.

However, they seem to have found their feet in the last two games.

A win away at Triangle would register their intentions.

FC Platinum had a strong finish to last season when Norman Mapeza came in, finishing fourth, and winning two trophies.

They were the best team in the last half of the season.

Just the presence of Mapeza at FC Platinum had brought high hopes for an excellent season for the miners this year. He also made some good acquisitions to give good balance to his squad.

He has very good balance of youth and experience.

However, a nightmare is unfolding for Mapeza after a disastrous CAF Confederation Cup campaign and an indifferent start to the 2015 season.

If FC Platinum are to offer any meaningful challenge to Dynamos dominance, an immediate turnaround is needed.

On paper, they have everything right — the coach, the players, the sponsorship, good training facilities, their stadium and a good management team but that hasn’t translated into results on the pitch and one wonders why.

Two teams that have surprised me are Chicken Inn and Triangle.

Chicken Inn are on top of the log and have a relatively good squad and a respectable coach in Joey Antipas, someone who knows how to win the league championship.

The club is a closed community and they tend not to release much to the public.

The big question is, can they last the distance?

This weekend’s game against the champions should make a huge statement on their potential this season.

Triangle have surprised many with a fantastic start to the season.

Kaindu is someone I respect a lot both as a coach and a person. To me, he is one of the best.

However, I think their squad is too thin and inexperienced to last the distance.

I, therefore, don’t see Dynamos giving away their throne without a fight.

The coach, David Mandigora, is not new to the club and he won the championship with the club back in 2007.

I foresee a three-horse race that features Dynamos, Harare City and FC Platinum with Chicken Inn, Highlanders and Triangle in the background.

My money, though, is on Dynamos winning a fifth straight title.

It’s something that has never happened before.