admin
Eddie Chikamhi Harare Bureau
FOOTBALL critic and coach Phillip Zulu says it will be a tall order for newly-appointed Caps United coach Mark Harrison to make an immediate impact at the Green Machine as the former Southampton and Stoke City goalkeeper is leading a technical side that is heavily unbalanced.
Englishman Harrison was recently appointed head coach at the Harare giants and will be assisted by Brenna Msiska and Fungai “Tostao” Kwashi.
But Zulu, a former Makepekepe player, said the Green Machine’s decision to have two former goalkeepers and one “rookie” coach sitting on their technical bench might not have been the best idea.
“The idea of hiring a foreign coach is a noble thing to do,” said Zulu.
“I give Harrison the benefit of the doubt because football in Europe is better than local football. He can handle most of the issues involving the technical aspect of the game but I still feel that he needed somebody who had a high degree of technical knowledge as an outfield player to try and assist in the set-up.
“If you look at Tostao, he is just a rookie, somebody who has just started coaching now. And again the second assistant coach Brenna Msiska is a goalkeeper and that really starves the technical department of the broader coaching aspect of the game.
“Looking at the wider aspect of football whether in Europe, South America or in Africa, ex-goalkeepers struggle to come out to the top as head coaches. Only a few have managed that.”
Zulu, who has invested most of his time grooming juniors in England, said the only way for Caps United is to start all over again by reviving their junior structures.
He said Makepekepe were successful in the past because they had strong grassroots programmes.
“Caps United’s biggest problem is that they are trying to build their football programmes on gate takings as well as on, maybe, the very far-fetched idea of having a vibrant first team.
“This is a club that has been associated with producing their own high quality players, very technical players but that seems not the mission statement of what is happening at the moment.
“They are obsessed with trying to beat Dynamos, trying to outdo Highlanders as well as trying hard to win the league.
“But winning the league at this point in time is not very lucrative, financially, and cannot secure their future. Even if they win it they will not be able to go and participate in the Caf Champions League.
“Instead, their obsession at this stage should be at trying to bring up a lot of junior programmes and to develop talent to the highest level that can be exported, which gives them the stability in terms of building financial reserves and also building their reputation as a top club.
“As it stands, I don’t foresee Caps bringing something that’s going to change from their last three years in terms of winning the league title. I don’t foresee them coming to that stage.
“I don’t foresee them building a team overnight that will challenge for the league because this should have been a consistent programme for the last five years. Unfortunately, the executive had other ideas.
“It’s sad, really sad if you look at Caps United at this stage,” said Zulu.
Online Reporter