Cape Town - There was a time when Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates supporters used to do the dirty work for these clubs when they felt the need to fire their coaches because of poor results.
The supporters would kick up such a hullabaloo that the club chairman would inevitably issue a statement which usually read: 'We can no longer guarantee your safety.'
In this way, the under-siege coach would walk away from his post, and the club didn't need to sack him or terminate the contract. When the coach walked the club saved the expense of compensation.
After Chiefs' 4-0 humiliation at the hands of AmaZulu on Friday, AmaKhosi fans vented their anger on social media and one headline read: ‘Zwane must leave immediately’.
Some of the comments went: 'We don't have a coach, we don't have a coach, this f***n Arthur Zwane is not a coach, we don't have a coach.'
'This Zwane guy must just leave our team with immediate effect.'
'Chiefs is now Apology FC. Chiefs are falling apart, every week there is an apology. I don't know who is going to apologise now. Will it be Itumeleng Khune or Zitha Kwinika?'
'We are almost used to that (humiliation) now. It does not pain anymore.'
'Chiefs' problems are not on the field of play, or in the dressing room, but in the boardroom.'
There was a similar outcry earlier this season when Mamelodi Sundowns handed Chiefs a 4-0 hiding at Loftus Versfeld. It was the heaviest defeat Chiefs suffered in the PSL era.
Chiefs were reduced to a laughingstock on social media, and many mocked the once mighty AmaKhosi. One sarcastic Chiefs fan posted a tweet: 'It wouldn't surprise me if #KaizerChiefs was a social experiment from World Health Organization to see how long a person can support a football team without killing themselves.'
Some fans also took exception to Zwane's remarkable show of complacency at the post-match interviews after the team was humiliated. Some found one Zwane comment particularly infuriating: “Unfortunately, today we lost but I think if we look at the performance of the boys it wasn't bad."
Will this social media storm be the cue for Chiefs to relieve Zwane of the head coach's position now that the supporters have made a statement?
It is unlikely because it might not reflect too well and the hierarchy that was responsible for his appointment. Perhaps the supporter who remarked about the boardroom may have hit the nail on the head.
In an ideal world, those responsible for Zwane's appointment should be held accountable but that is unlikely to happen at Chiefs. The team lost its 2023 matches and the team has yet to score a goal but conceded five. They opened their 2023 account with a 1-0 defeat against lowly Sekhukhune United who hovered above the relegation zone.
The time has come to show Zwane the exit door and save the once-mighty club from further embarrassment. Kaizer Motuang, Chiefs' supremo, should step in and relieve all, including family members, who decide on the position of head coach. This will help arrest the club's spectacular fall from grace.
There is also the matter of buying and selling of players. It appears the 'selling' side of things came back to haunt Chiefs on Friday when three former players broke AmaKhosi's hearts. The trio of ex-players were Dumisani Zuma (76 Chiefs caps), George Maluleka (135) and Ramahlwe Mphahlele (106) and all contributed handsomely as AmaZulu ended their 24-year-long winless run against Chiefs.
@Herman_Gibbs