You created a monster and now it’s biting back.
Seeing Cape Town City catching heat on and off the field is hard to take, but I’m also not surprised people are taking every opportunity to take a dig at them.
When times were good, the Citizens were loud and at times downright lekker stout on social media.
It was nice when they were getting all the praises for everything they did, it seemed like they could do no wrong.
They kept ticking all the right boxes, they were actually a real cup contender which was something the Mother City was not used to.
They won two trophies in their short three years of existence and in charge during that period of two former Bafana Bafana stalwarts in Eric Tinkler and Benni McCarthy.
SUPERB START: Eric Tinkler. Picture: SAMUEL SHIVAMBU/BACKPAGEPIX,
They were coaching a bunch of “outcasts” who all proved not only to be a winning combination together, but also looked like a family united through football.
They proved they had what it takes to match the best in the country and managed to stake their claim as the best in the city with a 4-0 record against archenemies Ajax Cape Town in the first iKapa Derby.
It was a beautiful story. Week in week out, we were fed clips of their traditional pre-game chanting and there is club mascot Matteo, to whom the public took to for his ability to sing with the players.
It was great to have a team based here that truly could and wanted to win silverware. But then things turned sour and it reflected on the pitch.
Coach Benni and the club ownership, specifically the chairman John Comitis have been at it since day one, especially when it came to the club’s transfers.
They were the main headliners in the media the whole of last week passing jabs at each other.
I’m not quite sure what Comitis was thinking of going to the public about Benni like that and not expecting Benni to respond?
Comitis basically said he didn’t believe Benni would’ve got them out of the trouble they were in, because he was “inexperienced”.
Benni came out firing in an interview with Robert Marawa on his Metro FM sports show.
FIRING LINE: Benni McCarthy. Picture: RYAN WILKISKY/BACKPAGEPIX
The legendary Bafana Bafana striker broke down how he wanted certain players for certain positions, but the club got him someone else.
What had frustrated him the most was that he was asked for his opinion after those players had been signed already.
For example, he wanted Robin Johannes to come back as he was available, but the club got him a Greek defender Giannis Potouridis instead.
He recommended former Ajax, Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Moeneeb Josephs as his ideal candidate for goalkeeper coach, they got him a Dutch goalkeeper coach instead.
And that he said wasn’t fair to other goalkeepers, because in some instances the coach and goalkeeper Peter Leeuwenburgh would even speak Dutch to each other during training.
An all-Cape technical team and a captain vannie Kaap – just imagine what a special story that would have developed to be.
But Benni is no longer there, yet the results are still a concern and they are slowly running out of games and relegation is a real threat.
It would be a sad day if a team with enough talent experience to at the very least finish mid-table would be involved in a relegation battle.
Hay’ ngeke sbari, that can’t happen!