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A SPLIT boardroom, the sale of key players without adequate replacements as well as the suspension of general manager Senzo Mazingisa over what appears to be bogus allegations are at the heart of what has turned out to be a disastrous campaign for Platinum Stars.
Mazingisa, who was reinstated three weeks ago, said he still did not know why he was suspended and believed the changes Dikwena went through at the beginning of the season didn’t quite unfold the way the club and its hierarchy had intended.
The Phokeng-based club, which won last season’s MTN8 and Telkom Knockout titles, is staring relegation in the face, having only managed 18 points from 19 matches. Platinum Stars are second from bottom of the table. I cannot really point fingers and say now that I am back things will be better,” said Mazingisa. But [before suspension] we had a way of doing things. And we had something good going, so maybe that momentum was broken somehow.
If one of your leaders is not there it affects you because sometimes change is good and other times it is not.”
Mazingisa was not the only one who s had to take a break from the club. Cliff Ramoroa, the chairman of Dikwena, is believed to have also resigned from his position shortly after Mazingisa was suspended.
He, too, has been reinstated, but would not say more than maybe I can talk publicly next week” when asked for his thoughts of the club’s poor run. He then referred further questions back to the general manager.
Ramoroa took over from Advocate Ratang Nke. Following a recordbreaking season in which Dikwena were crowned double knockout champions under the guidance of coach Allan Freese, the wheels came off spectacularly.
The coach, who took responsibility for things going pearshaped but slammed his players when the horrendous display continued, was not made the scapegoat. Instead the boardroom was divided, especially after an exodus of players.
Benson Mhlongo, Issa Sarr, Lindokuhle Mbatha, Henrico Botes and Siphelele Mthembu, key players who were the core of the successful squad during the 2013-14 season, were all let go.
It depends on how you look at those departures,” Mazingisa explained. Some of their contracts were coming to an end. It made sense to sell Issa Sarr to Pirates for instance because in six months we would have lost him for nothing. It was really good business. We made every effort to try and replace the players we lost, but of course they will not always be pound-forpound replacements.”
Mazingisa was at pains to discuss seeing Dikwena let go of goalkeeper Siyabonga Mpontshane and centreback Tshepo Gumede to Pirates as well as Luvolwethu Mpeta, who joined SuperSport United. The trio left in January.
What I can say honestly is that when you lose your best three players who play at the back, then you are bound to have some issues going forward.”