Bosso crisis deepens

04 Oct, 2015 - 08:10 0 Views
Bosso crisis deepens Amini Soma-Phiri

The Sunday News

Amini Soma-Phiri

Amini Soma-Phiri

Sports Reporter
THE crisis at crestfallen Bulawayo football giants Highlanders appears to be worsening amid reports that supporters are planning demonstrations against the executive while players are allegedly feigning injuries in order to avoid strenuous training methods introduced by the new technical bench led by Amini Soma-Phiri.

As results continue to elude the new technical team that also include technical director Cosmas Zulu with two defeats out of the three matches since the new technical committee was ushered in to rescue the sinking Bosso ship some club members have reportedly organised demonstrations at the club offices located at Number 50 Robert Mugabe Way and Fourth Avenue.

Highlanders, beaten 1-3 by Caps United at the National Sports Stadium in Harare on Sunday remained rooted to 10th position, the same as they were when coach Bongani Mafu was shown the exit with his assistants Mandla Mpofu and Peter Nkomo.

Envisaged protests by Highlanders supporters at the club offices last Monday and Thursday did not take place amid revelations that the executive got wind of the planned demonstration and shifted their weekly meeting to lunchtime instead of later in the day as is the norm.

On Thursday, police in anti-riot gear stormed the club offices after it was reported that the supporters had arranged to protest against the club executive during the weekly Press conference.

The club is understood to have accused the Greater Bulawayo supporters’ chapter for the planned demonstrations, something the group has denied. Loveness Ncube, the chairperson of the Greater Bulawayo Chapter strongly refuted suggestions that they were behind the protests adding that she was pained by the heat coming from the Peter Dube led executive and the organisers of the march.

“I am not part of that and the painful thing is the fans are blaming me saying I tipped the executive while on the other hand the executive is blaming me,’’ Ncube said.

Harare supporters chapter chairman Modern Ngwenya accused the Highlanders executive of taking the club backwards, stopping short of calling on the executive to relinquish power.

“We have told the executive what to do right now but they are a stubborn lot. They have reduced Bosso to a private limited; they have taken the club back to the Stone Age era. Tsano (Cosmas Zulu) is teaching old techniques, we want the executive to resign,’’ said Ngwenya.

Our sources have revealed that all was not well in the team itself with Zulu and Soma-Phiri at odds with the players over the two’s training sessions per day. Highlanders players are now training twice as the interim technical department was convinced that the players had to be made to work hard. The two double sessions have since been dumped as players told Zulu and Soma-Phiri that they could not keep up with such rigorous work in this heat and looking at the number of remaining matches with the two coaches seeing sense.

Some players are even said to have faked injuries and illness to escape training.

The players who did not train last week are Knox Mutizwa, Nqobizitha Masuku, Teenage Hadebe and Mthulisi Maphosa, all said to be injured. Maphosa was injured in the match against Caps United and had to pulled out.

Highlanders are pinning their hopes of climbing up the ladder in the remaining six matches of which four are at home.

Highlanders will in the next few weeks welcome to Barbourfields Stadium, Dongo Sawmill, Buffaloes, Tsholotsho as well as ZPC Kariba where they are hoping to collect maximum points. The two away fixtures are against Chapungu and Hwange.

Ironically, Highlanders’ seven wins this season have been recorded mostly against newly promoted sides save for Hwange and How Mine. Chief executive officer Ndumiso Gumede did not respond to questions sent to him to shed more light on the events at Highlanders.

However, there are reports that plans are underway to lure Scottish coach Desmond Donaldson Bulpin, who is based in England to the club. Bulpin was tipped to join the club at the beginning of the year but lost out after the board reportedly insisted on a local coach, Bongani Mafu, who was to come cheaper than the expatriate. Mafu was recently replaced by Soma-Phiri.

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