The Chronicle
Sikhumbuzo Moyo, Senior Sports Reporter
Suffering from delusions of grandeur can be very catastrophic for such persons especially when reality finally dawns on them.
They suddenly realise that they have been living a lie but more crucially, they begin to be embarrassed and feel helpless as they try to live within their means or a normal life. By that time it might be too late.
Delusions of grandeur, by the way, is when you believe that you have more power, wealth, smarts or other grand traits than is actually true.
That is exactly what Highlanders Football Club and its executive seem to be suffering from. Bosso believe they are the alpha and omega of football in the country in general and the southern part of the country, Bulawayo in particular.
They still think we are in yesteryear when every player dreamt of playing for the black and white movement known as Highlanders.
Amahlolanyama still think, quite dangerously, that they can grab any player they want as and when they feel like.
Bosso believes once they target a player, it’s a given that he will make way to their offices and come out carrying a contract.
It’s in their minds that even those players in their books, once contracts expire, it will only be logical for the player to extend his contract simply because it’s Highlanders, ekaMatshobana.
What a dangerous mindset!
The tag ‘Bulawayo giants’ is only as a result of the support base, indeed Highlanders is a giant in that aspect but administratively Bosso might just be a toddler compared to even Bulawayo Chiefs, not to mention Chicken Inn and Bulawayo City.
Bosso continue doing the same mistake year in and year out in player recruitment.
All this is because of their misplaced belief that they are the kings of football and every player always wants to don their kit yet over the years and indeed recently we have seen players choosing to play for otherwise structurally smaller teams.
How do you explain a ‘big’ team like Highlanders failing to convince Obrey Chirinda to play for them yet Bulawayo Chiefs have managed to do just that?
Bosso continues to target uncontracted players yet logic clearly tells us that once you see a team not eager or willing to extend a player’s contract, the fella might not be good enough. True on rare occasions some players might just want out but, as mentioned, it’s rare.
Bosso must wake up and smell the coffee, a new sheriff is in town, it’s no longer business as usual.
It’s infantile hallucination of unimaginable proportions for Johnfat Sibanda and his executive to think that simply because Bosso was formed by the Khumalos, oNdlangamandla, therefore Bosso must do things their way always, it can’t. Football is now business, it’s nothing personal.
Football must be approached from a business angle, nothing else. If proper background check was done on Silas Songani, the secretariat would have known that the player has a pre-contract with Icelandic club Vestri that he will be joining in February. It’s not the duty of the technical team to do all those checks.
It’s these little things that sometimes matter.
It’s suicidal for a club like Highlanders to have seven of its senior players out of contract all at one go. After investing so much on these boys, one club might just offer the players something difficult to refuse and they will all go for free, without a dime coming to Highlanders.
Every institution must have a policy and Bosso mustn’t be an exception. Bosso must also move with the times and stop seeing themselves as a team of choice especially if they don’t offer that climate.
Being beaten to Chirinda’s signature by Bulawayo Chiefs must send a clear signal to Highlanders that they need a serious introspection, how they conduct their business and more importantly, that they are no longer a team of choice like in years gone by.
Put simply Highlanders must wake up and smell the coffee, the sheriff badge has fallen or perhaps fell long back!
Article Source: The Chronicle