I couldn’t help but think there was more to Orlando Pirates’ second-half capitulation in their 6-1 thumping by SuperSport United than a team that were simply outclassed. I know I am too cynical for my own good.
That performance had all the hallmarks of a protest. The players looked to be merely going through their paces while Matsatsantsa a Pitori demolished them. It was a different team to the one that looked promising in the first half, taking a 1-0 lead going into the break.
I suspect coach Muhsin Ertugral had some harsh words for the players at half-time. They most likely didn’t take it well and decided to use player power to get rid of the coach.
Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza, however, denied players had used their power to get rid of a coach at the Buccaneers. But Ertugral’s tenure at Pirates should be a lesson for coaches.
The fiery Turk arrived at Pirates and threatened to make wholesale changes before even working with the people in the know at the club. He alienated himself from a number of senior players and his side-line antics made it worse.
His style of management works well with young players and those still trying to make a name for themselves. They see his sharp tongue and antics as a way to push them to excel. But older players and those who have already made a name for themselves see it as an insult.
South Africa is a diverse country with different cultural and social backgrounds. You need to understand that certain nuances mean different things in different cultures.
Stuart Baxter admitted that not understanding this was his downfall in his first tenure as Bafana Bafana coach.
He learned from that and improved, winning the league with Kaizer Chiefs in his first season. No foreign coach had won the league in his first season before Baxter did it.
Despite a number of stints and bust-ups, Ertugral doesn’t seem to have learned that his type of management skills doesn’t work for everyone. That was his downfall. This period isn’t a reflection on him as a coach; after all, he is a good tactician. Instead it’s a reflection of him being a bad manager who needs to improve aspects of managing players.
He shouldn’t come with a “one size fits all” approach. Certain players need to be treated differently not because they might be stars or big names but because they need to be pushed differently.
It will be interesting to see how Pirates players react under Augusto Palacios, who has an easy-going vibe about him. The Peruvian coach spoke about not taking nonsense from any player. He spoke at length about instilling discipline at Pirates in his first media address on Thursday, which hinted there might be an issue of ill-discipline at the club. Disciplinarians haven’t lasted long at Pirates.
Ertugral and Vladimir Vermezovic resigned after short stays. If it’s indeed a problem, then it must be addressed immediately if Pirates are to move away from this episode and celebrate their 80th anniversary in style.
Khoza admitted that one of the things he didn’t like about Ertugral’s abrupt resignation is that he didn’t allow the club to get to the bottom of his bust-up with Edwin Gyimah at the Cape Town International airport. It was an incident that didn’t come as a surprise because both are emotionally-charged individuals.
But what is unfortunate for the club is that it happened in full view of a lot of people in a public space such as the airport. These men were together in the changeroom after their match against Ajax Cape Town, went to the same hotel and drove to the airport in the same bus. There were plenty of places where they could have spoken in private to iron out their differences.
Ertugral’s passion, which fuels his temper, is like petrol. It drives him, but when not handled well, it’s flammable.
Pirates should use this episode to do some soul-searching to get to the bottom as to why three of their last four coaches have resigned. Khoza argues it’s because the pressure of managing a team like Pirates is high.
But it should be a point of concern that coaches jump ship at the Sea Robbers when it hits troubled waters.
Saturday Star