25 January 2019, by: Thabang Kgeledi

ARE CHIPPA UNITED AS BAD AS WE THINK THEY ARE? 

Chippa United host Mamelodi Sundowns in the last-32 of the Nedbank Cup on Saturday afternoon at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Should we place the Brazilians in the draw for the next round already? Or do the Chilli Boys have enough talent to cause an upset?

Chippa United are one of the worst managed sides in the league. They’ve lost seven, drawn four, and won only one of their last twelve games. Their chairman, Chippa Mpengesi, is a trigger happy leader who will fire you for sneezing the wrong way. Yes, it is safe to call them a bad team.

But… Are they really as bad as we think they are?

Chippa Mpengesi hired Clinton Larson earlier this month after he fired Joel Masutha (who was then the 3rd Chippa United coach of the season) after five games because he didn’t like the way Joel smiled at him.

If Chippa United have any chance of surviving the drop this season, it will have to be at the hands of Clinton Larson. He is a good coach who prepares his teams well. He was let go by Golden Arrows late last year because… uhm… I don’t know why they fired him.

In his first game in charge of the Chilli Boys, they won comfortably against Maritzburg United. For the first time this season, Chippa United looked like a team that had a better strategy than the formerly used ‘Player A passes the ball to Player B then Play B shoots = goal‘. They had a gameplan. Each Chippa United player knew what they were meant to be doing on the field of play. They were still a few mistakes made at the back but, that was due to lack of concentration than it was tactics.

Chippa United have a fairly talented squad. The issue is, they have young players (between 20-23) and old players (between 28-33) they aren’t any players bridging the gap. But on paper, their team looks good. Here are a few of them:

Tebogo Tlolane – An exciting young player with a sweet left foot, e.g.:

Kurt Lentjies – An experienced attacking midfielder who is neat and tidy on the ball, sees passes, and always makes the right decisions.

Rhulani Manzini – a bustling striker whose physique looks like he drinks 14 protein shakes a day. He a menace to defenders because of his strength and quickness.

Mark Mayambela – Youtube Mark Mayambela, please.

Daine Klate – The most decorated player in Premier Soccer League history. He still has a left foot that is deadly on set pieces.

Those are five players that could at least be squad players for any team in the top 8.

Common sense would tell you Mamelodi Sundowns are overwhelming favourites. They are unbeaten in 28 games in the league, they are scoring freely, and they are a way better team than Chippa United. However, the PSL champions have a few chinks in their armour (defensive lapses, ageing midfield, and Jeremy Brockie) United could exploit. Placing a bet on Chipped United would be risky (i.e would be the dumbest thing you could ever do with your hard earned money) but, the reward could be huge especially for a game that is closer than many think it is.

BET: Nedbank Cup