The Sunday Mail
Makomborero Mutimukulu – Sports Editor
WALKING on water may not even be enough for David “Yogi” Mandigora to convince a section of the Dynamos fans that he is the right man to sit on the champions’ bench.
They just don’t believe in him.
DeMbare coaches are always asked to work twice as much for half as much, but for Mandigora the demand is much more than that.
The veteran coach is being asked to make sure that Dynamos, with its average players, go about business like a team with a PSL diplomatic passport.
Some DeMbare fans expect their team to be Zimbabwean football’s irresistible force, an outfit that crushes everyone, and everything, that stands in their way.
Anything less is inexcusable.
Their reaction to last Sunday’s goalless draw with Tsholotsho FC was shocking.
The draw, against a team that was good enough to beat Harare City, left the champions just two points behind log leaders Chicken Inn after Match Day 11.
However, that fact seemed lost to the livid fans as they lay in ambush waiting for the first sight of Mandigora’s bald head.
Interestingly, the misfiring lot that masquerades as Dynamos players was allowed to make its way out without drama.
Some fans even took the opportunity to take “selfies” with their favourite players.
Amid their derogatory songs, one accusation that kept being churned out was that Mandigora’s football is boring.
There was also the one about the veteran coach being “too sick” to take charge of Dynamos.
The idea of Dynamos fans asking for entertaining football from their team is laughable.
For four years, Kallisto Pasuwa won the league with a brand of football that was nowhere near exciting.
One of the reasons why Aces Youth Academy regretted their decision to loan George Chigova to DeMbare was the champions’ love for route one football.
While at AYSA, Marc Duvillard taught Chigova to start play by playing the ball wide, at DeMbare the goalkeeper, who is now based in South Africa, was asked to hoof it forward all in the hope that something would happen up there.
There was no approach play, just hope.
With Pasuwa leaving after winning four titles on the bounce, Mandigora came along to take over a team that had new signings he did not recommend.
He has to deal with the pair of Kelvin Bulaji and Dominic Chungwa, lads who never set the stage alight at Caps United, but were greeted as marquee signings at the champions.
While Dynamos roped in Chungwa and Bulaji, Chicken Inn were swooping on Edmore Chirambadare, a striker who tore nets apart in Division One and is bossing defenders in the PSL without showing signs of being out of place.
Goal scoring is an art that cannot be taught; it’s instinctive and has an element of luck to it, experts argue.
It’s an art that Dynamos have struggled with so far this season.
The champions have only scored more than once on one occasion.
That came in the opening day’s 3-0 defeat of Buffaloes at the National Sports Stadium on March 22.
Their other five victories came courtesy of one nil scorelines, two games have ended in goalless draws, one in a 1-1 stalemate, while the two defeats to Chicken Inn (0-3) and Hwahwa (0-1) saw the champions failing to score.
It is against such a background that the call to sack Mandigora because he has “failed” smacks of unfairness.
The under-pressure Dynamos coach last week toyed with the idea of playing Oscar Machapa upfront.
One can see where he is coming from.
Machapa is big and runs roughshod opponents.
It smacks of desperation, but it makes sense given the impotence of the Dynamos strikers.
“It’s a trial and error thing. I just want to see how it works out,” said Mandigora at DeMbare’s Thursday afternoon workout game against lower division side Mushowani Stars.
Dynamos tale so far:
March 22: beat Buffaloes 3-0 at NSS
March 28: beat Chapungu 1-0 at Ascot
April 3: beat Dongo 1-0 at Rufaro
April 6: drew 1-1 with Caps United at NSS
April 12: beat Flame Lily 1-0 at Gwanzura
April 25: drew 0-0 against Harare City at Rufaro
May 3: lost 0-3 against Chicken Inn at Rufaro
May 7: lost 0-1 against Whawha at Ascot
May 10: beat FC Platinum 1-0 at Rufaro
May 17: beat How Mine 1-0 at BF
May 25: drew 0-0 against Tsholotsho at Rufaro.
