The Sunday Mail
HE’S not the most likeable of lads, he’s not the most talented either; and neither is he the cutest guy in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League.
However, there is something about Rodrick Mutuma. And no amount of hating and name-calling can take that away from him.
That tall boy has a presence, the attitude of a winner and the character needed to be the main man at Dynamos — or any other club he chooses to play for.
Last Sunday Mutuma made a sensational return to the DeMbare ranks and was by far the best player in blue as the champions failed to break down a well-set up Hwange outfit.
The boy was pushed out of DeMbare and had the bolts to choose Caps United (the noisy neighbours of all teams!) as his next destination.
But back in the blue of Dynamos last week, he got the loudest cheers as he worked his socks off.
Mutuma could have capped it with a first half goal, but misdirected his header when the Chipangano goalie Takabva Mawaya was nowhere in sight.
For a lad as tall as he is, Mutuma should be burying those chances with his eyes closed.
Last season he missed a good one in the Harare Derby and Ronald Pfumbidzai took him to hell and back for that horror miss.
While he’s not the complete striker, Mutuma remains a big game player; a boy who can be trusted with stepping up to the plate and win matches.
He misses more than he scores, but it can be argued that DeMbare would be in a far much better position had David Mandigora not made the poor decision of letting him go before the start of the season in the first place.
How do you let such a player go while keeping the likes of Patrick Khumbula and Farai Mupasiri?
Maybe that is what you get when the club president takes charge of transfer market business and brings in Dominic Chungwa and Kelvin Bulaji to play for a club that once had strikers such as Gift “Ghetho” Mpariwa, Makwinji Soma Phiri, Claudius Zviripayi, Edward Sadomba and lately Cuthbert Malajila.
Clearly, Mutuma’s return is an admission by Dynamos that they erred in letting him go in the first place.
And the former FC Manhenga man must be feeling like a million dollar man after making a return to DeMbare just a few months after being sent packing.
Now here is where Mandigora and his team will have to show their firm hand because the self-proclaimed Prince can have a destabilising effect the moment he feels indispensable.
Mutuma has to cut out the prima donna antics and play ball, score goals and help win games.
Do we still have a PSL executive?
How long will it take the Premier Soccer League to decide on the abandoned match between Chicken Inn and Dongo Sawmill?
Eternity?
We hope not.
This is one issue the league bosses ought to have decided on a few days after a game that was abandoned amid claims Dongo medic Wurayayi Chiparange was assaulted by the Gamecocks’ goalkeepers’ coach Julius Ndlovu.
Match commissioner Mike Phiri submitted his report inside 48-hours and there is no reason for Kenny Ndebele and his team to take ages to settle that matter.
Kelvin Kaindu must be bitter
The guy says he has no hard feelings about his jettisoning from Highlanders, but Kelvin Kaindu sounds like a very bitter man.
His comments after the goalless draw between his Triangle and his former team made my Monday morning.
“This is football and teams have different objectives, but it’s quite surprising that they are celebrating a draw against us,” KK was quoted as saying after the match.
Now, this is not the “everything is in the hands of God” Kaindu we were used to during his days at Bosso.
Meanwhile, Bongani Mafu couldn’t let Kaindu get away with it and the Highlanders gaffer hit back in classic fashion.
“I think it gives him mileage to talk about other teams, especially Highlanders,” he charged. “When they drew with us at BF (Barbourfields) they jumped up and down and no one talked about their celebrations. Surely I would take such comments as of an attention seeker.”
Va Shagare exits the scene.
VaShagare is the founder of DeMbare DotComs and can be contacted on that Facebook page as well as email address [email protected]
