Kaizer Chiefs latest | Three reasons Gavin Hunt was sacked

Kaizer Chiefs announced the sacking of Gavin Hunt with immediate effect on Friday 28 May 2021.

Chiefs lie in 11th place in the current DStv Premiership standings, a simply unacceptable status quo to the Amakhosi faithful. Their misery was compounded when Chiefs lost to 2-1 to basement club Black Leopards in midweek.

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This was the cherry on top of a series of mishaps that led to the sacking of Hunt.

THREE REASONS HUNT WAS SACKED

1) HUNT PUBLICALLY CRITICIZED CHIEFS MANAGEMENT

In January, Hunt publically criticized the Chiefs management for selecting Anthony Akumu as a midfielder.

“He’s not a midfield player‚ no chance. I don’t know what he was signed as but he’s definitely not a midfield player and he’s played the last three‚ four games at centre-back‚ because obviously, we’ve got problems but he looks a lot more comfortable” stated Hunt.

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The former coach of Chiefs went public with his criticism. Directly critiquing the signing and use of Akumu as a midfielder.

Publicly critiquing management never bodes well with coaches, especially not with clubs as big as Chiefs.

2) PLAYING PLAYERS OUT OF POSITION

Ironic, you might say. Given Hunt’s public critique of Akumu. Hunt frustrated AmaKhosi supporters with his tendency to pay players out of their natural positions.

Hunt would often play Siyabonga Ngezana as a make-shift right-back even though he had the likes of Ramahlwe Mphahlele and Reeve Frosler available. Ernst Middendorp finished second with the same squad last season.

Hunt should have stuck to the tried and tested tactics that worked last season. Instead, he played players out of position which caused disruptions to Chiefs.

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3) LACK OF CONSISTENCY

Chiefs have only managed six wins in 28 league games this season. In the Nedbank Cup, they were humiliated after being knocked out by GladAfrica Championship side Richards Bay.

They also lost both legs of the Soweto derby against Orlando Pirates, facing a shocking 50- loss on aggregate.

Chiefs faced a two-window transfer ban which significantly decreased their chances at silverware this season but were expected to be far more competitive than what we have seen this season. The recent loss against Black Leopards was the final nail in the coffin of Hunt’s stint as Chiefs manager.

There is some light at the end of the tunnel as Chiefs have qualified for their first-ever CAF Champions League semi-finals but will need to find a new coach for this historic tie against Wydad Casablanca.

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