Former Mamelodi Sundowns goalkeeper John Tlale feels Kaizer Chiefs made a mistake by not extending Itumelng Khune’s contract before finding his true replacement.
Khune came to the end of his deal in June and the club opted against extending his stay, having seen him become a bit-part player in the latter years of his career at the club, and made him an ambassador while also handing him a role in the marketing department.
Chiefs signed Fiacre Ntwari in the off-season, with Brandon Petersen and Bruce Bvuma the other options at the disposal of coach Nasreddine Nabi, although the Rwandan has played all games since his arrival from TS Galaxy.
Tlale feels Ntwari is cracking under weight of expectations
However, there have been some shaky moments for Ntwari, who has conceded 11 goals in all competitions, the latest being against Mamelodi Sundowns as Chiefs lost 4-0 in the Carling Knockout.
“Kaizer Chiefs is a big team with too much pressure and as the last line of defence, once you start conceding too many goals, you lose confidence and start making a lot of mistakes,” Tlale told KickOff, regarding Ntwari’s recent displays.
“You will then end up [not] being competitive and good enough to play for Kaizer Chiefs you know. That is what puts a goalkeeper under pressure. Ntwari’s confidence on Saturday was very, very low. He constantly made mistakes and gave the ball to the opponent easily, you know.”
Tlale believes Chiefs should have allowed Khune to mentor the other goalkeepers before releasing him since he had some skill sets that would benefit the current shot stoppers.
Should Chiefs have extended Itumeleng Khune’s contract?
“Well, Ntwari is a good goalkeeper but Chiefs is a big brand, they need someone like Itumeleng Khune,” he added.
“Also, Khune made counterattacks easily. I believe Chiefs should have allowed these other goalkeepers to learn from Khune things like how to command the 18-yard area for at least one more season.
“They should have allowed them to be his understudy and that could have brought them more confidence.”
Khune spent 25 years at Chiefs, winning 12 trophies, including three league titles, in 347 appearances in all competitions.
