The SuperSport United Sentinel
Squad29 Mar 2027
Tempers go at SuperSport United
Sandile Khumalo was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad29 Mar 2027
A row about effort at SuperSport United
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Ronwen Zwane was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
When it matters, Williams Zungu plays
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Naledi Hlongwane gets it from the manager
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
Mpho Mathebula asks for a word with the manager
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
Market29 Mar 2027
The Paul Mukairu talk will not go away
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. SuperSport United know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Match29 Mar 2027
SuperSport United in the hunt for Europe
Position 6, 55 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
Squad29 Mar 2027
“I want to play”: Naledi Hlongwane speaks
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
The dugout29 Mar 2027
A door opens for Sthembiso Hlophe
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
In brief
- Squad The selectors could not leave Erick Erasmus out
- Boardroom The SuperSport United board put their names to it