Marked for Dean Mkhize
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Successful dribbles: 24. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Squad29 Nov 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mothiba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Match27 Nov 2027
A 1‑0 win over Bloemfontein Celtic, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.75 on the card, and the Platinum Stars support went home talking about one name.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Thamsanqa Furman, on a 1‑0 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Player ratings29 Nov 2027
Defensive actions: 14. He was first to everything and second to nothing, and the goalkeeper had an easy day because of it.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Something was said to Shadrack Kobedi and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
The dugout29 Nov 2027
Gift Grobler 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.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Platinum Stars may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match16 Oct 2027
No end in sight to Platinum Stars's wait for a win
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Platinum Stars has to find a result from somewhere.
Match16 Oct 2027
4 games without scoring. Strikers stop looking up, midfielders take the extra touch, and every shot that clears the bar is followed by a groan that has been building since the last goal.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Bradley Mkhize 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.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mothiba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
The manager makes an example of Grendo
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Player ratings18 Oct 2027
Marked 7.47 on an afternoon he ran from the first whistle to the last. Whatever else went wrong, Platinum Stars had the best player on the pitch.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Thamsanqa Furman after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
The dugout18 Oct 2027
Andile Dala 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.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market5 Jul 2027
The bid was some way short and Platinum Stars did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
The dugout5 Jul 2027
This is not rotation. Thabo Mile has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
The offer went to Ghazl El Mahalla this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.
Squad5 Jul 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Dean Mkhize and Platinum Stars agree another 3 years.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Mothiba was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Transfer targets5 Jul 2027
Platinum Stars asked and Mamelodi Sundowns said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
The board have answered with money instead of encouragement, which is the only answer a manager ever wants. Spending it well is now entirely his problem.
Boardroom5 Jul 2027
Platinum Stars sign 6 boys into the academy
None of them will be seen by anybody outside the training ground for three years, most of them will never play a senior match, and one of them might change the club. That is the whole proposition, and it is why academies exist.
Market5 Jul 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Bradley Mkhize’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
2 goals, and the second was the one that settled it. Marked 8.85, and he could have had a third with better luck at the near post.
Player ratings8 Mar 2027
Age has not caught Thabo Mile yet — 8.18
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 8.18 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
Squad8 Mar 2027
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bradley Mkhize and Platinum Stars agree another 2 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Squad8 Mar 2027
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Morgan Mothiba 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.
The terraces8 Mar 2027
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Squad8 Mar 2027
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Zungu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market15 Feb 2027
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Bongani Kekana reports back to Platinum Stars with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Age has not caught Thabo Mile yet — 7.88
At 33 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.88 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
This is not rotation. Thabo Mile has not been in the manager's plans for some time, and nobody at Platinum Stars is pretending otherwise.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Bradley Mkhize 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.
The terraces15 Feb 2027
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Bongani Kekana has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Match13 Feb 2027
A 2‑0 win over Polokwane City, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Squad15 Feb 2027
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Erick Zungu is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
A performance of 8.11 does not come along often, and when it does the rest of the team becomes scenery. He was magnificent.
The dugout15 Feb 2027
The manager makes an example of Erick Zungu
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Boardroom1 Feb 2027
Deadline passes with 0 signed and 0 gone
That is the business done at Platinum Stars until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Mothobi Mvala and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Transfer targets1 Feb 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Internacional have kept their man, and Platinum Stars go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
Loan watch1 Feb 2027
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Platinum Stars, and 4 appearances in 22 say he has earned the hearing.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Erick Zungu falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Squad1 Feb 2027
“I never wanted to be anywhere else. There is unfinished business here.” Shadrack Kobedi commits to Platinum Stars for another 1 years.
Market1 Feb 2027
Thabo Mile told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Thabo Mile has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Platinum Stars.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Marked 7.17. Ask anyone leaving the ground what settled it and you will get one name, which is the only award that has ever really counted.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Match2 Jan 2027
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Itumeleng Zungu is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Match2 Jan 2027
4 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Platinum Stars can tell you which week it ends in.
Transfer targets4 Jan 2027
Platinum Stars asked and Sparta Prague said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Bradley Mkhize and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad4 Jan 2027
Erick Zungu falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout4 Jan 2027
“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.
Squad4 Jan 2027
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Philani Sithebe and Platinum Stars agree another 3 years.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad21 Dec 2026
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Erick Zungu and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Match19 Dec 2026
0‑1 to Kaizer Chiefs, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The manager makes an example of Morgan Mothiba
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 0‑1, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Squad21 Dec 2026
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Nkanyiso Madonsela and Platinum Stars agree another 1 years.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Khama Ngcobo falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
Teboho Mothiba knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Teboho Mothiba trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Market21 Dec 2026
At 35, he has seen every situation this season can produce, twice. The legs will be managed; the head is the purchase.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad5 Oct 2026
Itumeleng Mphela is a better footballer than he was
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 19 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Loan watch5 Oct 2026
“I am grateful for the games, but I did not become a footballer to be somebody else's spare part.” He wants to be at Platinum Stars, and 1 appearances in 5 say he has earned the hearing.
The terraces5 Oct 2026
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erick Zungu was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Khama Grobler, and the manager let it.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Some games turn on a moment; this one turned on a man. 7.84 on the card, and the Platinum Stars support went home talking about one name.
Squad5 Oct 2026
Four or five weekends of consistency, measured against everybody else in the division. A quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Thamsanqa Furman on a 2‑0 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad3 Aug 2026
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Platinum Stars this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at Platinum Stars training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Morgan Mothiba is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.
Market3 Aug 2026
The interest is real enough to have reached print. Platinum Stars have said nothing, which in a transfer window is its own kind of answer.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to River Plate: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
Kaizer Chiefs have been asked whether they would lend him. Loans are agreed quickly or not at all, and this one will be one or the other by the weekend.
Transfer targets3 Aug 2026
A loan enquiry to Rangers International: cover, or a look at somebody the club cannot afford to buy yet. Either way the answer will come back inside the week.
The dugout3 Aug 2026
Bongani Kekana knocks on the manager’s door
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Bongani Kekana trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Squad3 Aug 2026
It is a strip of cloth and it decides nothing on a Saturday. It still tells the dressing room exactly whose opinion the manager values, which is the whole point of it.