Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kaizer Chiefs will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Two goals and a mark of 8.58 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Kaizer Chiefs have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Percy Mkhize 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Mduduzi Shabalala was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kaizer Chiefs will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Asanele Velebayi and Kaizer Chiefs agree another 4 years.
Squad18 Oct 2027
Percy Mkhize 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.
Tebogo Mlangeni 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.
Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason Kaizer Chiefs will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Squad11 Oct 2027
Words at Kaizer Chiefs training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Percy Mkhize 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.
It is not much of a headline and it is the reason players believe the next promise. Kaizer Chiefs told Bradley Cross something would happen and then it happened, which in this industry passes for remarkable.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kaizer Chiefs this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Kaizer Chiefs, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kaizer Chiefs will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Two goals and a mark of 8.65 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Successful dribbles: 27. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Brandon Petersen and Kaizer Chiefs agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Thabiso Monyane was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not go to Maritzburg United to sit and watch. I want to come back to Kaizer Chiefs and fight for my place.” 2 appearances in 14 matches say the rest.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kaizer Chiefs will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
0‑3 against Mamelodi Sundowns, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Kaizer Chiefs, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kaizer Chiefs this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad27 Sep 2027
Percy Mkhize 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 53 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Kaizer Chiefs they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Percy 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 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.
200 games in the shirt. Nobody sets out to build a record like that; it happens to a certain kind of player at a certain kind of club, and this town knows what it has.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 60 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and University of Pretoria waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Kaizer Chiefs is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Two goals and a mark of 8.75 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Chippa United moved on, Donay Jansen reports back to Kaizer Chiefs, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Kaizer Chiefs this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Kaizer Chiefs will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Kaizer Chiefs can pretend not to have heard.
Boardroom6 Sep 2027
Deadline passes with 14 signed and 22 gone
That is the business done at Kaizer Chiefs 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.
The deal that would have taken Aden McCarthy to Jomo Cosmos has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to Kaizer Chiefs with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Asanele Velebayi 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.
Squad6 Sep 2027
Percy Mkhize 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.
He is doing things on a Saturday afternoon that nobody around him can answer, which is flattering for about one season and a problem after that. Kaizer Chiefs will not keep him by pretending otherwise.
“I did not go to Maritzburg United to sit and watch. I want to come back to Kaizer Chiefs and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 10 matches say the rest.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around SuperSport United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
Successful dribbles: 28. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
The phone has started ringing about Bongani Lorch again, and this time the name on the line is JS Kabylie. SuperSport United are listening politely and promising nothing.
Percy Mkhize 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Basil Mphahlele 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.
The offer from Betis for Khama Williams was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what SuperSport United can pretend not to have heard.
The deal that would have taken Teboho Billiat to Black Aces has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to SuperSport United with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Percy 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 name of Lebogang Vilakazi has come up in conversations SuperSport United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
Marked 8.04 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Oumar Komara was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Luke Baartman had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Polokwane City waiting with a shirt. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Erick Manyama reports back to SuperSport United with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
The phone has started ringing about Khama Williams again, and this time the name on the line is Betis. SuperSport United are listening politely and promising nothing.
4 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
“I listened, I thought about it, and I am staying. That is the whole story.” The clubs had agreed a fee. Percy Mkhize had not agreed to go, which turned out to be the part that mattered.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what SuperSport United can pretend not to have heard.
Spartak Subotica wanted more than $11.1M and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. SuperSport United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” SuperSport United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Virtus Entella have kept their man, and SuperSport United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The phone has started ringing about Luke Baartman again, and this time the name on the line is AS Roma. SuperSport United are listening politely and promising nothing.
A new deal for the man in the dugout, and the clearest thing a board can say without calling a press conference about it. Stability is cheap to promise and expensive to deliver.
3 wins in a row changes how opponents warm up: quieter, more glances across. Runs end, everybody knows that — but nobody in this dressing room is planning for it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. SuperSport United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at SuperSport United hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
The fee is $340.0K, the contract is signed, and the argument about whether he is worth it can begin. Maritzburg United drove a hard bargain; time will say who won it.
Percy Mkhize 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.
A season average of 7.01 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. SuperSport United know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Emmanuel Jalai from Maritzburg United for $340.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Squad2 Aug 2027
Oumar Komara 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.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at SuperSport United than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. SuperSport United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
SuperSport United have gone to Spartak Subotica with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Percy 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.
Everyone has stopped pretending: Black Aces will make the call about Erick Manyama this week. SuperSport United have a number in mind, and the number is not shy.
Bloemfontein Celtic paid $120.0K and SuperSport United took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
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 name of Percy Mkhize has come up in conversations SuperSport United were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Khama Williams trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Bongani Zungu is on it.
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.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around SuperSport United they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around SuperSport United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The offer from Polokwane City for Teboho Billiat was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
University of Pretoria paid $93.0K and SuperSport United took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.
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.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one SuperSport United will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at SuperSport United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The system has changed and his position has not. A footballer can improve his form; he cannot improve the manager’s formation, and that is the whole of the problem.
Golden Arrows have accepted the money. What SuperSport United do not yet have is the man, and between here and the photograph is a conversation about wages that both sides are dreading.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Black Aces have kept their man, and SuperSport United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The chase for Siphelele Mthembu ended with $820.0K changing hands and Maritzburg United out of reasons to say no. The supporters will judge the fee the only way that matters: on Saturdays.
$590.0K on the table at Orlando Pirates. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Percy Mkhize 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.
Boards get told what they have done wrong for years and hear nothing on the days they get it right. This is one of those days: Siphelele Mthembu from Maritzburg United for $820.0K, and a ticket office having a very good morning.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Basil Mphahlele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
21 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. SuperSport United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. SuperSport United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Percy 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 phone has started ringing about Keagan Mothiba again, and this time the name on the line is Bidvest Wits. SuperSport United are listening politely and promising nothing.
SuperSport United asked and Union Magdalena said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Basil Mphahlele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Jomo Cosmos waiting with a shirt. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
29 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. SuperSport United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Ajax Cape Town have kept their man, and SuperSport United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The clubs have shaken hands with Maritzburg United; the player has not yet. Personal terms are next, and personal terms are where more deals die than anybody prints.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The deal that would have taken Mandla Manyama to Jomo Cosmos has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to SuperSport United with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mandla Manyama is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
37 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. SuperSport United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, and a scan that said otherwise. He goes back to Free State Stars; SuperSport United go back to the market; and both will insist there is no story here.
Add another name to the list: Ajax Cape Town have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Percy Mkhize. The answer from SuperSport United has not changed — yet.
At 22 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.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer from Lazio for Khama Williams was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Erick Manyama will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around SuperSport United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
SuperSport United have gone to Orlando Pirates with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
SuperSport United asked and Black Aces said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The offer went to Free State Stars 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.
The offer went to Maritzburg United 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.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $6.8M — a club that wants Relebohile Mofokeng enough to be asked twice.
Percy Mkhize 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.
At 21 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.
Percy 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.
37 appearances and 16 goals away from here, and a player the manager did not have in August. Loans are sent out hoping for exactly this and most of them do not deliver it.
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.
A whole season of being the finest 20-year-old anybody in this league could put on a pitch. SuperSport United have him, and everybody else now knows it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 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.
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.
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.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lebogang Vilakazi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around SuperSport United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
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.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Tashreeq Morris has written the date down.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Erick Manyama will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around SuperSport United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Percy Mkhize 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.
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.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Andile Dolly trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at SuperSport United heard it as anything else.
Percy 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tashreeq Morris and SuperSport United agree another 2 years.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Basil Mphahlele was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Nobody at SuperSport United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Basil Mphahlele 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.
5 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Bongani Zungu is on it.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
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.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at SuperSport United, and both men came out saying it was fine.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.01, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
Percy 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Basil Mphahlele 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.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and SuperSport United will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Josué Reinatti trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
At 21 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.
Percy Mkhize 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Basil Mphahlele and SuperSport United agree another 4 years.
At 37, 3 points below where he was, and a body that has started charging interest. It happens to all of them and it is still the hardest paragraph on this page.
Nobody at SuperSport United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Khama Williams signs something — a contract at SuperSport United or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at SuperSport United. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Teboho Billiat trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“Judge me on him.” Managers do not say that kind of thing by accident — it moves the pressure from Percy Mkhize’s shoulders onto his own, and both of them know it.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Khama Williams is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Siphisihle Zitho 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.
6 signings in three months. Every one of them may be an upgrade and the team can still be worse for a while, which is the part of a rebuild that never appears in the transfer-window verdicts.
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.
Something was said to Julián Kadijevic and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
Position 5 on 51 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Lebogang Vilakazi will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around SuperSport United the goodbyes have quietly begun.
At 21 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 20 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.
There is a particular helplessness in conceding 2 times before the twentieth minute. University of Pretoria tried to reorganise, SuperSport United did not allow it, and the result was written long before it was confirmed.
Player ratings22 Mar 2027
Percy Mkhize was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.22. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
In brief
SquadBasil Mphahlele falls out with a teammate over standards
The dugoutThe team sheet said everything about Josué Reinatti
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
A season average of 7.01 at an age when most of his year group are still in the youth team. SuperSport United know what they have, and so, by now, does everybody else.
Percy 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.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Kermit Mokoena is 19, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
0‑3 against Mamelodi Sundowns, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.
Percy Mkhize 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Bongani Zungu and SuperSport United agree another 5 years.
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout8 Mar 2027
The manager has not finished forgetting Khama Williams's mistake
Publicly it is behind everybody. It is not behind the man who picks the team, and the only place that shows is a team sheet. He will get another chance; he will get it in a match that matters less.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Bongani Mokoena after 0‑3, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Siphisihle Zitho was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what SuperSport United can pretend not to have heard.
Successful dribbles: 24. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
There is a version of every career where the player ends up somewhere he chose rather than somewhere that chose him. Ikenna Motors is living that version at SuperSport United, and it tends to show in the first month.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Basil Mphahlele 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.
“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.
Bongani Lorch, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.81
A mark of 7.81 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 21 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.
He is 20 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.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 11 actions, 6.69, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
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 clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at SuperSport United is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bongani Lorch did not need any: 7.73, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The fee was agreed and the flight was looked at — and then the phone stopped ringing. Jomo Cosmos moved on, Khama Mokoena reports back to SuperSport United, and everybody pretends Monday is just Monday.
Percy 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.
Every footballer has an answer to the question about his boyhood club, and most of them never get to act on it. Lucan Louw has, at SuperSport United, and the first month will show what that does to a man.
SuperSport United asked and Estudiantes de Merida said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Free State Stars will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. SuperSport United were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Two goals and a mark of 9.09 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Percy Mkhize reports back to SuperSport United with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
He is 20, he is averaging 7.04, and older professionals have started passing to him in the difficult minutes. That last part is the real scouting report.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Bongani Lorch and SuperSport United agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Percy Mkhize 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.
SuperSport United asked and Unión de Santa Fe said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. SuperSport United have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Player ratings1 Feb 2027
Bongani Lorch, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 8.00
A mark of 8.00 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
The deadline has passed and the squad is the squad. 3 arrived, 2 left, and everything else printed about this club last month was a rumour that stayed one.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Khama Williams and SuperSport United agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Bongani Lorch did not need any: 7.92, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A midfielder is measured on whether the team functions when he is on the pitch, which is nearly impossible to see and completely obvious in retrospect. 13 actions, 6.91, and a manager who will not be substituting him again in a hurry.
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. River Plate have kept their man, and SuperSport United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
At 20 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.
The clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around SuperSport United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
The accountants will call it good business and they will be right, which is not the point anybody outside the boardroom is making. Bongani Kekana was one of the reasons people came, and $1.2M does not replace that by itself.
Add another name to the list: Watford have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Percy Mkhize. The answer from SuperSport United has not changed — yet.
The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Náutico keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.
Percy 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 clubs have settled the fee and he has settled his wages. What remains is a medical and a photograph, and around SuperSport United people have started saying his name in the past tense.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 6 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
At 20 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.
Percy Mkhize 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.
7 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
In brief
SquadDefences have started doubling up on Percy Mkhize
Jomo Cosmos will want this one forgotten quickly: 4‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. SuperSport United were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Luke Baartman did not need any: 8.27, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. SuperSport United had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
7.94, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Khama Williams is 20, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.92, and 2 involvements.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Basil Mphahlele 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.
Behind, and beaten by any honest reading, until minute 87. Bloemfontein Celtic had the points in their pocket and a corner of the ground still believed, which is generally when it happens.
9 combined actions and 6.74. The job he did is the one that shows up as other people looking good, and the only reliable way to notice it is to watch what happens on the afternoons he is missing.
Two goals and a mark of 8.99 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
At 21 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.
Percy 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.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Luke Baartman 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.
Everybody at SuperSport United saw it before anybody said it, which is how this always goes. At 36 the decline is real and measurable — 3 points — and the only question left is how the club handles somebody it owes a great deal to.
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.
Player ratings21 Dec 2026
Percy Mkhize was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.11. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Two of the goals had his name somewhere on them, which is the afternoon a manager wants from anybody asked to both create and finish. 7.98, and 2 involvements.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Percy Mkhize. 2‑1 against Maritzburg United, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
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 players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 2‑1, Bongani Mokoena could afford to be generous.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
In brief
The dugoutBongani Zungu has become a man the manager trusts
Matías Daniele 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.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Basil Mphahlele 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.
Something was said to Tashreeq Morris and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Bongani Mokoena after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
In brief
Player ratingsLuke Baartman beats them one at a time
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 8 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mandla Manyama is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
He is 22 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.
Headers, blocks, tackles, interceptions — 17 of them, and not one goal behind him. The sort of performance that never makes a highlight reel and wins football matches.
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 dugout23 Nov 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am not going to get carried away and I will not let them either. It was a good day. There will be harder ones.” Bongani Mokoena kept it short after the 1‑0 win, which is what managers do when they are happy.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason SuperSport United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Matías Daniele 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.
Marked 6.83 on 11 actions at both ends of the pitch. Midfielders like this get described as unspectacular by people who have never tried to play against one.
The young player of the month award goes to a 20-year-old at SuperSport United who has looked like the finished article for four weekends running. The next four are the ones that decide whether he is.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Tashreeq Morris, and the manager let it.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
Percy Mkhize is still being punished for one mistake
Nobody will confirm it and the team sheets confirm it every week. One error has bought him a spell as second choice that is already longer than the error deserved.
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.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 1‑1 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason SuperSport United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Basil Mphahlele 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.
Something was said to Matías Daniele and then it happened. In this industry that passes for remarkable, and the dressing room noticed faster than any supporter could.
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
“We earned that. I asked them for a reaction and I got one, and now I want the same again on Saturday.” Bongani Mokoena on a 3‑1 afternoon that pleased him more than he was prepared to show.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager has not finished forgetting Thamsanqa Zungu's mistake
The dugoutCiro Morelli dropped after a run of poor form
A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. SuperSport United will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Player ratings19 Oct 2026
Bongani Lorch, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 8.17
A mark of 8.17 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
At 21 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.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Defending was optional and nobody took up the option. 6 goals between SuperSport United and Free State Stars, and not one of the people who paid to be there will ask for the money back.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 2‑4, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
In brief
The dugoutKeagan Mothiba has become a man the manager trusts
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 45 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
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.
Matías Daniele 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Keagan Mothiba and SuperSport United agree another 3 years.
Nobody at SuperSport United will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at SuperSport United. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Next up on the road: Free State Stars, position 14. The supporters who go will talk about it all week and the ones who do not will check their phones at ten to five.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager plants his flag on Percy Mkhize
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason SuperSport United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Player ratings5 Oct 2026
Luke Baartman, 20, plays like he has been here for years — 7.75
A mark of 7.75 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 20-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 20 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.
Matías Daniele 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.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Tashreeq Morris and SuperSport United agree another 2 years.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 20-year-old it feels ownership of. Luke Baartman 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.
Marked 8.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Platinum Stars held the lead for 2 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. SuperSport United answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason SuperSport United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Mandla Manyama is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at SuperSport United this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Player ratings28 Sep 2026
Percy Mkhize was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.42. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Bongani Mokoena after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at SuperSport United has been clear about where Thamsanqa Zungu stands, which is more than many ever get.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason SuperSport United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 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.
Beaten 1‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.
Player ratings21 Sep 2026
Percy Mkhize was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.15. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 76 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 8 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Keagan Mothiba provided it, and the 8.87 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
Every first appearance is one of two stories, and this was the harder one: 4.82, and a long walk to the tunnel. The second appearance is the one that decides what the first one meant.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what SuperSport United can pretend not to have heard.
The deal that would have taken Khama Mokoena to Jomo Cosmos has collapsed at the last stage, and he reports back to SuperSport United with a summer to forget and a season still to play. Nobody is saying which side walked away.
Matías Daniele 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.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason SuperSport United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
10 in and 2 out, and no more changes for months. The manager has what he has, the supporters have their opinion of it, and the table will have the last word.
The number the board signed off was not enough. It has been asked again and raised its own offer to $966.0K — a club that wants Thabang Molaoa enough to be asked twice.
Matías Daniele 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.
SuperSport United ran out of time with Chippa United. The paperwork was open when the deadline passed, and a transfer that was almost done is now a transfer that never happened.
Add another name to the list: Jomo Cosmos have asked the question everybody in the game has been asking about Khama Mokoena. The answer from SuperSport United has not changed — yet.
Bones knit. That is the one merciful thing about this injury and the reason SuperSport United will talk about it more openly than they would about a knee. He will be back, and roughly when they say.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the whole of the defence. 10 saves, several of them the kind nobody expects to see made, and ten outfield players who owe him a drink.
2 in front and in complete control, and it finished with Jomo Cosmos the happier side. There is no version of this afternoon that SuperSport United will enjoy reviewing.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at SuperSport United, and it is not being withdrawn.
The offer went to Chippa United 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.
SuperSport United had done everything except persuade the man himself. He stays at San Lorenzo, and the manager goes back to the drawing board with the money still in the bank.
Percy 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.
At 21 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 99 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
The shirt still fits. Tashreeq Morris is back at SuperSport United, and half the ground remembers him in these colours already. Some signings need selling to the town; this one sold itself.
Mamelodi Sundowns will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Tsiki Ntsabeleng has pre-agreed a move to SuperSport United, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
“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.
Squad24 Aug 2026
Andile Dolly 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.
Brutal, unambiguous and, for all the horror of the moment, usually less career-shaped than the ligament everybody fears more. 108 days, a clean timeline, and a return date somebody can actually plan around.
Player ratings17 Aug 2026
Bongani Zungu could not have asked for more on his first appearance — 7.43
Debuts are survived rather than enjoyed. This one was enjoyed: 7.43, 0 goals, and a manager already being asked whether he starts again next week.
Khama Williams 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.
$100.0K was the most the club would pay and Mamelodi Sundowns were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.
He is 19 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.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Percy Mkhize. 1‑0 against Black Aces, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.