Kaizer Chiefs extend trophy drought to 9 seasons as they end worst-ever PSL campaign
The Soweto giants gave their fans very little to cheer about as they experienced more low moments than highlights over the 2023/24 season.
Cape Town Spurs defeated Kaizer Chiefs 2-0 in their DStv Premiership match in Cape Town on 25 May 2024. Picture: @KaizerChiefs/X
JOHANNESBURG - A miserable season for Kaizer Chiefs has finally been put to bed and it ended, as most of it has gone, on a sad note, with a 2-0 defeat at already-relegated Cape Town Spurs.
The result confirmed Amakhosi’s worst campaign in PSL history, where they finished in 10th place in the DStv Premiership with single-digit wins and a staggering 12 losses. For context, the nine wins Chiefs managed in the league was only three more than Spurs, who were rock bottom for the entire season.
The Soweto giants gave their fans very little to cheer about as they experienced more low moments than highlights over the 2023/24 season.
While there is no shame in losing to champions Mamelodi Sundowns, the 5-1 loss to the Brazilians earlier this month was embarrassing for Chiefs as it was their worst result in league history and showed how far they have fallen from the lofty heights of their glory days.
Worse still was the Nedbank Cup round of 16 exit in February where the Glamour Boys were beaten by second-tier club, Milford FC, who survived relegation from the Motsepe Foundation Championship by just three points.
The club’s management also dallied with their head coach position, giving Cavin Johnson temporary charge of the senior team for seven months after the axing of Molefi Ntseki in October 2023. The job proved to be too big for Johnson in the end, and his impending departure will give Chiefs a chance to start over on a clean slate.
"When I took over, we were where we are now, maybe a little bit better. But we improved and we had momentum going and then somewhere along the way we slipped. We didn't make it to the next level and that was concerning for me, but we tried our utmost best," Johnson said.
Chiefs have now completed nine seasons since the last time they won a trophy and for a club of their stature, that cannot be an acceptable standard. A lot of hard and smart work needs to be done in the off-season for them to avoid a trophyless decade and to be considered as South Africa's leading club on the field once again.