The Underlap

Orlando Pirates have announced José Riverio as a new head coach.One might have expected Benni McCarthy or Mandla Ncikazi to get the coveted position and to the disappointment of others neither of them were appointed.José is a great coach and he should be given time like the others before him. Since this is an appointment that caught everyone & everything by suprise . I have decided to examine the task at hand and give my thoughts on how I see him getting on. Benni McCarthy(top) and Mandla Ncikazi(bottom) were being touted as front-runners for the hot seat. THE SITUATION He arrives when Pirates are at a weird situation and people seem to underestimate how huge the task at hand. Having reached the finals of the CAF Confederations Cup and losing on penalties to RSC Berkane but performing poor domestically finishing 6th in the league and not qualifying for any continental football.I will explain later on how this could be a blessing in disguise.Pirates find themselves in a precarious s...

  When Patrick Viera was announced as Crystal Palace Manager. 9 first team players had already left and most of the team was aging. Expectations were low. Some predicted Palace to get relegated & some predicted Patrick Viera was going to get the boot.The people who had these predictions had great concern. Palace had made some great transfer business and they were just rejected by Lucien Favre, a manager with greater pedigree. Patrick Viera had no definite style of play nor definite system judging from his time at Nice, where he was sacked for stagnating the club. Little Did they know that Patrick Viera would guide Crystal Palace to a 12th placed finish while playing some of the prettiest football seen at Selhurst Park.With highlights including going unbeaten against Manchester City & Arsenal ,Beating Manchester United on the final day of the season,Outplaying Chelsea for 88 minutes at Selhurst Park ,their 3-0 annhilation of Tottenham Spurs and them reaching the F.A Cup Semi...