“They don’t deserve to wear the jersey” – Ndlanya

‘These players don’t deserve to wear that jersey. They are just ordinary players,’ he said.

Pollen Ndlanya has joined the growing chorus of Kaizer Chiefs legends to condemn the club’s humiliating 3-0 defeat to arch-rivals Orlando Pirates in last Saturday’s Soweto Derby.

Chiefs overpowered

Amakhosi were second best from start to finish, offering little resistance as they were overpowered in a one-sided Betway Premiership encounter at FNB Stadium.

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Pirates dominated proceedings in one of Africa’s most iconic fixtures and could have inflicted even greater damage had they been more ruthless in the final third.

Tshepang Moremi, Oswin Appollis and Evidence Makgopa got their names on the scoresheet as the Buccaneers secured maximum points and more importantly, derby bragging rights.

Former Chiefs captain and goalkeeper Itumeleng Khune was quick to describe the defeat as disrespectful to everyone associated with the club, and Ndlanya has now echoed those sentiments in an equally scathing fashion.

Speaking on Game On with Thabiso Mosia on Radio 2000, the ex-striker did not hold back, questioning whether the current squad is worthy of wearing the famous gold and black jersey.

Ndlanya – ‘They are just ordinary players’

“When you go into such a game, players should already be motivated because this is a big game where you have to showcase your talent,” he said.

“I don’t think it was stage fright. I’ll be honest with you, these players don’t deserve to wear that jersey. They are just ordinary players, there’s a Kaizer Chiefs player and there’s a AmaZulu player but those players are just ordinary.

“I was expecting a very difficult game because the derby is always competitive but this one was one-way traffic which is not good for our football. I was so disappointed with the players and I hear people saying the coaches must go but honestly, coaches don’t play football.”

Ndlanya, who finished the 1998-99 PSL campaign as the league’s top scorer with 21 goals, attended the sold-out showdown and was left unimpressed by what he witnessed. He questioned the team’s hunger in front of more than 90,000 spectators, suggesting the lack of desire was evident throughout the contest.

“When I watched the game and the players, there was no hunger at all and they were just going through the motions and the body language said a lot,” Ndlanya added.

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“No one wanted to win that game and from the players, there was no combination and it was very disappointing. I always say that Kaizer Chiefs is a big team, when you wear that jersey, you must have the hunger to achieve more but the players didn’t come on board.”