Tshepo Molwane
2 June 2008
Remember the days of Brown 'King goals' Gasemotho, Thazo 'Careca' Tiwayi, the late Shono 'Madonsela' Ngaka and Maitumelo 'Mighty' Modikana? The list is endless.
Those were the days when Notwane used to be a dominant force in local football in the 90s and their supporters were proud of the team.
At the time, Toronto were unstoppable and won everything on offer like the Coca-Cola Cup, Hyundai Cup, Independence Cup and even the league championship. To show their class then, Notwane went on to stamp their authority in the African Cup Winners' Cup in 1996 only to be knocked out by Angolan side Premeiro de Agosto in the last 16. But over the last three years, Notwane have become a laughing-stock in local soccer, prompting their supporters to stay away from their games.
Save for the Coca-Cola Cup which they won under controversial circumstances in 2006, Toronto have never come close to their best in recent years. Only midfield sensations Dirang Moloi and Keoagetse 'Barnes' Radipotsane have become members of the national team in the last two years. Their absence was felt whenever Notwane played without them in the middle of the park.
To make matters worse, Notwane found themselves fighting against relegation and had to wait until the last day to sustain their Premier League status. Notwane picked crucial six points in their last two games against BDF XI and relegated TASC to claim their place. It was a heart-stopping experience for all those who have been close to Toronto over the years.
But if what the team's spokesperson Cyrus Mogashoa said is anything to go by, then what happened last season is history. The interim committee, which is under the leadership of chairman Molebatsi Molebatsi, intends to take Toronto back to their glory days. Under Molebatsi, Notwane managed to introduce win bonuses in their last five games of the season and it paid dividends. Players started attending practice motivated and goals started coming.
Veteran striker Tshepiso 'Sox' Molwantwa, who has been going through a dry spell, started scoring and the goals counted a lot. Young Moloi, who had been unhappy for most part of the season, started showing brilliance and this was entirely due to the changes the an interim committee introduced.
According to the spokesperson, his committee, which took over the club in the last two months on interim basis, is fighting tooth and nail to re-brand Toronto.
Though they are not sure how long they are going to stay, Mogashoa pointed out that they no longer want to go through the same pain of relegation again.
"What we went through was painful and a real experience for us. Since we have achieved our goal of saving the team from relegation, we intend to make major changes in the coming season. Right now, we are reviewing the contracts of the players individually to see what needs to be improved," he said.
The spokesperson pointed out that in the coming weeks, they will finish reviewing contracts and decide, "which players deserve to remain at the team and which ones should be shown the door".
"We are going to do this (reviews) with the help of our technical team. We want to redeem our pride and take Notwane back to the glory days and the players are aware of what we want," said a confident Mogashoa.
He further told Monitor Sport that before the Orange Kabelano Charity Cup, which is scheduled for June 28 at the National Stadium, they will have bolstered the team with some quality players who will be able to put smiles back on the faces of their supporters. "We conceded a lot of goals this season and there is a need to bring in another quality goalkeeper. Our goalkeeper (Mompoloki Sephekolo) showed some glimpses of fatigue towards the end of the season because he played the whole season unaided.
There is also need to bring in centre-backs and if you are aware, we had to change Stopper (Mpoeleng Mpoeleng) from right-back because of our problem," he said.Mogashoa pointed out that they want to retain the Kabelano Cup and they can only do that by reinforcing their squad. Notwane won the charity cup for the first time, beating Mochudi Centre Chiefs 3-1 in a mouth-watering final. The spokesperson stated that Chiefs finished the season undefeated because of the high calibre players who also made the team a centre of attraction. "Honestly, whenever Chiefs played everybody wanted to go and see the players.
We want the same thing at Notwane, we want people to be forced to come and watch because of the quality we will be possessing," said Mogashoa.He pleaded with their supporters to continue rallying behind the team during the good and bad times. "There is a need to educate our supporters an how to remain loyal to the team.I have realised that most of our supporters have decided to stay home during the difficult periods. Before Kabelano, we will continue to drum up support for our side," he said.
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