Publications
Partners
Jean Smyth
London - Tottenham Hotspur’s latest recruit, Bafana Bafana defender Bongani Khumalo, has the football world at his feet. He must be mindful though of the failures of the last South African to ply his trade at the Lane, OJ Mabizela, in order to win the faith of the Spurs fans.
What’s more is that it looks like that he’ll be joined at the club, who are in the Premiership’s top four and in the knockout stages of the Champions League, by none other the game’s biggest name, David Beckham. He’s set to link up with the club where he trained as a boy on a two-month loan deal.
Speaking to Sport24 from Dubai, the man who spotted and then sanctioned Mabizela’s move to London, former Director of Football and caretaker manager David Pleat reiterated that patience was the key to settling into the rigours of life as a Premiership footballer. In the cash-flush and glamorous world of English football it is, according to Pleat, the time spent away from the pitch where the real dangers of failing to settle in lie.
“The change in environment and culture is going to massive for him and it is so important that he embraces the club and fellow players fully. He must not try and chase the elusive dream too quickly. He needs to be patient and to take his time settling in,” he says.
Pleat still remains a club insider and watched the former SuperSport defender closely at the World Cup while working for the BBC. He stresses that with a small proportion of time actually spent training and playing, it’s the time away from football that he needs to focus on just as carefully.
“In his spare time he must take up an interest, it’s very important,” Pleat says forcefully. “Whether it’s spending time around London, going to the theatre or whatever, players need to make sure that their mind is motivated and that they’re not bored.
It’s a view reiterated by Spurs legend Graham Roberts who played centre-half for the club as they won two FA Cup titles and the UEFA Cup in the early eighties.
“He’s coming into a club where everyone will look after him, so I don’t see his integration as being too tough at all,” says Roberts.
“To get to know what the club is about, is important. When he gets into the team he needs to get the fans on his side. Give your all, work hard and the supporters will back you all the way.” Nothing new in Roberts’ assessment, but in the increasingly fickle world of Premier League football it’s important nonetheless.
Khumalo will benefit from an excellent coaching staff in Harry Redknapp, Joe Jordan, Kevin Bond, Clive Allen and Tim Sherwood at the club. They’re all well schooled in the traditional values of British football and have guided Spurs from the relegation zone under Juande Ramos, into the Champions League.
David Pleat has further words of warning for the man who led SuperSport to the PSL title.
“A lot will depend on picking the right friends and do the right things both on and off the field. As you know, there were one or two problems with Mabizela that in the end were too much for us to cope with.”
Speaking of Mabizela, who scored a stunning goal on his debut for the club against Leicester City, Pleat has some regrets.
“I think in Mabizela’s case we could have done better for him. We liked him (when first scouted while Spurs were on pre-season in South Africa), he was outstanding in the air and a very forceful player.
“The point for us I think was that we didn’t know enough about his background. If we had then perhaps we could have helped him better. He came over and did well but it was hard for him to get into the First team,” said Pleat.
Beckham’s move, one of the most eagerly anticipated ever here, is a shrewd financial one by the chairperson Daniel Levy and the Spurs board, says Pleat.
“It’s a good one for the club - it’s not about the player or selling shirts, but rather about a player of high-standing being able to back-up the first team squad across the whole midfield.
“I would call it a charismatic insurance policy. It’s a bold move and financially quite a clever one. To have gone into the market would have cost a few million and they need to sell a few players before they can buy-in. So a loan of his magnitude is quite clever as overall cost is much cheaper than if they had to buy one.”
If Beckham’s deal does go through then his first game in the Spurs shirt could well be against his former club Manchester United who he left for Real Madrid in the summer of 2003.
Jean Smyth is a freelance journalist based in London. Get in contact with him by email at jeansmyth@gmail.com and follow him at: www.twitter.com/jeansmyth
London - Tottenham Hotspur’s latest recruit, Bafana Bafana defender Bongani Khumalo, has the football world at his feet. He must be mindful though of the failures of the last South African to ply his trade at the Lane, OJ Mabizela, in order to win the faith of the Spurs fans.
What’s more is that it looks like that he’ll be joined at the club, who are in the Premiership’s top four and in the knockout stages of the Champions League, by none other the game’s biggest name, David Beckham. He’s set to link up with the club where he trained as a boy on a two-month loan deal.
Speaking to Sport24 from Dubai, the man who spotted and then sanctioned Mabizela’s move to London, former Director of Football and caretaker manager David Pleat reiterated that patience was the key to settling into the rigours of life as a Premiership footballer. In the cash-flush and glamorous world of English football it is, according to Pleat, the time spent away from the pitch where the real dangers of failing to settle in lie.
“The change in environment and culture is going to massive for him and it is so important that he embraces the club and fellow players fully. He must not try and chase the elusive dream too quickly. He needs to be patient and to take his time settling in,” he says.
Pleat still remains a club insider and watched the former SuperSport defender closely at the World Cup while working for the BBC. He stresses that with a small proportion of time actually spent training and playing, it’s the time away from football that he needs to focus on just as carefully.
“In his spare time he must take up an interest, it’s very important,” Pleat says forcefully. “Whether it’s spending time around London, going to the theatre or whatever, players need to make sure that their mind is motivated and that they’re not bored.
It’s a view reiterated by Spurs legend Graham Roberts who played centre-half for the club as they won two FA Cup titles and the UEFA Cup in the early eighties.
“He’s coming into a club where everyone will look after him, so I don’t see his integration as being too tough at all,” says Roberts.
“To get to know what the club is about, is important. When he gets into the team he needs to get the fans on his side. Give your all, work hard and the supporters will back you all the way.” Nothing new in Roberts’ assessment, but in the increasingly fickle world of Premier League football it’s important nonetheless.
Khumalo will benefit from an excellent coaching staff in Harry Redknapp, Joe Jordan, Kevin Bond, Clive Allen and Tim Sherwood at the club. They’re all well schooled in the traditional values of British football and have guided Spurs from the relegation zone under Juande Ramos, into the Champions League.
David Pleat has further words of warning for the man who led SuperSport to the PSL title.
“A lot will depend on picking the right friends and do the right things both on and off the field. As you know, there were one or two problems with Mabizela that in the end were too much for us to cope with.”
Speaking of Mabizela, who scored a stunning goal on his debut for the club against Leicester City, Pleat has some regrets.
“I think in Mabizela’s case we could have done better for him. We liked him (when first scouted while Spurs were on pre-season in South Africa), he was outstanding in the air and a very forceful player.
“The point for us I think was that we didn’t know enough about his background. If we had then perhaps we could have helped him better. He came over and did well but it was hard for him to get into the First team,” said Pleat.
Beckham’s move, one of the most eagerly anticipated ever here, is a shrewd financial one by the chairperson Daniel Levy and the Spurs board, says Pleat.
“It’s a good one for the club - it’s not about the player or selling shirts, but rather about a player of high-standing being able to back-up the first team squad across the whole midfield.
“I would call it a charismatic insurance policy. It’s a bold move and financially quite a clever one. To have gone into the market would have cost a few million and they need to sell a few players before they can buy-in. So a loan of his magnitude is quite clever as overall cost is much cheaper than if they had to buy one.”
If Beckham’s deal does go through then his first game in the Spurs shirt could well be against his former club Manchester United who he left for Real Madrid in the summer of 2003.
Jean Smyth is a freelance journalist based in London. Get in contact with him by email at jeansmyth@gmail.com and follow him at: www.twitter.com/jeansmyth
