Can you feel it? The Premiership season is coming

By Siphiwe Hlongane
We have felt it, and now it’s gone, the world cup that is. It’s time for local football fans to start gearing up for the Absa Premiership.

Once again the stakes will be high, hopefully it will not become a big yawn, last season proved beyond any reasonable doubt that the local league can be exciting. The players, coaches, referees and even the supporters can join in to make South African football exciting, it is possible, the 2010 World Cup showed us that we are more than capable.

A glimpse at the teams raises many questions, especially the big guns, the big question is whether SuperSport United can do it again and win the league; will Irvin Khoza’s patience run out with Ruud Krol? How about the money spenders Mamelodi Sundowns? will their new coach succeed where many before him have failed and actually get the over-paid under performing big names to win something. There are many questions to ask, the beginning of the season will provide the answers.

How about the players themselves, surely we are not going to have the usual suspects hogging the headlines when it comes to top performances again and again, we need a new breed of youngsters to start coming up with some match winning performances.

My biggest wish this season is to see more supporters filling the stadiums, maybe that will inspire the teams to raise their game, it will also be great if our teams can stop embarrassing us in African club competitions, they need to start performing, who knows! It might even rub off our Bafana Bafana.

A lot of bruised egos fro last season will be looking for some kind of redemption, the local soccer loving folk will be waiting with great anticipation, come mid August and let the games begin.