Grandstand: Gotta Herve Faith

1. Looks like hardwork in the coming weeks for this young coach. He needs to muster courage and ingenuity when he embarks on this onerous task of making a soccer-crazy country proud. I believe he can do it anyways.

2. In fact COSAFA will be his testing ground before the 5th Sept encounter with Togo. Let the Frenchman sharpen the strikers please.

3. #2 you are right. The whole team play was ok against swazi save for the strikers who were misfiring. The coach is lucky he has the cosafa games coming up, he should use them to sharpen the blunt strike force. Good luck herve!

4. Let Renard take look at the Zambian players in the Scandinavian countries and those in Asian countries. It does’t make sense to have all these guys playing good football scoring in these countries and not given a chance to prove themselves in Zambian colors. I think the best way to see all these players is by having current national team play the pro’s team.

5. Great idea #4. I must however disagree with the assessment of Kalaba by LT above. I thought Kalaba was one of our bright spots in Ghana despite seeing limited playing time. He was directly involved in Felix’s 3rd goal for Zambia against Sudan, and Chris Katongo scored against Egypt off of a Kalaba pass. Now they may be right about his club form. Any thoughts?

6. Renard je suis un des Zambiens qui a beaucoup de foi et de confiance en vous comme la Zambie entraîneur de l’équipe nationale. Bien que je n’ai jamais regardé le match, mais le week-end j’ai été tout à fait en ligne suivant. Renard Je ne sais pas si FAZ a dit sur un lot de joueurs de la Zambie a jouer à l’étranger surtout dans les pays scandinaves et en Asie en particulier la Malaisie. Comme un vif zambienne de football fan je vous suggère de prendre un sérieux les regarde et je crois fermement que la plupart d’entre eux peuvent faire une énorme différence et s’adaptent parfaitement bien au cours de l’équipe nationale. Si FAZ peut vous permettre d’avoir organiser à jouer ces gars-là pour que

7. Ya its upto Renard to call mbesuma and c it yourself that he is an asset to the zedien futubo.

8. Renard I’m one of the Zambians who has a lot of faith and trust in you as the Zambian national team coach. Though I never watched the weekend match but I was keenly following it online. Renard I don’t know if FAZ has told about a batch of players Zambia has playing abroad mostly in the Scandinavian countries and in Asia especially Malaysia. As a vivid Zambian soccer fan I would suggest you take a serious look at them and I strongly believe that most of them can make a huge difference and fit in perfectly well in the current national team.If FAZ can allow you to have organise to play these guys so that you can have a wider selection of players because as I know no one has a permanent position

9. #6 Bushe niwe Yobo namgu Pastor Pule Muswati, iwe kikara as per Mbuzi, per meeee….? Amano yabu as per goat uleke

10. #8 Are you mad, what football is in Malaysia, wapena I think we should now think or tink before we comment, Malaysia ata se bane

11. #9 kalale nambwila!

12. #11 you write french but fail to write your mother tongue…is it nambwila or nabwila( correct me my Bemba children)

13. What is happening now from bola to katwishi paisa ne chi franse Mathews Macha well done mwaichi 7 goals muligi chabe uki mukali

14. Yaba!

    I’m in Malaysia at the moment…these chaps couldn’t hit a camel in the ass with a banjo! Useless league!!

15. Bane Bola panshi !! I would like to hear Renard come out mroe positive, like he is going to make the strikers better which actually is his job. He keeps whinning when his job is to correct all issuea with the team. These are the players we have he won’t get any other.

    Malaysia na China panse. We might as well look at some kids playing in Botswana.

16. Lets be Real..the guy is not good for the job

17. Let us not blame Herve for the poor show. The truth of the matter is that we do not the right material at our disposal at the moment.Even if u bring in the best coach and u do not have the right tools he will fail to deliver.

18. I think it is time to test players based in Europe and SA, I am thinking of Boyd Mwila, Edwin Phiri, Lungu, Chivuta Noah, Sichone, Sinkala and the contigent in Finland. I am sure one or two of these guys may add some value to the team. However these guys should only be considered if they are better than the players in the current team. I rest my case

19. #16 The guy is not good for the job, fine but who do you suggest mune? Learn to come up with solutions not just critsizing without offerring alternatives takwaba. If your wife is not a good cock then offer solutions. Bane let us be reasonable, there are many things this guy has to change. Ku zed soccer is pika imingalato but in Europe it is about planning and tactics, noti elya iwa ubwanga ne chi na mpofu, give him time he will come out like Poulsen. The fact is bola ku zed is and has always been there nomba ka uku ichindika taba amoung ma players nakalya aka ku umfwa ati ni professional kali chilamo fye, so ama division in our current team do exist and this could be the root cause of our…

20. problems. I mean how can a team that had defending as problem of sudden get scoring as a problem takwaba, guys let us read between the lines, mwalishiba ifyo twaba, too many kings mwi team elyo nailya iwakuti abaiche ba la tulya ififulo tayapaya ked zed. To be frank elder players like katong chris, Chamanga, Jacob Mulenga will not be happy to feel the presure from the likes of Kola, Mayuka, Nyambe, Sunzu etc cause they have seen the exit of Ian Bakala etc,so apa mufulo

21. problems. I mean how can a team that had defending as a problem all of a sudden get scoring as a problem takwaba, guys let us read between the lines, mwalishiba ifyo twaba, too many kings mwi team elyo nailya iwakuti abaiche ba la tulya ififulo tayapwa iyo ked zed. To be frank elder players like katong chris, Chamanga, Jacob Mulenga will not be happy to feel the presure from the likes of Kola, Mayuka, Nyambe, Sunzu etc cause they have seen the exit of Ian Bakala etc,so apa mufulo. Effort tapali elyo nailya iyo Coach alanda ati “I wont play names” yali kakana

22. Justice (above), Sinkala is sick, Sichone alipwa, the others I can’t comment because I have no idea who they are, and why Europe, what is so special about the players in Europe, he has called a guy from Nakambala Leopards who could even be better than some players based in Europe. What we require is a player with confidence.

23. LT.Please explain to some of us who did not watch the game what do you mean by dodgy penalty? Are you saying the Ref was not supposed to give the penalty,if not what was supposed to be the right call tell us? Whiles i agree the performance of the team has not been good especially the offence which has been blunt.The word dodgy means dishonest,not good or reliable.Lets call a spade a spade the team did not play well but from what i heard it was was a clear penalty.I maybe wrong but like i said i did not watch the game.

24. I think LT should not be hoodwinked by western type media reports,I guess he got this from a Swazi newspaper, bane handlign the ball in the 18 area constitutes a penalty period, it cab ball to hand or hand to ball, ball to hand means you are standing on attention with your hands drawn to your body, in this case this guy did not move his hand towards his body, it was outstretched and that is a handball. Let me tell you what guys, these Swazi’s were under pressure and “something is got give” was the simple principle that was at work, there defence gave in from the pressure piled by Zambia. It is almost impossible to penetrate a defence which 9 men, Zambia might not be Germany at this stage…

25. … but by all intents and purposes these guys played better than they did in Swaziland and Togo, there was a system, balls were getting to the front. And what was that about players falling on the pitch, next time they should have two sets of boots I think, konkola should have been over watered. So Sibs rest easy if Swaziland had a case they would have already lodged a complaint with FIFA/CAF or did I miss this somewhere, did they?

26. for the blunt striking force i think the coach should try a nd rehabilate mbesuma,this guy’s strength lies with his weight and it will take a patient coach to get the best of mbesuma.nchimunya mweetwa is a good striker an if natured properly he could be an option.These are just suggetions guys u could have a better one.

27. Sinkala, Sichone … guys, are you telling me there are no better players? Let the coach do his job – even you fools have probation periods kuma nchito. Give him enough rope to hang himself.

28. “FOOLS” which ones?

29. #27

30. The people asking the coach to call Scandinavian based players for future games should furnish us with their names and the teams they play for. Edwin Phiri for one is not good enough to even play for Lusaka Dynamos in his current form. Some of the Scandinavian leagues are only active for 3 months and go on recess for nine months. This surely will have a toll on their form.

31. #28 Mwiinga, the “FOOLS” is #27.

32. Maybe herve should give a tryout to nchimunya mweetwa. I understand he scored 17 goals in 24 matches in finland last season and already has a couple in the new one.

33. All i say is bring Mbesuma back as soon as possible, no doubt we are playing good football but we are lacking in the last 1/4. Mbesuma is the only prolific striker we can depend on in the country at the moment. We have tried the so called good ones we have and none has scored in the last three games.

34. Mbesuma, Mbesuma, Mbesuma….Don’t you get it in your thick heads that the chap is finished?? Come on lets move on, history is history.

35. We have Chris, Emmanuel, Roger, James, Jacob, if one of these weren’t in the team you’d be crying. There is only 18 players in any one squad for a game. The coach went offensive which is why we only had four defenders in the 18 with William and others left out.

    You want to get rid of all those strikers because they didn’t score on that day, we must keep trying players, but suggesting replacing all of them is nonsense and counterproductive.

    I watched all those Spanish strikers fail to score against Italy, sometimes that is the way it is.
    You Gotta Herve Faith Indeed, mark my words, we will be scoring soon and some people can think about things they say. We must be better, not complacent.

36. We still need Mbesuma.

37. Jeff Windhoek, how come I don’t know you? Are sure you are here? Shidada wants to know.

38. #29 & 31 ha ha ha; #35 I think I agree with you, this is making a lot of sense. About Herve I am still a bit pessimistic going by the way he reads the game especially the three games I have seen him in charge, I think sometimes he makes emotional decisions (my opinion really), but lets see its only that he took over at a time when the Chipolopolo is under pressure, I am sure things will change with time now that we have Cosafa coming.

39. For those who have had the privilege of watching EURO 08 will agree that we`ve seen nil- nil scorelines by teams with deadly strikers.At the same time we`ve seen open games were goals have been conceded early in the match.If we managed to score early against Swaziland,the story could have been different and thanking our strikers for banging in alot of goals.When we play TOGO,they will not come to defend but will be going for a win which will open up the game and we`ll see some goals.What we need to appreciate is that our once porous defense has kept two clean sheets in a row.With the system we`re using we`re going to get our goals.

40. I agree with majorit of the positive comments from you guys. Now the Swazi game is history, let us prepare for Togo game. There is plenty of time between now and Sept 5th, for the coaches and players to gear up and get ready for Togo. No excuses, we need alot of preparations and build a solid team to beat Togo at all costs. We want the players and coaches be ready and be in camp on time. I know Togo will come in looking for a win, so guys we will need you to play hard and beat Togo.

41. Was Owen Mwendabai on bench for the game against Togo.

42. Sibs #25, I agree with you about the analysis with regard to the “dodgy” penalty. I had similar concerns with regard to Zambiafootball.com where they even questioned the sending off of the Swazi player. On this site, contributors who saw the game paint a very different picture.
    Chapi #39, let us keep in mind that each team in our group still controls their own destiny. By the way, Togo does not have to win in Zambia to make it through. All they need is a draw here and then hope to beat Swaziland in Ghana. So the idea of them coming to defend in numbers is not far fetched.

43. Thanks for bringing some sense to the discussion Chapi (No. 39). Guys we have a poor defence, that is a fact. At CAN it was plain to see that our boys in defence didn’t have a clue about positional play or playing percentages; they are slow, small and weak.

    No its likely that Renard has seen this situation and decided that the first priority has to be sorting out the defence.

    Regarding Mbesuma, the chap failed to score at CAN 2006 and was clearly not the player he was at Chiefs and he hasn’t returned to his former glory. I don’t understand how people are saying that him being overweight is good, what planet are you on?! There is a difference in being overweight and having a…

44. #41 he was dropped before the game.

45. I thought Togo will play Swaziland first and then come to Zed?

46. good amount of mass. In the case of Collins the chap is fat, he is not bulky (in terms of muscle). What we are proporting on this site is that we should field a chap who is fat and unfit. Finally, this isn’t a new story, this guy has been told on numerous occasions that he needs to sort out these issues. Before Renard there was Ayaba (Turkish coach), before Ayaba there was PP, before PP there was Redknapp, before Redknapp there was Perrin. Now with all these professionals saying the same thing, how can you chaps who have never even seen Mbesuma say something different?

47. #42 MATAFWALI

    Togo coach under pressure
    By STEPHEN PHIRI

    TOGO national team coach Henri Stambouli says Zambia’s victory over Swaziland in last Saturday’s 2010 World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifier has put the ‘Hawks’ in an awkward position.

    According to the Actualite newspapers, Stambouli said pressure was on Togo to win the remaining two games to qualify to the next round.

48. Well..my take on things is that the coach basically needs 2 keep the core of the team intact so that they can gel 2gether not always choping & changing 4 the sake of it..but try & blood in a few ones he’s not seen..Let this team play 2gether 4 a bit so that they can understand the coach’s tactics & a few wins down the line the confidence will b bak & It’s gon b Chipolopolo all the way..Word Of Advice..thoz that will attend the match on 5th Sept shud sing their hearts out & create an atmosphere!!Now speaking of fringe players..where is Kamuzati Kabwe plying his trade..last i heard he was in malaysia

49. Yes, I support #8. It is very hard for the coach to be asked to produce good results with the current crop of players we have. Guys if you are honest with yourselves most of these players could not even have made it to the national team during our best times when we could have Zambias A, B and C. We had great players that even never featured for the national team due to stiff competition. It is time we cast our net wider and get as many players from outside as possible. They may be trainable compared to the current ones, it is being dishonest to expect much from the coach and players from such unpolished players. I watched the foolish goal we conceded to Togo in disbelief. Two

50. #47 Chapi

    Togo maybe under pressure and I would hope so. However, the fact is, if Togo were in at the very least draw both their two remaining games, then that would put all three teams in the group at 5 points. Now that would make for some interesting mathematics wouldn’t you say? Last time Togo were in Zambia we only beat them 1-0, so its not far fetched that they could come here and play a defensive game. We just have to prepare for that kind of scenario.

51. #47 Chapi

    Togo maybe under pressure and I would hope so. However, the fact is, if Togo were in at the very least to draw both their two remaining games, then that would put all three teams in the group at 5 points. Now that would make for some interesting mathematics wouldn’t you say? Last time Togo were in Zambia we only beat them 1-0, so its not far fetched that they could come here and play a defensive game. We just have to prepare for that kind of scenario.

52. ctd from 49… of our defenders unbelievably left a person unmarked in the 18 while Togo was attacking! It was one of the most silly goals that our heroes like Kapambwe Mulenga, Mordon Malitoli, Mulenga “Yellowman,” Simukonda, or Ackim Musenge could never do. Please, like Angola, get as many players as possible playing outside even in amateur leagues, they may just be our revelation and answer. Do not deny the fact that our current league is just not as electrifying as that of the 1970s or 1980s.

53. #52. What did we win with the defenders you just mentioned that never left strikers open? FYI. Trophies Zero! world cup. Zero secodon best yes.

54. ZAMBIAN FOOTBALL IS CRAP. PERIOD

55. #30 There is no league in Scandinavia that is active for 3 months only, wabepa. For example the league in Denmark kicksoff in July and is played up to November and there is the winter break until late february. The winter break is there in Germeny too. As for Edwin Phiri he is doing fine and plays in the same league as Isaac Chansa. Edwin is playing for promotion side Ljungskille and is doing fine.

56. #54 . spot on. a spade is a spade.

57. yes shidada,#45 im here in windhoek in hochlandrand,where are u?we could meet sometime and talk about our beautiful team.chipolopolo

58. #54 and 56, just as well you are anonymous!

59. #52, you know guys, this business of thinking that there is better football out there, I mean amateur team, but by the way where has sending footballers out there got for Angola, qualifying to the world cup is that all that we aspire for. Secondly what is wrong with us getting our clubs to be professional, let them be run like businesses, tha last time I went to queensmead stadium the stadium was packed, so do not tell me these teams do not make money to become professionals, what they lack is business strategy, period. Power tried and failed because they did not manage the club professionally. Have a full staff compliment run it like a business. Egypt have very few profs. AFCON 08 champs

60. #58, YOU ARE CRAP AS WELL.

61. Mayuka going to Sporting Lisbon for 2 million Euros according to club website.

62. Hope he will be dedicated and disciplined. May be he can learn how to shoot at goal and how to beat a goalkeeper. Playing in EU requires hardwork. The teams are big businesses. No messing around.

63. Kaizer Chiefs understood Mbesuma better. He is the sort of player to whose strength the team must play.
    He is not the player who plays to the strength of the team. The team must play to his strength, give him the ammunition and you will see him demolish Togo with a deluge of goals.

64. mwilatila ngamwakolwa mwalalemba rubbish on the blog. let serious people with brains debabe mwefipumbumwe!!

65. The fact is that whether we like or not we have a scoring problem and we need sharp strikers to enable us get a place in 2010 world cup needless to mention that we have been to Africa cup many times.Imagine 11 shorts at goal only 1 goal scored and a penaulty.The striker in the name of Roger Kula and not Kola decides to defend for the opposition.Lets cast our net wide and get razor sharp strikers that can take us forward.Let Kola continue playing for under 20 and may be under 23 for now

66. Mesuma is the only answer to Zambia’s scoring problems. Zambians lets support our lad and stop putting him down. I know it hasnt been easy for him for the past two seasons. He is going through a lot of rejection from football fans and coaches. Its not easy usually easy for especially a Zambian player to adjust rapidly to conditions in three different countries for a short period of time, UK, Portugal, Turkey. Unlike our west african brothers find it easy.
    The current coach should just pump confidence in Mbesuma and try to motivate him for the good of Zambia national team.

67. Concerned. I agree with you on your contribution #66 .

68. Sure Sibs. Thanks for agreeing with me.

69. What is Sinkala suffering from?
    Could it be egesi????????????

70. #69 Do you have proof of that? Dont just speculate. Imwe fyonse mufimwena muli “egesi”.

71. The people that are calling for mbesuma,i only have one question for them because they are saying we need to support him but how do we do that?!!!!!

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