Are Nasreddine Nabi's Kaizer Chiefs really cooking something or is it all just smoke and mirrors as Amakhosi seek to end their almost decade long trophy drought?

In the midst of the trophy drought, Chiefs' struggles on the pitch can be pinned to their inability to lure quality players to the club.

The flawed recruitment policy saw Chiefs miss out on a handful of marquee signings in the past transfers windows, and that has seen the 2021 Caf Champions League finalists adopting the bad habit of signing below par players that don't meet the standards of a big club like Chiefs.

The Glamour Boys are constantly linked with quality, but they always seem to fail to get the deals over the line.

In the July transfer window, Chiefs were chasing the signature of Stellenbosch FC left-back Fawaaz Basadien, but the deal fell through after the two clubs could not agree on the transfer fee.

After failing to secure Basadien's signature, the club opted for a cheaper option in the left-back position with the signing of Bradley Cross from Golden Arrows and Bongani Sam from Orlando Pirates.

Both players have yet to make a meaningful impact at the club, leaving Nabi to rely on the return of the injury-ravaged Edmilson Dove to shore up the position after two-thirds of the season have passed.

The harsh reality is that the current crop of players at Chiefs are not good enough to carry the hopes of millions of the club's high-demanding supporters.

Chiefs' over-reliance on arguably their only genuinely top-class player, Gaston Sirino, has proven to be costly whenever the latter is injured or serving a suspension.

Moreover, every team that faces Chiefs have somewhat mastered the art of nullifying Sirino to make the team less efficient in attack.

On the other hand, Nabi's constant chopping and changing of his match day squad is perhaps due to the fact that his charges don't have sufficient quality to match his desired game model.

The club's signing of highly-rated midfielder Thabo Cele during the January transfer window is another nod to an area of the pitch where the club has not strengthened sufficiently.

Consistency is key for a big club like Chiefs, if you can't put together a run of good results, you'll always be chasing the shadows of your rivals.

The Kaizer Motaung-owned team have, in recent times, produced erratic performances against weaker opponents.

Chiefs have lost maximum points to smaller teams such as Polokwane City, Golden Arrows and SuperSport while also losing regularly to their direct competitors, Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.

The failure to string a consistent run form is attributed to both the deficiencies in the squad and the lack of mental toughness of playing for a big club, something that deserves Nabi's attention should he stay with the club for a long period of time.

Meanwhile, Nabi's coaching and tactics have failed to improve players' individual performances to make up a solid team.

With two-thirds of the season gone, Chiefs supporters are divided on Nabi's capabilities to lead the club, with a significant number of fans feeling that the coach is failing at Naturena and continued poor results will see that number grow.

Chiefs senior management is ultimately a big part of the problems they find themselves in. The revolving door for coaches at the club has hindered their chances of building a team with continuity, and the hierarchy's reluctance to open the chequebook to recruit game-changing players has left the squad imbalanced and short on quality.

This season, AmaKhosi have put all their trust on players coming from the development ranks to carry the weight of going back to the glory days.

Mduduzi Shabalala, Wandile Duba, Mfundo Vilakazi and Samkelo Zwane are some of the young players who shoulder the responsibilities of ending the club's long-standing trophy drought. However, the trio haven't quite lived up to expectations, with the worry being the Chiefs jersey might just be too heavy for them.

In light of Chiefs' recent poor results, fans have resorted to throwing missiles as a way to address concerns of the slump they find themselves in. Sadly, Chiefs have been hit with hefty monetary fines by the PSL prosecutor Zola Majavu for bringing the league into disrepute through their fan behaviour and once again the club and it's fans are walking the disciplinary tightrope.

Nabi was given plaudits from pundits and fans way before he even set foot in Naturena. The praises were stemming from the fact that Nabi established himself as one of the high-profile coaches on the African continent after a trophy-laden spell at Tanzania's Yanga.

After two years of league and cup doubles in Tanzania and being losing finalists in the 2022-23 Caf Confederation Cup, Nabi was poached by Morocco's AS FAR.

His short stint in Morocco did not go to plan as the Tunisian coach did not have access to the resources he had at Yanga, who now dominate Tanzanian football in a way that reminds us of Sundowns in South Africa having cruised to the title for three seasons running and are on course to retain their title yet again.

Outside of Nabi's stint at Yanga, his management record reads seven clubs, zero trophies.

However, Chiefs have seen something in him that saw the club not only take on the coach, but his full backroom staff, too. They even fought off an approach by the Tunisian FA last month for Nabi to take on the national team role in the country of his birth.

That faith in Nabi's abilities and where he can take the ailing giants of South African football needs to be seen where it matters most, on the pitch.

PSL

Nedbank Cup

Kaizer Chiefs

Nabi Nasreddine