Phala claims Cele lacked match-winning quality
The Glamour Boys are currently dealing with a depleted engine room with Lebohang Maboe, Siphesihle Ndlovu, and Adolf Bitegeko all ruled out through injury, which has raised questions regarding the wisdom of letting Thabo Cele leave the club by mutual consent.
Despite the current personnel shortage at Naturena, Thuso Phala is adamant that the new Mamelodi Sundowns player is not the profile of the Soweto club needs to restore its former glory.
“Personally I don’t think we’ll miss him that much, he was not a player to win games for Kaizer Chiefs," Phala explained during an appearance on the omniaudioafrica YouTube Channel. The former SuperSport United attacker elaborated on his stance by highlighting the specific demands placed on players representing the Soweto giants in the modern era.
New era defined by youth at Naturena
"And I feel like Chiefs are at a point where they need someone who will carry the team and win them games and I don’t think Cele was that type of a player,” Phala continued.
His assessment suggests that the club's current tactical evolution requires more dynamic, goal-oriented threats in the middle of the park rather than deep-lying playmakers. This shift in philosophy has seen the club place greater emphasis on internal development and younger recruits.
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Phala believes the club is heading in the right direction by moving away from established names who do not fit the long-term vision. He argues that the focus should remain on the emerging talents within the squad, even if the current injury crisis makes the situation appear dire in the short term.
“So him going to Mamelodi Sundowns, where you have match winners around you, he went there at the right time. It brought an opportunity for him to win those two medals, congrats to him. But Chiefs moving forward I think we’re building something new with the youngsters," Phala added.
Managing the current injury crisis
“Unfortunately it’s the injuries that are against us. If you’re a Chiefs player and called up you have to show up. Cele is gone but I don’t think we’ll miss him. He will win things at Sundowns obviously, as coach Pitso said, ‘If you want to win trophies you go to Sundowns’ but Chiefs is also on a quest to win something this season,” the former winger concluded. The pressure is now on the available squad members to justify the club's transfer decisions.
While Sundowns continue to reap the rewards of their deep squad and Cele's arrival, Kaizer Chiefs are banking on a cultural shift. The decision to let a player of Cele's pedigree join a direct rival remains a point of contention among the supporters, but voices like Phala's suggest there is a method to the perceived madness. The coming weeks will reveal whether the youngsters can indeed fill the void left by both the injured stars and those who have departed.