Last season, Dynamos edged out bitter rivals, Highlanders, after the two local giants had ended the season with the same number of points. This was the second time in two seasons that DeMbare had done that, having relegated FC Platinum in the same manner the previous season, again under the technical guidance of former player Kalisto Pasuwa. The former midfielder is still in charge of the Dembare bench, but the question is: Will he do it again? Or will Bulawayo giants, Highlanders find their scoring boots and turn draws into triumphs? Will Bosso rediscover the glory days that made them a household name under Rahman Gumbo and later on Eddie May between 1999 and 2002?
Will the newly promoted Black Rhinos, Tripple B, Triangle and How Mine beat the tradition that saw most new boys relegated in their maiden year, as happened to Hardbody and Quelaton last season? Answers to all these questions will begin to be drawn at the start of a season in which the league champions stand to pocket $70 000 and get a place in the Caf Champions League.
A lot has happened during the off season. Dynamos have been victims of their success, having lost some of the star players that helped them win the title, including 2012 soccer star of the year, Denver Mukamba and strikers Roderick Mutuma and Simba Sithole, to South African clubs. They did bring in replacements in the form of talented veteran, Stephen Alimenda, Russel Madamombe, Francis Zikumbawire and Ugandan Boaban Ziruntusa, but some schools of thought say some of these do not meet the quality they replace.
Pasuwa has himself admitted that the gap left by the departed players is wider than the space filled by those who arrived. It will therefore, not be any harder to retain the league and Cup double he has dominated for two seasons.Remnants of that successful side still exist in trusted lieutenants like Murape Murape, Partson Jaure, Tawanda Muparati, and Milton Makopa though. Off-season developments say Dynamos’ most serious challenge will still come from traditional challengers Highlanders and FC Platinum, though, Chicken Inn cannot be discounted. Some years back, previously unheralded clubs like Monomotapa, Gunners, and Motor Action, stole the title from the noses of the so-called giants when they had been written off.
Zambian Kelvin Kaindu is also still in charge of Highlanders and after masterminding the Bosso revival in 2012, he should be ready to amend for his near-miss of last season.
His added advantage over the rest of the pack, in particular Dynamos, lies in the fact that players who served him so well last season are all still with the club. The Zambian therefore has a crop of players that know each other well and who can still strike a good combination.
Captain Innocent Mapuranga, Masimba Mambare, Ariel Sibanda, Mthulisi Maphosa, and Eric Mudzingwa and some exciting youngsters from the club’s juniors will provide the most lethal ammunition for Kaindu.
Unlike most PSL clubs that heavily rely on their cheque book for talent acquisition, Highlanders are one of the few that still have a well-oriented junior policy that regularly feeds the senior team.
As usual, big spending FC Platinum have been on the market. They have brought in 2010 Coach of The Year, Tenant Chilumba to take charge of their technical department. The former Zambian international brought with him Aaron Katebe, who chose the platinum miners over Dynamos.
The miners have also retained the core of their 2011 and 2012 squads, including Joel Ngodzo and Benjamin Marere and should, at least, finish behind the eventual top two teams. Although the debate for the championship has centred heavily on Dynamos, Highlanders, and FC Platinum, the three clubs should be wary of Chicken Inn.
It is unfortunate that Adam Ndlovu, tragically killed in a road accident last year, is no longer there to witness the fruits of his labour, but the Bulawayo boys will take comfort in the fact that he left them a team capable of holding its own against the best in the country. They have big names, but the modest side thrives on team work and showed in the recent four-team NetOne Charity Shield how well-prepared they are for the championship race.
With Felix Chindungwe still in the fray, Chicken Inn are there not for the surprises of finishing second, but to challenge for honours.
Traditionally, Caps United have been billed as one of the favourites for every title, but not this year. The Green Machine have had so many problems that even the recent boasting of coach Brenna Msiska that they will win the championship has largely been taken as empty rhetoric.
The Green Machine did retain some of their top players who include Rahman Kutsanzira and captain Tapuwa Khumbuyani, but they also lost others as they could not guarantee their salaries. The young players that Msiska promoted from Albert Mabika junior mean that Caps lack the experience required at such a high level of competition.
Barring miracles, the Green Machine, like Motor Action, Monomotapa, and Harare City, are not championship winning sides, but modest teams that should finish in mid-table and avoid relegation.
Newly-promoted clubs stand to be judged from their first four games, which will determine if they can survive in the Premiership, while the likes of Black Mambas, Hwange, Shabanie Mine and Buffaloes have to improve or have the lower division as their next destination.
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