ZESCO United to win the League in 2017
The 2017 season is getting closer and closer to moment of truth. Certainly the Afcon tournament might be a good distraction to most clubs struggling put there act together from the prying eyes of the ever so eager football family.
The eminent increase in the number of players coming into the league from outside the Zambian borders adds impetus and could just make the league more and more interesting.
That addition of more foreign players on the Zambian scene exposes our league even to the outside world. We about to break the numbers previously we been accustomed to and that alone means this season won’t be an easy one. Huge surprises on the log at the end of the season should be expected.
I don’t expect major changes in the top four finish compared with 2016 season but the positions will be swapped without doubt. Zesco for me will be the torch bearers for the season if they manage to keep most of their players. We are yet to see what is happening behind the scenes but I think they have learnt a big lesson to balance CAF and Super League and this will hand them the Super League .
Nkana has not made a lot of signings and will literally have the same squad but the inclusion of Aaron Katebe to their squad is a good one and that alone is enough for Nkana to hang on to the top four. The big question will be: Can they win the league? For me not with the current technical team. I still insist that the technical team at Nkana seem not to be in charge of the situation. I could be wrong but such situations don’t win leagues. Nkana will mostly settle for second position I think.
ZANACO have put themselves in a very difficult situation and this will, might not take them very far in the CAF champions league. They will have a lot of new faces which is not healthy for a team getting into CAF competition. Zesco managed because they had few inclusions and their core players continued with them in the new season. But again maybe Zanaco might get lucky to take the road to group stages in CAF championships has been made less daunting.
The early exit from the Champions league though will help them fight in the defence of the league title but other teams will be more prepared than last season. Zanaco won’t be able to defend the title but they will remain in the top three and will push the winner of the 2017 title. Lesson learnt: You don’t overhaul a title winning team.
If there is a season Power Dynamos could actually get closer to winning the title in recent times, this should be the one but the loss of Patson Daka has come at a very wrong time and they will miss his valiable services. Lyson Sikaonga is a good replacement but he won’t find a way to replicate his division one prowess. The Super league is a different monster altogether which is tougher than Division 1. Dan Kabwe will bring some hope but still it will be a bridge too dicey to cross. Power needed more players coming in especially upfront and in defence. They will still have the strength to finish in the top four. That is a no brainer
Green Buffaloes, Red Arrows and Kabwe Warriors will be the three teams that will be pushing to break into the top four but they may not have the full materials to do that ranging from technical bench to the players .
Green Buffaloes has been inconsistent for sometime and it might appear like they are content with just playing top flight football without fight for the title, while Red Arrows will be learning the new threads from the new coach. Kabwe Warriors will do well to give Chintu Kampamba a chance to build a team no matter what position they finish on the table but he will be in the top 8.
An interesting group will be below 8 were I expect teams to fight avoiding relegation and the teams in this bracket will altenate in dropping into the relegation zone and out every once in a moments of the entire season. This is because these teams will have a lot of adjusting to do in their teams and they will lit the season with a lot of things to learn and gel.
These are NAPSA, Nkwazi, Green Eagles, Lumwana Radiants, Mufulira Wanderers and Forest Rangers but among these the more confident are Forest Rangers and Green Eagles as little will change. These two have almost maintained the shapes of their core team together with the technical teams.
Mufulira Wanderers is boggling my biased mind and difficult to place them because I dont know much detail on the going-ons of what really is happening with the team. A good number of players intimating to leave is increasing and that means the team will also bring in a lot of new players and that might just make them the mighty of 2015 that shocked everyone. But again that could as well make them struggle and get relegated. You don’t overhaul a team in this manner. but be assured …. Mufulira Wanderers will be a new team. and who knows what to expect.
Four teams will be joining the Super league in 2017 and all eyes will be on which team manages to stay afloat. But among them an experienced campaigner of top flight football and knows what to expect to survive. It’s just a question of how mentally strong they are, that’s Konkola Blades.
These four teams will start fighting relegation from the start and as things are happening am having real confidence that Buildicon will survive relegation because they really are concentrating so much on what to do when the season starts. So that’s my pick of the four teams.
Konkola Blades with good organisation and convincing the sponsors for a good package, they may survive but it will be close.
Real Nakonde upon securing the promotion ticket I was convinced that they would survive the bruising super league challenge but the turn of events in 2017 has just plunged them in dangerous waters and even with a number of new signings, Real Nakonde has a lot to learn on how to prepare and get ready for the season. I strongly feel their technical bench will be their own undoing of going down.
This also applies to City of Lusaka with the infighting among the executive committee. It puts City ya Moto as one of the candidates for going down to the zones .
MY PREDICTION END TO RHE SEASON IN 2017
1. ZESCO
2. Nkana
3. Power Dynamos
4. ZANACO
5. Kabwe Warriors
6. Red Arrows
7. Green Buffaloes
8. NAPSA
9. Nkwazi
10. Forest Rangers
11. Green Eagles
12. Mufulira Wanderers
13. Lumwana Radiants
14. Buildicon FC
15. Nchanga Rangers
16. Konkola Blades
17. City of Lusaka
18. Real Nakonde
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Let the count down begin!!!
