{"id":338393,"date":"2023-08-03T10:53:55","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T08:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/betcentral.onpressidium.com\/?p=338393"},"modified":"2023-08-03T10:53:57","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T08:53:57","slug":"cape-town-city-season-preview-23-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/machibet777-app.com\/soccer\/psl\/cape-town-city-season-preview-23-24\/","title":{"rendered":"Cape Town City Season Preview 23\/24"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

City\u2019s decision to bring Eric Tinkler to the club has proven a masterstroke. The coach has delivered 2nd place and then 4th place despite the sale of some of his best players. Although the window isn\u2019t shut, Cape Town City have so far held onto their two key assets despite interest locally and from abroad. Can they push for a top two finish and look to win a domestic cup?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Bet Now: DSTV Prem<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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LAST SEASON \u2013 TOUGH START, STRONG END<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Having finished second in the 2021-22 season, City won the same number of league matches last term (12) but ended fourth. The early part of the season was tough, and the club spent a lot of time in the bottom half after losing their opening three matches with two draws following that. The reasons for the difficulties were pretty clear as injuries hit their defence \u2013 with the preview a year ago stating a lack of cover at the back was a worry. Once Thami Mkhize and Taariq Fielies were fully fit and Nathan Fasika\u2019s visa issues were sorted out, things improved somewhat. Another factor was the late sale of Terrence Mashego to Sundowns (and he had missed the start of the season with injury too), meaning a late move for Lyle Lakay on loan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A run of eight points in four matches followed, but the side never really found consistency and properly pushed away from the bottom half until mid-February. City lost five of their 11 league matches from mid-October until early February with their first CAF Champions League campaign also proving a distraction. Successive defeats to Stellenbosch (3-2, after leading 2-0) and SuperSport United saw City languish just two points above the drop after 19 matches. Many other clubs\u2019 owners would have made a change and fired Eric Tinkler (and the coach admitted as much himself).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, the coach oversaw just one loss in the final 11 fixtures as a change of formation to a 3-4-3 formation paid dividends. Youngster Jaedin Rhodes and winger Darwin Gonzalez excelled down the flanks and Khanyisa Mayo\u2019s move to centre forward saw him end the season in great form to reach 12 league goals and share the Golden Boot with Peter Shalulile. Overall, it was far from a season to remember. With 27 points from their final 15 matches \u2013 all the more impressive because nine of those were away games \u2013 optimism is high for a stronger start to the campaign ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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TWO KEY AREAS TO IMPROVE<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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Aside from needing to start seasons far better, City have two key aspects they need to address. Firstly, they received six red cards last season, the most in the league. Four of those came in the final six fixtures, and whilst most were not for violent conduct, the players need to show better individual game management to avoid second yellows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of \u2018game management\u2019, City dropped 19 points last season from winning positions. There were the early-season defeats to Swallows and AmaZulu which could be put down to the defensive absentees. However, late-season points were thrown away at home to Marumo Gallants and AmaZulu from leading positions too and there are many other examples. Eric Tinkler will hope to see his side kill off opponents better next season and will also hope that his players can protect narrow leads better \u2013 perhaps by not dropping too deep and inviting pressure, a common sight and gripe of the coach in his post-match interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another quirk of last term was that City didn\u2019t receive a penalty all season. Perhaps more dribbles into the box will draw some fouls and therefore some much-needed spot-kicks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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KEEP YOUR BEST PLAYERS<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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The number one rule of any transfer window is not who you sign, but to keep your best players. City have a smart and clear model to develop players and then to sell them on for big profits to either Mamelodi Sundowns<\/a><\/strong> or to clubs abroad (think Fagrie Lakay\u2019s move to Pyramids FC). Whilst the transfer window still has almost a month to run, and we saw Mashego sold late in the window last season, City have so far held onto their two key assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khanyisa Mayo had been strongly linked to Kaizer Chiefs and Mamelodi Sundowns in the past but it appears that he will stay this season (never say never, though). Owner John Comitis has put a big price tag on his head, saying \u201cMayo\u2019s value is in the excess of 2-million dollars, in my opinion\u201d. He will need to deliver more consistently this season as most of his goal came in a hot streak last term. It is expected that he will play as a central striker for most of this season as opposed to being a right winger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other big player who remains at the club is Brice Ambina. The Cameroon midfielder looked set for a move to either the Middle East or Latvia but that transfer has so far not materialised. He is an excellent ball-winning midfielder, and a consistently excellent season ahead from him would surely attract a big move and transfer fee. Had City lost those two players, a difficult campaign may have been on the horizon and some scrambling may have been needed in the transfer market to find the next gem or some stopgap additions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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RECRUTIMENT & DEPTH CHART: DO CITY HAVE ENOUGH GOALSCORERS?<\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

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