CAPS United cry foul
By Robson Sharuko
CAPS UNITED have hit out at bitter rivals Dynamos for the manner in which they handled Ashley Rambanapasi’s proposed move across the Great Divide while Highlanders have declared that their skipper Zephania Ngodzo and midfielder Stephen Alimenda are not up for sale and will not move to the Glamour Boys.
DeMbare registered Green Machine skipper Rambana-pasi, Bosso captain Ngodzo and influential midfielder Alimenda in their 27-man squad for the 2010 Champions League where the Glamour Boys are one of the six seeded teams on the continent.
But CAPS United yesterday were not amused with the way Dynamos have been courting Rambanapasi, who still has a running contract with the Green Machine until the end of next year, and said their decision to register him, before opening negotiations, fell short of expectations.
There was, however, cause for celebrations in the Green Machine camp yesterday with leading goal-scorer Nyasha Mushekwi extending his contract by another two years until 2012 while highly-rated attacking midfielder Pride Tafirenyika completed his move from Shooting Stars.
Mushekwi — who had a year still to run on his contract — put pen to paper in a major vote of confidence in the Green Machine’s future while Tafirenyika arrived at Makepekepe as a free agent following the expiry of his contract with the Wild Boys.
CAPS United said while they had no problem with letting Rambanapasi fulfil his wish and possibly play for Dynamos, they had a serious problem with the way DeMbare had apparently been trying to thrash out a deal with their skipper behind their back.
Highlanders also fired a similar volley of accusations in the Glamour Boys’ direction, questioning their decision to register both Ngodzo and Alimenda for their Champions League campaign, without getting the greenlight from the Bulawayo giants. Bosso said while they had received an official letter from Dynamos relating to a possible transfer of Ngodzo, they had advised their big rivals that the player was not up for sale and that should have ended the Glamour Boys’ pursuit of the Zimbabwe international defender.
By going ahead and registering him as part of their squad for the Champions League next year, claimed Bosso, Dynamos had not only shown disrepect for their rivals but also strained a working relationship between the two clubs that was, until now, very healthy.
Highlanders, Dynamos and CAPS United make up the exclusive club of The Big Three of Zimbabwean football and the rivalry among their fans runs very deep and it is the sensitivity of that relationship that has always made it difficult for players to move between the three sides.
CAPS United operations director Farai Jere said yesterday that he wasn’t happy with the way Dynamos had gone ahead and opened negotiations with Rambanapasi, without the blessing of his club, when the player still had a year left on his contract.
“Our concern as a team is that proper procedures have not been followed in the proposed transfer of Ashley, who is our team captain, to our rivals Dynamos because the player and the club entered into negotiations without our blessings,” said Jere.
“Fifa rules and regulations guiding such player transfers are clear that a team can start negotiating with a player if he only has six months left on his contract and Ashley has a year left but negotiations have been going on behind our back.
“When you realise that the two parties went as far as striking an agreement, where Ashley could be registered as a Dynamos player for the Champions League, then you understand that the negotiations have been going on for some time.
“Our problem isn’t the fact that Ashley wants to go to Dynamos, but the fact that the team that owns the player’s rights and that has been paying his salaries and bonuses all along has been ignored in the process.
“I receieved a letter from Dynamos yesterday asking us if we could clear Ashley to join them but by then he had already been registered for the Champions League and we, as the possible selling club who are entitled to a fee, had not taken part in the negotiations.”
Jere said CAPS United would not stand in Rambanapasi’s way.
“I have discussed the issue with the coach Lloyd Chitembwe and he was of the opinion that we should discuss the issue with Ashley and let him come back into the family,” said Jere.
“But my point is that this isn’t the first time that Ashley has shown interest in joining Dynamos because last year he even trained with our rivals but we managed to sort the case in-house. When he returned home from England, he even tried to join Lengthens and then realised that he still had a running contract with us and that was the time that he decided to come into our fold.
“Since then, we have worked well together and he even was appointed captain of the team this season and we believe that comes with a lot of responsibility, in terms of commitment, to us as CAPS United because his actions have an influence on the other players.
“When you have a leader who is committed to the cause of the team, then you know that it’s easy to deal with the other players but when that captain is the one who starts to make a move and, without your knowledge, strikes a deal with your biggest rivals, then it’s time for bold decisions.
“Dynamos are our biggest rivals and if you want to hurt the feelings of genuine CAPS United fans then you just try to help the DeMbare cause and we feel that, as captain of the team, Ashley’s actions have really hurt the fans and the image of our club.”
Jere said while the relationship between Rambanapasi and the CAPS United fans was tricky, especially after the skipper appeared to insult the supporters for turning against him towards the end of the season, the management always felt they could manage the politics.
“Even when Ashley was in England, reports surfaced here where he was quoted as saying that he would never play for CAPS United again because he was not happy with the management style of the club president Twine Phiri,” said Jere.
“But we sat down as management, when he came back, and agreed that he was still part of the family and decided to let bygones be bygones in the wider interest of the club.
“Now, this is how we are being paid back for our investment in which we have also helped him, as captain, invest in property so that his image is reflective of a CAPS United leader.
“But this is how he repays us and we have absolutely nothing against him moving to Dynamos, because that is his right, but maybe there are procedures that need to be followed that were not followed here and that disappoints us a lot.”
Jere said he had since held discussions with Rambanapasi who indicated to him that he still wanted to be part of the CAPS United family but, given what has happened in the past week, it was difficult to now take him on his word.
“Our coach Lloyd doesn’t want to see a lot of commotion in the team because he believes that he had a base that was beginning to be turned into a very competitive and efficient team and so he wants us to try and find an amicable solution,” said Jere.
“But we are saying that for how long shall we continue to be pushed into such a corner every time when it’s off-season and every club comes to a point when they say that enough is enough and you part ways.
“The big example in world football happened in June this year when Manchester United finally reached a point when they said they couldn’t continue being pushed into a corner, every off-season, by a player who wanted to go and so they released Ronaldo.”
CAPS United have so far not registered Rambanapasi in the 23-man squad that they have given Zifa for onward transmission to the Confederation of African Football.
But, with the deadline for registration still open until the end of this month, there is room for changes.
Dynamos might also be forced to change personnel after Highlanders insisted yesterday that their skipper Ngodzo was not up for sale to a local club and influential midfielder Alimenda would also not be moving to the Glamour Boys.
Highlanders’ secretary Andrew Tapela said yesterday
Ngodzo, who still has a running contract at Bosso, would not be allowed to move to DeMbare.
“The position is very clear that Zeph is the Highlanders skipper and we have made it also clear to Dynamos that he is not for sale to any local side and he is a key member of our team and we won’t be releasing him,” said Tapela.
“Of course Dynamos had the courtesy of officially writing to us showing their interest but once we turned them down, that should have been the end of the story and there was no need for them to go ahead and register him.
“Alimenda’s contract was coming to an end this season but he has since renewed it for another two years because he believes in the future of this team and we also rate him very highly and so, just like Zeph, he is not going anywhere on the local scene.”
Sources at Bosso said Ngodzo was also tied to Bosso through a house, which the club helped purchase for him, and whose repayment plan was underwritten by Highlanders tied to part of his contract.
CAPS United Squad for the 2009 Confederations Cup
Goalkeepers – Edmore Sibanda, Itai Chiwara, Tafadzwa Jarichi
Defenders – Gilbert Mapemba, Method Mwanjali, Nyasha Mukumbi, Douglas Walaza, Blessing Mazorodze, George Karimupfumbi, Pardon Marime
Midfielders – Lionel Mtizwa, Thabani Goredema, Courage Denias, Tafadzwa Rusike, Yves Ebabali, Oscar Machapa, Marvel Samaneka, Pride Tafirenyika
Strikers – Nyasha Mushekwi, Tendai Nyamadzawo, Leonard Tsipa, Vincent Nzombe, Clive Mwale
· Former CAPS United public relations officer PADDINGTON JAPAPAPA is a controversial figure who has been with the Green Machine since he started supporting football as a primary school kid. Tomorrow he give us his thoughts, in a no-holds-barred analysis, of the fallout from the Ashley Rambanepasi saga and the way forward for his beloved CAPS United.
