‘People who criticize Khama Billiat don’t know football – Willard Katsande

Former Warriors captain Willard Katsande has slammed Khama Billiat’s critics saying they ‘don’t know football, they follow it on social media’.

Katsande’s remarks come with Billiat under fire and being severely criticized by a number of his club’s fans as well as some of the club’s former players who believe he has failed to live up to expectations.

In fact, the critics suggest that the ex-Warriors talisman who has had a slow start to the 2022/23 DStv Premiership season must be offloaded.

Nonetheless, the under fire Billiat who has only provided two assists this season and is yet to find the back of the net has his former teammate, Katsande, backing him and he still believes the forward is a quality player.

Katsande said: “Now he must take the stage, he must take all blame as well as the criticism because he’s a senior player. But looking at it in a different view, he is a quality player who needs to be supported during this difficult moment.

“Supporters must rally behind him and stop criticising him. Let me tell you what type of guy Khama is the kind of player who is sensitive. He is unlike me. I’m a village boy, and I was a diehard, a hardcore player you know that.

“Other players like him are not like that. They need to be handled and treated differently. They need all the love and attention, they thrive on that. Some players need that to perform at their best.

“Even some of the best players in the world are like that. Currently he is not getting that from anywhere. So psychologically, I think he’s not 100% there, because he can feel that the love is not there anymore.”

“Remember, obviously he is no longer a young player. When you grow older some things change and as a player, you become more experienced. Now he is a senior player. He requires all that support. He still has two or three good seasons to give for the club.

He added: “If you can even look at other top players in the world of his age, they are older now, just like him and they are supported by the fans. But how can you be mature when everyone is throwing all these negative things at you?

“Every time he goes on social media or reads the news its negativity about him. Of course, he is going to feel down because of it and of course then his performance will suffer. I don’t blame him for that. We need to show him some love because we know when Khama is at his peak, he makes us all proud.

“People who criticize him don’t know football. They just see football from social media. If they knew it, they would just sit down and analyse what he contributes to the team.

“We just need to appreciate him because he is one of those kind players. He’s one of the gems, and it will take time for us to see a player like him again in the PSL. We must not chase him away. If we do, we are losing a brilliant player,” Katsande concluded.