Sports

Luton Town boss lavishes praise on ‘terrific’ Marvelous Nakamba

Published

2 years ago

March 15, 2023

BY MIKE SIMMONDS

English Championship side Lutown Town boss Rob Edwards believes the enjoyment that on-loan midfielder Marvelous Nakamba is getting from his loan spell with the Hatters is translating into his performances on the pitch.

The 29-year-old moved to Kenilworth Road from Aston Villa in a deal until the end of the season on transfer deadline day, and has started the last seven Championship encounters in the holding midfield role.

He has been a revelation in the role too, providing a terrific screen in front of the back three, so much so, that Luton have only conceded twice from open play when he has been on the field, one of those an error from Ethan Horvath against Millwall, the other a clearly offside goal in the same game.

Starring in the 1-0 victory at Sheffield United on Saturday, particularly in the first half where his now customary ability to win tackles and maintain possession was evident from the opening whistle, Nakamba, could be seen interacting with the visiting supporters at the end of the contest, as it looks like he is loving life in Bedfordshire.

On just how big a factor that is for a loan player, Edwards said: “It’s really important and he’s such a good lad, he walks around and he’s so humble, so happy.

“He’s such a good professional though, and I can see when we are having meetings, or going through set-pieces, whatever it might be, the level of detail.

“He’s asking questions, he’s picking up, you can really see his professionalism and why he’s played at the level he’s played at, and why he’s performing so well for us as well.

“He’s been terrific for us, and long may that continue as well.

“When loan players come in, there’s got to be something that they are going to get from it as well.

“It can’t just be all about us and the club, it’s got to work both ways, and I think certainly in his situation, and Cody’s (Drameh) as well, it’s working well for both parties.

“It gets them the football, but it really helps us as well, as a club.”

Although Nakamba has played at the top level, including internationally for Zimbabwe and in the Premier League and Champions League, there doesn’t appear an ounce of grandeur about him when having to drop down to the Championship in a bid to get the regular first team football he had been without for the past two seasons.

Edwards always knew that would be the case though, as he continued: “When I spoke to him as we were going through the process of trying to get him in the club, I could see that in him, that humility that he’s got.

“From day one he’s come in and been a part of the group and just loved it.

“He’s got stuck in, the lads love him and I think he’s really enjoying his football and it’s showing on the pitch.”

With Nakamba’s deal at Luton running to May, and the midfielder, who Villa paid £11m to Club Brugge for, believed to have another year on his deal, a permanent deal appears unlikely due to wages, plus a potential transfer fee, unless that is, the Hatters reached the top flight themselves.

Edwards preferred to look at what he can do for the club during the promotion run-in rather than what may or may not happen, as he added: “I think it’s well into the future.

“All I can say at the moment is that I think he’s a terrific player and a terrific person.

“Of course, we want good players and good people at the club, but I think it’s one thing at a time.

“Let’s focus on the here and the now and for him to make the most of it for himself, and for us to get the most out of it for him to try and help us get as many points as we can.

“But we want good people and good players here, of course we do.” – Luton Today

National

Bosso CEO Sihlangu Dlodlo dies

Published

4 weeks ago

October 29, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY FUNGAI MUDERERE

Highlanders Football Club chief executive officer Sihlangu Dlodlo has died.

According to The Chronicle newspaper, he was found dead at his Nketa 9 home in Bulawayo Monday evening, one of his close friends, Allan “Ripper” Mpofu, confirmed last night.

Dlodlo’s body was discovered after close associates forced entry into his premises.

He had not been seen since Saturday.

“It seems like my friend passed on over the weekend. He was alone at his place,” said a shaken Mpofu with sobs.

“After the alarm was raised that he had gone missing, with the help of his relatives we had to force open the gate at his place to gain entry.

“After peeping through the window, I could not believe my eyes. I saw the lifeless body of my close friend. This is so disheartening; it’s really sad.

“We discovered this around 6.45pm. I cannot speak further because I have to respect his (Sihlangu) family.”

Highlanders chairman Kenneth Mhlophe said Sihlangu’s death was a huge loss to the Bosso family and that they were waiting for the Dlodlo family to give the green light to comment more.

“It’s sad. We are disturbed. It’s a big loss to us but we have been advised by our board chairman (Luke Mkandla) to first have the green light from the Dlodlo family to comment further,” said Mhlophe.

Ex-Highlanders chief executive Nhlanhla Bahlangene Dube said he was devastated.

“Just look at my WhatsApp status; It’s a picture of him and me watching the Highlanders Royals game on Saturday. My mind is all over. Maybe I can only comment tomorrow (today). I’m not okay. I cannot find the right words now,” said Dube.

One of Bosso’s popular followers Duduzu “Teekay” Sibanda was at a loss for words.

“What a loss. I was with him on Saturday when the Emgwanwini Chapter hosted a tournament. We also watched the Highlanders Royals in action against a team from Mutare together.

“He also gave me his address. We spent the whole day with him. This is sad,” said Sibanda.

While finer details could not be obtained on what happened to the late Sihlangu, social media was already abuzz about his untimely death.

At around 8.20pm yesterday, the body of the late Sihlangu was yet to be taken to a mortuary.

The late Dlodlo was appointed Bosso head of secretariat in April to replace Ronald Moyo who opted against renewing his contract with the Bulawayo giants.

Dlodlo is a former Premier Soccer League secretary-general and ex-Bantu Rovers general manager.

Before his appointment at Highlanders, he was the general manager at Kings and Queens Funeral Services, a position he held from November last year, and had also been a sales and marketing executive at the company.

The late Dlodlo, who also worked at Innscor Africa as a sales marketing manager, was also a veteran arts administrator who enjoyed a good working relationship with the late Cont Mhlanga at Amakhosi Cultural Centre.

He was also praised for many breakthrough strategies that led to Amakhosi’s emergence as a powerhouse on the arts scene in the 90s.

The late Dlodlo will also be remembered for his service in the private sector, taken as proof by some that artistes could lead and thrive even beyond the arts.

SOURCE: THE CHRONICLE

Slider

ZOU hosts sports gala

Published

4 weeks ago

October 28, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY NOTHANDO DUBE

It was a colorful and action-packed day at Mkoba Teachers college as Zimbabwe Open University held its Sports Gala on weekend, bringing together students from its ten regional campuses across the country.

A total of 130 students from all regional campuses participated in a variety of sporting activities.

The list of games included athletics, soccer, netball, volleyball, days, javelin and high jump.

Zimbabwe Open University is an Open and distance and e-learning (OdeL) institution that has ten regional campuses and one virtual campus totaling to 11 campuses.

Most of the learning is done online and events like these give students a platform to share the experience and environment enjoyed by their counterparts from conventional tertiary institutions.

A total of 13 students from each region represented their regional campuses across the sporting areas outlined.

The wellness and interaction event was attended and graced by The Dean of Students, Thandiwe Chivasa together with staff from the national Centre and 10 Student advisors from the ten regional campuses.

Volleyball and athletics drew much excitement from all teams as regions cheered for their teams.

The winning teams walked away with medals and trophies for excelling.

The event was a resounding success after a long six years break from such games by the institution.

Students living with disabilities were part of the fun and excitement throughout the day.

Slider

5 games that counted against Erik ten Hag after Manchester United sacking

Published

4 weeks ago

October 28, 2024

VicFallsLive

BY STAFF REPORTER

Erik ten Hag has been sacked as Manchester United manager.

United’s new ownership have made the move after a poor start to the season, which continued at West Ham on Sunday when they slipped to their fourth Premier League defeat of the campaign.

They sit in 14th place and have won only one of their last eight games in all competitions.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five games that counted against the former Ajax boss in his final 12 months in charge.

A 2-1 win over Chelsea in early December was arguably United’s best performance of the season to that point and should have been something to build on.

Instead, just three days later they were embarrassed by Andoni Iraola’s Cherries as Bournemouth enjoyed a first victory at Old Trafford – and in some style.

Dominic Solanke opened the scoring five minutes in and then hit a post before further goals from Philip Billing and Marcos Senesi led to boos from many of the United fans that stuck around until the end.

Manchester United 1 Fulham 2 – Premier League, February 24, 2024

Confirmation of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment into United, and the overhaul of football operations it would bring, had brought a sense of optimism to Old Trafford.

But it took only a few days for United to puncture it with yet another home defeat.

Harry Maguire thought he had earned a point with an 89th-minute equaliser only for United to switch off and allow Alex Iwobi to strike a dramatic stoppage-time winner.

Coventry 3 Manchester United 3 (United won 4-2 on penalties) – FA Cup, April 21, 2024

Even in victory there were alarm bells ringing at Wembley as United reached a second successive FA Cup final.

United were firm favourites against Championship opposition and duly took a 3-0 lead, apparently cruising to victory.

But Coventry scored three goals in the last 20 minutes to force extra-time and even thought they had won it through Victor Torp in the last minute of that period before VAR intervened with an offside decision.

United came through the penalty shoot-out but it was a victory without much honour.

Crystal Palace 4 Man Utd 0 – Premier League, May 6, 2024

Perhaps United’s worst day of the season came at Selhurst Park as Palace completed their maiden Premier League double over the Red Devils.

Michael Olise scored twice as Palace overwhelmed a patched-up United defence manned by Jonny Evans and Casemiro.

Defeat left United with only two wins from 10 league games, a run which would ultimately cost them any chance of finishing in the European places.

Man Utd 0 Tottenham 3 – Premier League, September 29, 2024

United had been swept aside by bitter rivals Liverpool and dropped points in the Europa League against lowly-ranked Dutch side FC Twente in their two previous games at Old Trafford.

The mood worsened within three minutes of the Premier League clash with Tottenham as centre-back Micky van de Ven dribbled 70 yards through the heart of the United team before crossing for Brennan Johnson to open the scoring.

United captain Bruno Fernandes then saw red before the interval, after which further goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Solanke were the least Spurs deserved in a dominant display as the pressure on Ten Hag intensified.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT (UK)