Cape Town City chairman John Comitis admits their marquee signings let the club down as they suffered relegation from the Betway Premiership.
The Citizens ended their 2024/25 campaign in 15th place and were subsequently thrust into the post-season relegation/promotion play-offs, where their fate was sealed as Orbit College sealed a historic promotion.
Comitis had dispensed with long-serving head coach Eric Tinkler after a poor start to the season and turned to Muhsin Ertugral as both interim coach and Technical Director.
He was, however, sacked after just 14 games with the club floundering in 13th place, leaving First Team coach Diogo Peral in charge and assisted by Roger de Sa.
But Comitis says the decision to sign big-name players, who were not active at their clubs, was clearly a mistake.
Comitis told Robert Marawa on 94.7FM: “We added nine players, all big hitters with big salaries.
“They came from big overseas clubs. They had been playing on the bench at most of those clubs, but they were big brands, and we thought it was what the club needed.
“We had maturity mixed with youth, and we thought it was a good mix. But it was like mixing oil with water. Nothing worked. They didn’t stand up to be counted.”
Comitis added: “If Eric had stayed, could we have done something more? Who knows? If we had stuck with Muhsin, would we have got something out of it? Who knows? Was Diogo the right choice? Who knows?”
“The bottom line is none of us are players. There are 11 on the pitch and five substitutes. And these weren’t small-time players. They were big players with big names, and there was a lot of disappointment.”