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| SBN looks at five potential candidates that could replace Eric Tinkler at Cape Town City. |
SuperSport United announced Eric Tinkler as Stuart Baxter’s successor on a three-year deal in their press conference on Thursday.
Tinkler led City to a third-place finish in the Absa Premiership as well as the Telkom Knockout in their maiden top flight campaign. But he has decided to leave the Mother City-based club only a year into his three-year contract.
That news comes as a huge blow to Cape Town City who will now need to find a suitable replacement.
City said, via their official Twitter account, that one main candidate has emerged to replace Tinkler and that they’ll announce his successor in the next week.
Here are some possible candidates to replace Tinkler:
• Ruud Krol
• Cavin Johnson
• Roger de Sa
• Benni McCarthy
• Muhsin Ertugral
Ruud Krol has emerged as the frontrunner for the job after he was reportedly spotted arriving at Cape Town International Airport on Monday. The Dutchman has been out of a coaching job since the end of June last year when he left Tunisian side, Club Africain. Krol last managed in the PSL six years ago when he led Orlando Pirates to a famous domestic treble in the 2010/11 season, collecting the PSL Coach of the Season award. He would bring with him a wealth of experience and a winning mentality.
Cavin Johnson is currently a free agent after Platinum Stars opted against renewing his contract for the 2017/18 season on Monday. The 58-year-old mentor paid the price as Dikwena missed out on a top eight finish in the league, failing to live up to the heights of their 2015/2016 campaign. Johnson has never won a single trophy since he started coaching in 2012 and it would be a bizarre decision for John Comitis to appoint him as Tinkler’s successor.
Roger de Sa was seen as the frontrunner to replace Baxter at SuperSport last month, but the 52-year-old has lost out to Tinkler. The Mozambican has been without a job since his resignation from Maritzburg United in March. De Sa has never got his hands on the PSL title, but he has won the Nedbank Cup with Bidvest Wits in 2009/2010 and the 2015 MTN8 with Ajax Cape Town. In 2012, he also led Orlando Pirates to their first CAF Champions League final since 1995.
Benni McCarthy is also being considered as a potential candidate to take over from where Tinkler left off. The Bafana Bafana legend lacks coaching experience; however, he can offer a lot of experience to the players and would be a good mentor to them. Having being managed by Jose Mourinho, Benni could be worth the gamble.
Muhsin Ertugral has also been linked to take up the post at Cape Town City, having previously worked under Comitis at Ajax Cape Town. But the Turkish mentor tweeted in March that he would continue the rest of his career in Europe. However, an exciting project and return to South Africa may be tough to refuse. Ertugral did exceptionally well at Mpumalanga Black Aces before the club was sold.
Written by Chad Nagel