On Friday, Chipolopolo Boys coach Honour Janza released his squad for the upcoming African Cup of Nations qualifiers against Mozambique and Cape Verde.
Janza left out big names like skipper Chris Katongo (as expected), and Fwayo Tembo, it is the omission of in-form duo Jacob Mulenga and Evans Kangwa which has raised eyebrows.
Below the ZamFoot Crew gets some of the views from the fans as they argue their case for the inclusion of the two strikers in our new column, Fans’ Perspective. Intriguing Far East based striker James Chamanga is also a subject.
Song says…
I do not like talking about player selection but I no longer can hold it. I cannot see any wisdom in leaving out Evans Kangwa who has always delivered when given a little chance and insisting on the sluggish and consistently under-performing James Chamanga.
Wasn’t Janza part of the technical bench when Kangwa saved us from embarrassment at the hands of Uganda in that friendly match? Did Janza see how potent Nkana’s attack in the African Confederation cup was largely because of the industry of Kangwa and Sate Sate?
The inclusion of Lubambo [Musonda] is long overdue as he is obviously more mature than the young boy Charles Zulu who Janza threw in to the deep end. Only personal issues can make Janza leave out Evans Kangwa and opt for the clearly raw Patrick Ngoma and the tired Chamanga!
Team Chamanga!
James Chamanga is one of a few African players who has managed keep his place in China and has been banging in goals. While in Zambia, he hasn’t been appreciated as expected, In China the man has banged in goals season after season.
Big Steve from SA…
Amazing how fickle we are as supporters, just a few articles before this there was a tremendous amount of comments speaking to the axing of Jacob, now that he has picked up his scoring boots there is a sudden change of whether…..kekekekeke!!!!! I bet if Chamanga moved to Isreal and scored five goals the whether will change in his favour…..some supposed “analysts” make me laugh to be honest. Almost 10 to 15 people made comments about how Jacob should be axed today all of a sudden he is our golden boy. Whats that the bembas say about ukusela ukwa kaba????
Summary: Both Jacob and Chamanga out! Recall Evans Kangwa
The evergreen John summarises it…..
John…
@ Big steve Jacob is not good enough to be in the starting 11 of the national team. He is a slow striker. If you watched the Mozambique and Cape Verde matches you could see Zambia lacked mobility up front. What we are saying is that he deserves a place on the bench. Mayuka, Sate sate and Kangwa are the best strikers in the land. Chamanga has no place place in the team. Evans Kangwa is scoring goals against teams like Maccabi Haifa which is a big name in european football he is much better positioned than Chamanga in china.
Kangwa and Raynold Kampamba could make a good striking partnership.
Janza should he draw or loss,he should fire himself
Kangwa should be in, please.
Since Janza is in charge for now, wouldn’t it be better to leave him alone and let him do his duty? He is as a much of a Zambian as the rest of us, and if there is poor performance he suffers as much as anyone of us.
One swallow doesn’t make a summer, and our own Bullet was just going through a bad patch after we were dumped by a coach 4 months before the AFCON 2015 campaign.
So bane give Honour chance and….
Let the games begin.
All is well that ends well
evans should be called asap we hv do or die game and u leave out evergreen player lik kangwa. janza what ar u doiny? u ar making people to be angly with u.
There is no point at all leaving out Kangwa. We as fans wants him to included. Wen we luz or draw it is not only the courch who feels the pain even us as fans feel the pain. Therefore, hav the right to advise if we see that certain things ar not done the way they are supposed to be done. We need Kangwa at all cost.
Janza pull up your socks, this not amateur league.Charles Zulu is still raw and gets tired easily and in future he can be used as a super sub, not at this crucial time. kabaso chongo very useless many at times ukuponapona as for me he is not a serious national team material.chamanga, a headless chicken as commonly known In zambia. he is ever disappointing would rather have Jacob on the bench than chamanga. recalling the young lad lubambo and the dropping of the captain ba chris for disciplinary grounds as well as not fit fwayo tembo is welcome .Janza I know that you re a slow thinker and in all the games you have been in charge you lack vision.recall kangwa and drop chamanga .
in conclusion .why did you allow rodrick kabwe to take that sport kick against ivory coast? it was poorly taken.please train these chaps all else they will cause heart attack to the country.
I think the squad that Janza has picked is full of U20s, the likes of Charles Zulu, Spencer Sautu and Bruce Musakanya are being overestimated by Janza and it is very unfair for the young lads.
My point is that the Mozambique game is a decider and you cannot experiment.
Mr. Janza shud consider players who are more aggressive, patriotic and athletic and in my view,
Alex Ngonga, Evans Kangwa, Emmanuel Mayuka, Patrick Ngoma can form a deadly frontline for Zambia.
We shud have also given Chance to Clifford Mulenga and Mukuka Mulenga so that we have a deadly Midfied Marshalled by Lubambo Musonda, Chisamba Lungu, Rainford Kalaba and Nathan Sinkala
I have no much problems in defense and iam particularly happy with the inclusion of Aaron Katebe.
I have doubts and question marks on the inclusion of Chamanga, who in my view does not add a lot of value to the frontline.
In summary, let Janza consider calling Alex Ngonga and Evans Kangwa to partner Mayuka upront if Zambia has to get a win in Maputo
W
We shall beat Mozambique even if we use Mbesuma and Cliford Mulenga upfront. Mozambique will open up soon trying to attack us and i think that will make our job easy to slaughter them in their backyard as we did last time.
Mark my words its 2:1 in favour of Zambia
Ba Zambian, I seem to agree with you, that Mozambique will try to open the game in their country, because they cannot defend. It has gone to their heads that since they drew with Zambia in Ndola, they will beat us in their home ground. So when they open they play into our hands, and we hammer.
As for the score line, I cannot predict.
Alex Ngonga is a better player than Chamanga whose “mileage”and “torque” is gone. One wonders why the guy keeps being called up? Maybe @Tony Mash has a point in what he just said earlier in one of the threads. We will never know why performing players are being side lined.
If i had to choose between who deserves a call up along side Mayuka this is how i would list them.
1. Evans Kangwa
2. Alex Ngonga
3. Jacob Mulenga
4. Patrick Ngoma
Chamanga for me is not even in the top ten strikers pa Zed currently. Good to see young L.Musonda, Katebe and Nkausu back.
Fail! This coach is not taking Zambia anywhere. There is no coach in Zambia because selection is not based on performance but on friendship. This is why these local coaches fail.
janza janza janza what ar u doing? if we fail to qualifly u & kulu must go.
Sibs I agree with your list of the four players in that order. What we have been lacking upfront is a creative number 10 to feed a hungry top man. When was the last time we had a deadly 9,10 combination? Our midfielders have tried to do well, but we lack creativity upfront. we need a combination that can put pressure on opponent defence.
It seems the three players Kangwa, Chamanga and Jacob have had good runs in the past weeks and thats why the confusion in our comments as fans. What we would like to see is a player scoring goals at the club and replicating the form at the National Team. If the player is given that chance and can not score at the National Team don’t call him. That’s why for me Kangwa would be ahead of both Chamanga and Jacob. We have not given that boy enough game time at the National Team but whenever he has been given the limited time, we have seen the results. On this basis, he should be given a chance.
Ze coach is like a yo-yo. No fixed position and and no idea of how to qualify a big team like Zambia to AFCON. You gave him a very big responsibility beyond what he could carry.
Jacob cannot fit in the system employed by Janza because he is not that mobile dropping back and rushing forward. He is a type of player who needs the ball to shoot on target and make no mistake about it, he is deadly at that. But the coach has no formula for him.
On the other hand, Sate sate and Evans combination has been proven from their days at U20 and Nkana before Evans left. So, any right thinking coach would be eager to test this combo given the draught from many of his strikers.
You have a coach who has a friendly game against Ivory Coast featuring Sakuwaha in the team and only making two subs! What nonsense is that.
Zambia should avoid defeat at all cost away to mozambique or its bye,bye morocco 2015, which would be a shame really. Imagine how borring afcon would be without loudmouth zambians.
All of us bloggers are just making noise here,this bold headed Janza will never listern to our cries. We have to get used to such selections as long as Kalu is at the top of our football structure. When was the last time Chamanga scored for Chipolopolo ? Ati a Coach, a coach my foot!!!!!!!
I would like to say that Janza should immediately edit his strike force and drop ngoma and chamanga and replace them with jacob and evans kangwa. Secondly, the last good coach Zambia had was Dario Bonetti. Herve Renard found a system in place and won afcon with that. He failed to sustain anything after afcon even failing to beat Sudan at home. I suggest we find a new coach to takeover at afcon 2015 we need about 30,000-50,000 dollars for a decent coach as a monthly salary. This coach should be european. Since the govt want a german why not go for Lothar Matthäus. Janza should still be maintained as assistant.
If janza is as clueless as most of you say then zambia is doomed, playing away from home in a crucial game in africa a clueless coach is the last thing you need.
Ronald Kampamba with a physically small stature should partner some one big up front! We can’t have Kangwa and Kampamba who are both very small starting at the same time! For local league its ok where most players are small but not when playing bigger guys from North and west Africa or Europeans. There is Always an advantage for some one who is physically big!
Fire Janza now, this clown has no business, infact fire Kalu first and fat Kambwili that just went and bought a degree..useless people
I wish you made this noise when pathetic renard was here. Remember Janza beat Niger 3-0 something rare under renard.
i think janza is ryt. he squad has the momentum to produce results. no need to cry over jacob. i think he is a gud lad bt maybe its tym he gave space to sate sate. everybody has been calling for the inclusion of this boy. and thts wat janza has just done. u cant expect sate sate if seniors like mulenga nd katongo are still playing, its just not practical. perhaps mulenga and muyaka como doesnt work. renard tried nd even janza tried with cape verd, it just does work. so let sate sate, mayuka and singuluma lead the line as they r able to produce the required results. as for kangwa he will surely be part of the team. he isnt currently probably becoz he is still adjusting. as fans we shud remember tht we cant always have it our way all the tym. regardless it the managers job, which he ought to do. in fact if it doesnt work its at his detriment. on account of tht give janza some space to do his job.
Both Jacob and James might be scoring goals and in form but as ive said before i don’t think we can afford to place allot of expectation on them at national level. Same goes for Mbesuma. If we are not placing trust in another veteran, one, Chris Katongo at this moment then why the others?
Over the years Chamanga and Jacob have had there chance to integrate in the team and seal their place, they never really did and now i feel their time is at a cross roads. They were always relied upon for their physic and height when the hold up play or long ball may come into effect, and i have my doubts how much they have managed contributed regularly in this regard(it not being a forte of Zambian style).
So i think if at all we can only have 1 of the 3 players in Jacob, James or Collins. Thats one veteran already and then there is the question of Chris Katongo. Personally i would leave Jacob and James and Collins out. Katongo in! We must look to the future and ensure the new players are getting the attention but at the same time i place great value on experience and we cannot go into a serious competition without strong experience to fall upon when the ideas of the young are all ran out.
Yes Evans Kangwa needs to be brought in, he deserves a place. And yes the very new Charles Zulu must be atleast left on the bench, this is crunch time. No experiments, play your full hand.
Our speed and agility/skill is our strength. Our top Strikers are….
1. Mayuka
2. SINGULUMA
3. Katongo (still, can be striker or midfielder)
4. Kangwa (6 caps and 3 goals)
5. Kampamba
6. Mwape
7. Mbewe
8. Mulenga
9. Kola
10. Chamanga
I take into consideration age and potential for the future near and far. At this moment this is how it stands. I have not seen Ngoma so is not placed.
i give you close to full marks for this comment. let everyone not be fooled that the deadly mayuka sits on the bench on england the boy is lethal and had he played against cape verde and mozambique we might have won.
Ba john naimwe be objective, Mayuka doesn’t play at Saints because he’s not better than the guys playing ahead of him period. Infact I don’t see the difference between him and Jacob and Chamanga. He hasn’t also scored for Zambia for almost 2 yrs save for the easiest of goals from a brilliant Singuluma assist. Iyo ati he would be scoring if he was given chance is neither here nor there as Koeman who you ridiculed. Like u do HR has proven you wrong with the Saints lying 2nd in the EPL simply because they score and nothing to do with Mayuka pa bench. Mayukais now even fat. Let’s be. Fair bane as Mayuka based on what he did in the past and where he is now is no better than Jacob or Chamanga. Some of us have been crying for fresh blood since Post-2012 and let me not here you blame these youngsters we are bringing now as a desperate measure if we don’t qualify (as I already can hear most here crying for Katongo, Jacob blah blah blah who been failing since 2012 February 21). Let’s be prepared for the worst case scenario although my bet is that we will qualify.
Mwalasa uncle Bob’s on the Mayuka issue. Umwaice naina. This game is looking like Zambia will fall. We have left it too late to make amends. We haven’t won away from home in 2 yrs. We are under performing at home, and we are fielding yet another iteration of our team. When you sit and weigh the positives vs the negatives; you have to just take a deep breath or a big swig and expect the worst. Form is not in our favor, recent history is not in our favor. I wish and hope Zambia win, bug I will be watching this with my hands covering my eyes. We are about to go back in the wilderness like we did after 1994 and 1996, but we will remain loyal like we did for 16yrs.
There is a first time for everything. The signs have not been good for this qualifying campaign i conceed but we support and fight to the finish. The Mozambique game will be like the Ghana Kumasi game for us, we must make good. Uncle Bobs, we dont have a Drogba or Samuel Etoo type striker eho is regularly scoring. Mayuka is our top striker simply for his industry on the pitch, nevermind goals for now, he can hold up, draw pressure, play the ball well and better than Jacob. He is not fat but simply stockier as he cant be a 21 year old for ever. Singuluma is now our number 2, he uses the ball well, plays in the other players well. Katongo has all the experience and grit but can only be effective for a portion of the game. Evans has all promise and explosive ness of a young player but the problem is the younger players like Kampamba are yet to be fully established in the team.
But this has been a bad year so if we go out we go out fighting and that means playing our young strikers, not 70mins in and chasing the game then bringing on Chamaga or Jacob. If we are to draw something positive from this year it should be that we played these young players and gave them a chance at the real thing. That will only be positive for next year. Note though that currently Mayuka and Singuluma are the most effective strikers in the land.
Mayuka can not match the quality of strikers at Samsamson. Even after selling a number of players he can not feet in.Just wait for the next transfer window and see if our boy will be on the usual bench anymore. The truth is that his competitors are able to score
katongo will never play for this country again and it was good he did what he did for the coach to capitalise on. let’s give chance to chaps like Musakanya, Sautu, Mbewe not Festus but that young boy and that boy who came in the second half with dyed hair. These chaps are good I am telling u!!!!!
charles zulu is better than jacob mulenga. All the time jacob slows down the pace as if he is an opponent.for the kampamba/kangwa pair let the coach………………………………….
John at times you sound awful. Mayuka is no longer what he was when we won the 2012 afcon. he needs to regain his prowess .as for me I would go for impressive sate sate and given singuluma to lead us on top, mayuka as sub .
guys you are weak people. Mayuka is a hungry striker it is not his fault he isnt playing at southampton some of you talk to much. Do you think sate sate or evans kangwa can play at southampton when graziano pelle keeps on scoring. Mayuka is better than evans kangwa and sate sate by far. stop comparing a Nkana striker to someone in the english premier league.
you people are weak and you talk too much. So do you believe sate sate can play at southampton? Mayuka is better than evans kangwa and sate sate dont fool yourself. Sate sate and kangwa can do nothing at southampton they wont even sit on the bench. Stop fooling youself by comparing strikers from weak leagues to one training in england.
Let’s invest in our local coaches. The Nicos and H. Redard of this world will keep on disappointing us. All we need as soccer loving nation is to support our local coaches.
I seam not to understand! When we played Sudan in Lusaka, most of our cry was that the coach uses the same local team against Mozambique. Now that he is phasing out the players playing abroad gradually, its again a big issue. Its so difficulty for our local coaches to operate in Zambia. Its like all are coaches, Doctors, Teachers in Zambia. So much disturbances in other pipos offices. Janza is one of the highly coaches we have in this country. Why not giving him time and chance?
Mayuka is the only striker that could have brought us the africa cup. No striker can do what he did he is the best striker in the land dont be fooled because he sits on the bench of a team 2nd in the EPL. Kangwa and Sate sate are nowhere near his level of ability mark my words.
Mr. know all John, you will tell different story when you don’t qualify for the afcon.
you will always be bitter about mayukas goal that sunk you
What we need are fresh legs in preps for the future but let us be weary of having a 100% overhaul. I would rather we did 70%.
i respect all views at the end of the day but fact is evans kangwa is better than chamanga.
Better. you are a weaker china.