DYNAMOS management have come under fire from the team’s fans incensed by the club’s failure to pin down talented midfielder, Archford Gutu only for the former DeMbare star to end up joining the “enemy”, Caps United.
HENRY MHARA
For weeks, the Harare football giants appeared well on course to re-sign Gutu, with the club’s secretary-general, Webster Chikengezha even declaring on a television programme that the deal is was “as good as done”.
But Gutu made a surprise appearance for Caps United on Tuesday in their friendly match against Kabwe Warriors of Zambia, after the Lloyd Chitembwe-coached team wasted no time sealing a deal with the talented player, who spent weeks training with Dynamos.
Caps United were set to unveil Gutu yesterday at a ceremony in Harare, but the function was postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Club spokesperson, Joice Kapota, however, confirmed that Gutu had signed for the Green Machine.
Gutu’s manager, Calvin Nyazema said his client had agreed terms with Dynamos, as was confirmed by club’s president, Keni Mubaiwa earlier this week, but the delivery period of the signing-on fee became a sticking point in the negotiations.
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Gutu, who revealed after the Kabwe Warriors match that he had given DeMbare the first priority, wanted his signing-on fee upon appending his signature, while Dynamos could only pay him at a later date.
Nyazema then took him to ambitious Caps United, who wasted no time in giving the player what he wanted.
Scores of DeMbare fans took to social media and NewsDay website, after we reported Gutu’s move yesterday, to vent their anger at the club’s pedestrian pace in settling terms with players. Dynamos also lost fans’ darling Ronald Chitiyo to Harare City, after the former champions dithered on a deal.
The Dynamos supporters were particularly not happy that the club executive had failed to seal an “obvious deal”.
Writing on Facebook, Misheck Muchaona thundered: “So Chikengezha lied to us when he appeared on TV on Monday? We have lost a very talented and creative player to Caps because of the executive’s dithering. Gutu wanted to be part of Dynamos this year, but our management is a confused lot and on top of that they went on to lie to us. I’m disappointed by these guys. Good snatch for Makepekepe!”
Morris Matubu wrote: “Some things that the Dynamos executive do are demotivating. A player comes back and shows a desire to rejoin the club, but you offer him a second-hand vehicle as signing-on fees, when what he wants is cash. We are watching you, Mubaiwa.”
Munyaradzi Gunda added his voice saying: “DeMbare don’t want to pay, and they only give promises they will not honour, just like they did to Qadr Amini. Be professional guys, football is now big business.”
Mubaiwa yesterday blamed Gutu’s handlers for shifting goalposts on the collapsed deal.
“We were negotiating in earnest and when we thought we were done, they came back with fresh demands,” he said.
“But because we wanted the player, we had committed to meet those demands, but they said they would come back to us. The next thing we hear is Gutu has signed for Caps United.” Another Dynamos fan, Edmore Zvandasara, had no kind words for Mubaiwa.
“That is being unprofessional on Mubaiwa’s part. How on earth can you give an ex-Japanese car as signing-on fees for a talented player like Gutu? Do people go to work to earn cars or it’s because of money?”
Other supporters leapt to the Dynamos executive’s defence, arguing that Gutu was past his prime, and he had failed to get a new club in Sweden after his contract at Kalmar FF expired.
“The fact that he failed to have his contract extended in Sweden means Gutu is as good as finished. Let him join Caps United and it is on the field on play where he should prove us wrong. Good riddance,” a fan, who referred to himself as Boban, said.
