Tlou Segolela "95% certain to play for Orlando Pirates on Saturday" says agent Tim Sukazi, who blames "political hazards" for delay over new deal

TLOU SEGOLELA’S agent Tim Sukazi is “95 percent sure” his man will play for Orlando Pirates in the Carling Cup against Kaizer Chiefs on Saturday.

Sukazi insists “political hazards” are all that stands between Segolela and a new contract. And he feels “Socks” might have made the difference in the Buccaneers’ opening African Champions League clash with Leopards last Saturday.

“Gautrain” Segolela, 25, scored five goals for Pirates last season – but started only seven games, coming on as an “impact substitute” 16 times. Since he signed for the Sea Robbers from Limpopo’s Seemole FC in 2007, every season has been much the same – apart from 2009 when he was on loan at Celtic and scored seven times.

With “Socks” voted in by the fans for Saturday’s sell-out Soweto derby at Soccer City, Sukazi said: “We live on hope right now. We really hope he will play on Saturday, we made some real progress in our meetings with Pirates yesterday.”

New signing Kermit Erasmus is on stand-by to start but Sukazi insists: “There is a 95 percent chance Tlou will play on Saturday but last week it was unfortunate he was left out against Leopards because he hadn’t signed.

“When you look at the result and reflect on that Leopards match (it ended 0-0 against the Congo champions, though Pirates were comfortably stronger), if they had Tlou they might have three points in the bank. They would be top of Group A in the African Champions League.

“Tlou is in tip-top condition. I think Roger de Sa will give you a hint along those lines. He had him in the starting eleven for the Leopards game.

“There is no problem in training, Tlou has been at Orlando Pirates for several years, we want him to continue and flourish there.

“The hold-up has been about regular game time. This is a player who is very talented, has got what it takes, now he has to sign a new contract at the same club.

“We want the new deal to have a playing element. We are doing our best. We should win on this one.

“You are right Neal, in South Africa there shouldn’t be guarantees that a player MUST play, the stars can lose form, only at training can you see that. To play a player EVERY WEEK? It becomes an impossible thing to do. I’m not advocating that.

“But at Pirates we are well aware Tlou didn’t play as much as he should have because of his ability, but due to “political hazards” as I call them.

“That where we were trying to write something in to the new contract.”

I asked Sukazi if now departed playing rivals Benni McCarthy, Takesure Chinyama or even coach Roger de Sa were “political hazards” last season, or if rumoured demands of FOUR TIMES his previous wage were the problem, but he insisted: “It’s not about money, obviously in every commercial deal, money is a primary consideration it doesn’t matter which space you are operating in.

“We have to eradicate the so-called “political hazards” and unfortunately they were not contractually covered. We have to address a situation where Tlou is sitting watching games from his couch when he is better than the players on the field.

“It’s not the players. It’s more to do with the structure than the playing field. The way things were operating, it wasn’t about Tlou’s ability, he just wants more game time to deliver.

“He watched from the grandstand for a long time last season, then in the game against TP Mazembe towards the end of the season he played and never looked back. And then came two goals for Bafana against Lesotho.

“Prior to those goals in Maseru there were no signs Pirates wanted to sign a new contract. Then they were interested. But we don’t want to get caught out in the same situation again. I don’t want Tlou to sit for three more years in a situation where he isn’t playing regularly."

Though Tim was reluctant to name those "political hazards", Pirates are one of several PSL clubs reliant on a host of "football advisors" rather than coaches when it comes to contracts and signings.

It appears Segolela languished on the bench - or on his couch - for weeks last season because these shadowy figures - with no great footballing backgrounds - back one player over another on the basis of who signed them.

Those "political hazards" were particularly rife at Platinum Stars before Cavin Johnson took over and are known to have been at work at Sundowns when Johan Neeskens was in charge.

Sukazi insists: “Hopefully we have sorted this issue. No more “political hazards”, Tlou has a great chance of playing on Saturday. Of getting that contract signed. A 95 percent chance.”

Tim was a guest on BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, which happens every Thursday from 10am-noon. We also spoke to Wits coach Gordon Hunt, Mpumalanga boss Clive Barker and Bongani Khumalo's representative Glyn Binkin. Those interviews will appear here later.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za. A shorter version of THIS story will be published in The New Age tomorrow too.

#BOLLOCKS is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

Orlando Pirate Tlou Segolela scored THIS wonder goal in 2011 (video) but he still can't go to the UK

TLOU "SOX" SEGOLELA is the man of the moment. The all-conquering two-goal Bafana hero against Lesotho on Sunday, despite the wind, the mountains and the plastic pitch. And then we have the "Maradona" goal from "South Africa's Usain Bolt" against Free State Stars in 2011 - plus a few othes featured in the videos I've posted above and below.

Used mostly as an "impact" substitute by Orlando Pirates coaches since his move to the Buccaneers in 2007 (he also went on loan to Bloemfontein Celtic in 2009) there was talk earlier this month of a move to Soweto rivals with some debate over the two-year contract he signed last year NOT being extended to the end of June 2014.

But with those two goals in Maseru on Sunday - the first a tap-in, the second a lovely turn-and-fire - the high-speed "Gautrain" has suddenly become a valuable property with those live images on SuperSport and the SABC making him the man of the moment.

But there is a limit to footballing hype. I don't deny Segolela certainly deserves a water-tight deal for next season, something technical director Screamer Tshabalala and holidaying coach Roger De Sa should chat to chairman Irvin Khoza about URGENTLY.

Failing that, a move to double-winning Chiefs would certainly bolster the 25-year-old Limpopan (?) in his bid for a regular PSL starting place after playing just 45 games for Pirates in five seasons.

But his agent Tim Sukuzi is aiming perhaps a little too high after the Bafana brace. Yesterday he was on Radio 2000 insisting he had "an invitation from a big Championship club in England" in front of him.

Sukuzi, not inexperienced in player management, said: "Yes, Tlou has got options but we are only talking to overseas clubs, and I can confirm that he has been invited for trials with a Championship club in England. I can’t tell you which one."

Sukazi went as far as to dismiss the mighty AmaKhosi, adding: “He is not joining Chiefs. As I said, we are not dealing with the local clubs. I know that a few PSL clubs are interested, but we are looking to get him overseas. That is the priority.”

Within minutes of his appearance on radio, my phone was ringing red hot. No, it wasn’t Barcelona and Bayern Munich on the line wanting a ticket to the “Gautrain”, this was the insistent ring of South Africa football experts asking: “Is he serious?”

And of course, Tim, you can’t be. In order to gain work permit in the United Kingdom, professional footballers have to play 75 percent of their nation’s FIFA qualifying games over the last two years. And that team has to be in FIFA's top 70 (on average) throughout that period (preceding the date of the transfer).

That isn’t the Football Association’s restriction, it’s a device put in place by the Home Office to give local players a better chance of emerging from the bulging academies around the island. The other European nations have no such limits in place.

Segolela – who made his fifth international appearance against Lesotho - has only just returned to the Bafana fold, and had yet to feature in Gordon Igesund’s plans before this month. And Maseru was just a friendly. It doesn’t count. Without a single African Cup of Nations or World Cup chance so far, Segolela has a long way to go to reach the Home Office standard.

I'm afraid 24 months is a lifetime in football.

Sukazi insisted on Radio2000 his player could get “special dispensation” to gain a work permit but that hasn’t happened for three years. The last player to go to England without having played the stipulated 75 percent over two years (sitting on the bench doesn’t count, you have to come on) was a certain Little Pea.

Mexico’s Javier Hernandez was allowed to go to Manchester United after just five games for his nation – but he was still a teenager and starred in the World Cup in South Africa. Before that, players like Cesc Fabregas and Mathieu Flamini at Arsenal were allowed to join Arsenal academies only because they were under sixteen.

Segolela will get no special dispensation. To suggest he might is unfair to both the player and to South Africa fans.

Even players who DO fit the criteria in recent years – like Andile Jali, Teko Modise, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Itumeleng Khune – have shown far more consistent quality and failed to make it beyond trials or tabloid gossip.

The truth is, Segolela WAS impressive against Lesotho. He does deserve to have his questionable final year at Pirates confirmed – or he should be allowed to leave on a free for a rival club.

But to suggest, on the basis of two goals against the side ranked 155 in the world, that he is now destined for international stardom is simply laughable.

Segolela can make a start against the Central African Republic in Cameroon on Saturday - and a week later against Ethiopia in Addis Ababa if Igesund picks him for the do-or-die World Cup qualifiers.

But surely, the wise thing is to find him a starting role in the PSL before reaching for pie on the Sky channels?

Contract killer: If Orlando Pirates lose Bafana's two-goal hero Segolela now, it will be Tlou much

At the double: Tlou Segolela scored twice for Bafana in Maseru
despite his notoriously unmanageable hair 

My European friends don’t understand me anymore. I write things like “Cometh the man, cometh the Tower”. Or “Bernard could have Parked a bus in that gap”. I’ve even considered “Klate is no great Daine”. Then there’s simply “MashaMIGHTY!”

This is the language of football in South Africa, where men are men and aristocratic Chiefs battle plundering Pirates. In England, they bore themselves to death with Lamps, Roo and celebrating fourth place. Not here. Oh no. As Bill Shankly, the legendary Scotsman at Liverpool once said: “Football isn’t about life and death. It’s more important than that.”

After Sunday’s 2-0 friendly win against Lesotho – a competent if unspectacular success before the life or death World Cup qualifiers against the Central African Republic and Ethiopia – we have a new name to conjure with.

When Tlou Mashedi Segolela took Maseru by storm (okay, his first goal was an off-sidish tap in but the second, a turn and shot with his left, was a cracker) I immediately tweeted: “TLOU MUCH!” and set about discovering what the story is with his contract at Orlando Pirates.

It’s not complicated. The man from Polokwane – born on the same day as me (March 1) but 27 years later – is known as “Rea Viya” (“here we go”, though his first name means elephant) for his express pace (presumably he runs better than those buses) and has waited a long time for his big break.

Sunday was just that. When he rammed home the second I pointed out that his transfer value has just rocketed – though with no new contract on the table at Parktown, perhaps the Buccaneers are about to miss out on his sudden marketability.

In January last year, Segolela said he was happy to sign a two-year contract until June 2014. But with a year to run, big clubs tend to offer a new contract to keep star players happy, maintain transfer value – and stop them from signing a pre-contract with a rival club.

And then you have to ask: How can this happen? How can South Africa’s latest footballing flavour of the month be  left to see out his contract at one of South Africa’s richest clubs? I’ve been SMSing Roger de Sa – he told me last week he’s on holiday on the Algarve in Portugal until June 10 – asking him just that.

This bizarre system when the coach apparently has little to do with new contracts and transfers appears to be the problem. At Mamelodi Sundowns, Johan Neeskens was undone by Trott Moloto’s ridiculously expensive moves in the market, at Kaizer Chiefs Stuart Baxter has enjoyed the signings acquired by Bobby Motaung, but at Pirates, Screamer Tshabalala appears to have no contact at all with the under-pressure De Sa right now with the transfer window open and the group stages of the CAF Champions League pending.

After his two-goal Man of the Match performance in the windy Maluti mountains on Maseru’s unforgiving plastic surface, Tlou himself said: “I am looking forward to the World Cup games. I just want to stamp my authority here, become a regular for Bafana Bafana.

“Look, this was a good confidence booster for me and I am happy with how I I played.”

Everyone appears stunned to find Tlou centre-stage. Okay, South Africa are ranked 56th in the world by FIFA and Lesotho just 155. But two goals for his country is a marvellous boost. And remember, in 2011 and 2012 he picked up SIX winners’ medals as the Pirates under various coaches pouched the double trebles.

But that masks the full truth. Segolela has been at Pirates since 2007, when he left local club Seemole as a teenager from Moletjie near Polokwane. In five seasons since then, he has played just 45 games for the Sea Robbers. He played 38 for Bloemfontein Celti on loan in 2009/10.

He won goal of the season a year later for his Maradona-like effort which began in his own half against Free State Stars at the Botchabelo Stadium. The man also known as “Gautrain” derailed four defenders en route to goal. He also provided the corner for Isaac Chansa’s title winning goal that year.

But no matter who the coach is at Orlando – Ruud Krol, Julio Leal, Augusto Palacios or Roger de Sa – Segelelo struggles to keep a regular place in the first team, which is probably why they allowed his contract to run down.

Clearly, Screamer and Roger – with the permission of chairman Irvin Khoza of course – must get their heads together over this bloke. Kaizer Chiefs are lurking. Mamelodi Sundowns are always looking to invest.

To lose Segolela now would be erm… simply Tlou much.