Rival petitions emerge as battle to fire or keep Chiefs coach Baxter rages on Twitter

Kaizer Chiefs' mediocre return from the two-month domestic break — including a Nedbank Cup opening-round exit — has some supporters in meltdown with a petition started and gaining traction for coach Stuart Baxter to be fired.

The petition asking for Baxter's young, up-and-coming assistant Arthur Zwane to be installed as head coach has not met with universal approval from the club's supporters in Twittersphere, where the battle is being fought.

Many have questioned what they see as an emotional trigger reaction towards a coach who somehow, when in the notorious hotseats of Bafana Bafana and Chiefs, manages to draw reactions from South Africans.

A rival petition has been launched titled: “Kaizer Chiefs must not listen to people who want Stuart Baxter to be fired”. Given that Baxter would struggle to win popularity contests in SA, that one has been struggling to gain as much traction.

By late Thursday morning the petition to “have Stuart Baxter sacked as the Kaizer Chiefs head coach, Zwane to take over” was approaching 7,500 digital signatures and climbing. The rival petition, though newer, had only reached 40.

Many Twitter comments questioned whether the petition to remove Baxter was premature.

Chiefs' 1-0 Nedbank defeat to TS Galaxy on Sunday, meaning their trophy drought will be extended to seven seasons, understandably raised a response from the club's supporters.

In the DStv Premiership, Amakhosi were showing signs of form that might have put greater pressure on runaway leaders Mamelodi Sundowns before an outbreak of more than 50 Covid-19 cases at Naturena forced Amakhosi to miss two matches in December and play three more with depleted line-ups.

That they won two and lost one of those, playing a more exciting brand of football with Zwane on the bench and Baxter sidelined by Covid-19, strengthened the voice of a section of supporters who would like to see Chiefs' ex-wing star given an opportunity as head coach.

Yet, even with their significant Covid-19 disruption, Chiefs, who ended eighth in 2020-2021, are still in fourth place in the Premiership with games in hand, and in 13 matches have lost twice, winning seven and drawing four.

Their other result returning from the Christmas and Africa Cup of Nations break was not a win, though a 0-0 draw away to Cape Town City on Tuesday night was far from a disastrous outcome.

The supporters of the petition to remove Baxter say he has a team strengthened by many signings. They say the coach who seems to have an ability to aggravate emotions saying the wrong things, often by trying too hard to say the right ones, has not shown an ability to use his players well in his second stint at the club.

Baxter's style of play, with an unpopular emphasis on transitions, has often been an issue with SA fans.

The digital football channel Front Runner asked on Twitter for a show of hands on whether fans would support the petition to have Baxter sacked.

User @Nkalakata7 said: “With immediate effect. We need young African coaches. It’s time we must play African football and I think CAF must do something about this.”

User @ngcntando said: “Yep, he is killing the young guys. I thought he was using his players tactfully, but [Bernard] Parker has been failing again. Where has that scoring spark gone all of a sudden? It's a pity that I liked Baxter a lot, I am not convinced by his tactics. 2/10. 2 [is] for defence.”

Surprisingly, given that Baxter can be unpopular, many on the Front Runner poll and elsewhere on Twitter defended the coach and said the results did not warrant his removal.

User @nkerelang said: “Look at the log. Chiefs has won more games and conceded less from fewer games than others. Remove Sundowns from the picture considering its ridiculous investment on playing personnel and Chiefs is the best team in the league. Problem is expecting a high return without investment.”

User @hjmaluks said: “Question: what is Baxter to do if they can't find the goalposts mara they are highly paid. This petition is directed at the wrong person.”

Some have found the concept amusing. User @uNdu_Mk said: “Imagine Bobby [Motaung] sacking Baxter because of a petition.”

Other reactions included these Tweets: