Up until the last eight years it was unusual for Kaizer Chiefs to go through a season without winning something, though back in the 1970s and 80s there were a host of knockout competitions on offer each campaign that gave them multiple opportunities.
Already out of two cup competitions, flailing in the league and having sacked coach Molefi Ntseki after only nine DStv Premiership games in charge, this is shaping up to be another season of toil for the AmaKhosi.
What constitutes a good season is, of course, subjective, but we look back at five of the most difficult campaigns in the team’s illustrious history.
5. 1985
League Position: 8
League Record: P34 W13 D10 L11 GF45 GA33 PTS36
Knockout Trophies: BP Top 8
The mid-1980s were not a great period for Chiefs in terms of the league, but few expected them to slump all the way to eighth in the 1985 campaign, which had started with some promise as they won the BP Top 8, beating Arcadia Shepherds 3-2 on aggregate in the final.
There was a rift within the squad as Jan Lechaba was suspended by the club for trying to get some of his teammates to join a new rival club in the NPSL, as days later AmaKhosi legend Pule ‘Ace’ Ntsoelengoe announced he would leave to set up his own team in the NPSL called Ace Mates.
By the May, coach Joe Frickleton had resigned after the side were beaten 3-0 by Jomo Cosmos. The following month Glen Jordens left to join Hellenic, unable to stay because of heckling supporters, and goalkeeper Peter Balac requested to go on the transfer list.
The second coach fired for the season was Abednego Ngcobo, who said he was not bitter at being sacked, but rather relieved it was over! Eddie Lewis came back for another spell to end the campaign, though the club would later unveil Ted Dumitri as their new coach for 1986.
It was a tumultuous campaign where not much went right on or off the pitch.
4. 1993
League Position: 6
League Record: P38 W15 D12 L11 GF42 GA35 PTS42
Knockout Trophies: None
Chiefs won the league title, BP Top 8 and Bob Save Super Bowl for a domestic treble in 1992, confirming their status as the best side in the country.
So there was much confidence and expectation as they entered the 1993 campaign, but it would turn out to be a damp squib and one of their most disappointing considering where they had come from.
Joel Masilela scored twice for Mamelodi Sundowns as Chiefs lost in the quarterfinals of the Top 8 competition, which set the tone.
Wilfred Mugeyi bagged a brace as they went out in the quarterfinals of the Coca-Cola Cup too, this time at the hands of Umtata Bush Bucks, and though they did make the final of the Bob Save Super Bowl, they were stunned 1-0 by unfancied Witbank Aces as Richard Peer got a late winner.
That capped a frustrating campaign in which they won 15 of their 38 games to finish sixth.
3. 2006/07
League Position: 9
Record: P30 W11 D9 L10 GF42 GA32 PTS42
Knockout Trophies: SAA Supa8
Chiefs started the 2006/07 season well under coach Ernst Middendorp as they won the SAA Supa8, a Rotson Kilambe goal helping them to a 1-0 victory over Pitso Mosimane’s SuperSport United.
But that was as good as it got! They exited in the quarterfinals of the Coca-Cola Cup at the hands of Silver Stars and went out at the first stage of the Absa Cup, beaten on penalties by Lamontville Golden Arrows.
But it was in the league where they really disappointed, winning only one of their first eight games (D5 L2), before a patch of decent form seemed to steady things.
However, when the side started the New Year with three wins from nine (D1 L5), that was the end of Middendorp.
He was replaced by Kosta Papic, whose gung-ho approach to tactics makes teams entertaining to watch, but not effective at getting results.
They picked up eight points from the 21 available to the end of the season as they finished outside of the top eight in a major shock for fans.
2. 2020/21
League Position: 8
Record: P30 W8 D12 L8 GF34 GA37 PTS36
Knockout Trophies: None
Chiefs did, of course, reach the CAF Champions League final this campaign, it was another annus horribilis on the home front even if they did scrape into the top eight on the final day.
It was also another season without silverware after they had hired experienced and successful coach Gavin Hunt in the hopes that he could turn-around their fortunes.
To be fair to him, the club was under a transfer ban at the time and so he could not bring in the players he wanted. His style of play requires very specific types of players and what was at Chiefs already did not really suit him.
They lost 5-0 on aggregate to bitter rivals Orlando Pirates in the semifinals on the MTN8 and were stunned by second-tier Richards Bay in the Last 32 of the Nedbank Cup.
But it was in the league where they were most disappointing, winning only one of their first nine games (D4 L4) to hover just above the relegation zone.
Three wins in a row over New Year seemed to steady things, but they then reverted to type and won only two of the next 16 (D8 L6) and Hunt was sacked.
Arthur Zwane and Dillon Shepperd were placed in temporary charge for the final two league games, both of which were won, including a vital 1-0 success at TS Galaxy on the final day of the campaign that saw them leapfrog their opponents into eighth position.
1. 2018/19
League Position: 9
Record: P30 W9 D12 L9 GF33 GA29 PTS39
Knockout Trophies: None
Arguably the worst season in Chiefs’ history was not so long ago as they again finished trophyless.
It started with the appointment of hapless Italian Giovanni Solinas for a role that was palpably too big for him. He had achieved modest success with Free State Stars, but going to the Soweto giants was another level with far more pressure.
They lost to SuperSport United in the semifinals of the MTN8 and were beaten by rivals Orlando Pirates in the semifinals of the Telkom Knockout.
It was shortly after that when Solinas was sacked having won four of his 14 league games in charge (D6 L4). That did include a patch of three wins in a row in the middle, but either side it was dire.
Middendorp arrived for his second spell and won three of his first four league games, but things soon went off the rails again.
The club did not win any of their last seven league games (D4 L3) and finished ninth in the table, failing to qualify for the lucrative MTN8 the following season.
They did make the final of the Nedbank Cup, but were stunned by second-tier TS Galaxy as they had the humiliation of being the first topflight side to lose a cup final to lower league opposition.