The former Bafana Bafana player Gerald Stober has been confirmed as the new coach of Ocean View-based Seaside Spurs.
The club chairman Earl Cloete has confirmed that he has appointed the former Cape Town Spurs, Hellenic and Santos striker as the new coach on a “long term appointment.”
Stober replaces Bradley Barnes who has put this club on the map with some scintillating performances in its promotion-winning debut season.
Spurs also gained credibility and popularity last season despite falling short in the semis of Coke Cup when they lost out to Clover FC on penalties.
Cloete says he is confident that Stober is the right man to take the team to the next level.
“Look, let me make it clear, there is no real mandate or pressure to win the league or anything,” Cloete stated.
“That said we are going to give it a real go.
” The reason for appointing Gerald is that his vision is in line with the club. He is big on the development of young players. He did it at The Magic and the idea is for him to do the same at our club. We are in it for the long haul,” Cloete added.
Stober, who played four matches for Bafana Bafana, and also represented Orlando Pirates, will surely have his work cut for him as his new squad is unfamiliar to him and vice versa.
Most of the players were probably not even born and did not have the opportunity to see how a prolific striker Stober was in his hey-day.
That said, he will be able to draw on veterans and former PSL stars like Franklin Cale and Diego Brown that are still active players that can add value in both a playing and coaching capacity. Stober will surely find comfort in this and will rely heavily on the senior figures.
Cloete was reluctant to drop names of players on the club’s radar only revealing that the recruitment process has started.
“Our search is far and wide to equip the coach as best as we possibly can with what he needs, but we just appointed him on Wednesday,” Cloete added. “So, our first session with him is on Monday and then we will start looking at the team and move forward. Yes, we are going for it,” Cloete chuckled.
“Everything is doable with the right structures, with the right things in place, but most importantly with the right people. So, we are going for it, man that’s the thinking.
“Look, we had people we looked at, but we decided to walk a journey with someone that is willing to walk the long road with us. So, he’s a long-term appointment,” Cloete concluded.
Gerald Stober (centre) previously worked at The Magic with his former Bafana Bafana mate George Dearnaley
