misfiring forwards continued to be exposed, as the limping Glamour Boys crashed in the City of Kings on Sunday.
The Harare giants’ 0-1 defeat to Zimbabwe Saints left their tally at 11 points and marked only the second time, since they were crowned champions in 1997, that they have collected fewer than a dozen points in the first eight league matches of the season.
The Glamour Boys points’ total, with a quarter of matches played in the championship so far, mirrors their campaign in 2008 – just a year after winning the league title for the first time in 10 years.
Only once, during the horror campaign of 2005 when Dynamos eventually finished 18 points behind champions CAPS United, have the Glamour Boys harvested less than 11 points in their first eight games.
Six years ago DeMbare only had nine points, in eight games, after winning three and losing five in their worst start to the Premiership campaign since the turn of the millennium.
The Glamour Boys’ eight goals, in as many matches, is the lowest number of goals the club has scored, with a quarter of games played in the championship, since the turn of the millennium.
Incredibly, Dynamos scored five goals, in one match against Masvingo United, but just three goals in the other seven games means that the misfiring Glamour Boys have their second worst goal tally, at this stage of the championship, since the turn of the millennium.
Only once, in 2008, did DeMbare score fewer goals, in their first eight matches, with the Harare giants only managing seven goals then.
The Glamour Boys’ current 45.83 percent failure rate, in the championship race, is only matched by their start to the 2004 and 2008 campaign.
And only the horror campaign of 2005, when they were weighed down by a 37.5 percent failure rate at this stage of the season, ranks as a worse show for the country’s biggest football club with a quarter of matches gone.
Dynamos’ average success rate at this stage, since the turn of the millennium, is 57.19 percent.
This year’s poor start is put into context when one considers that Dynamos had a 100 percent success rate, at this stage of the season last year, after Elvis Chiweshe guided his men to eight wins in their first eight games.
DeMbare beat Highlanders, CAPS United, Lengthens, Hwange, Shooting Stars, Monomotapa, Bantu Rovers and Eagles in a perfect start to their Premiership campaign last year in which they scored nine goals and conceded only one.
They had 24 points at this stage of the season, last year, 13 more than what Lloyd Mutasa and his crew have right now.
Chiweshe and his men, however, could only finish with the same number of points as Motor Action (66) in the race and lost out on the title – as Dynamos settled for second place for the third straight year – on goal difference.
Mutasa will probably argue that what matters is how you finish the race, and not how you start it, and he will find a little comfort in that the last time Dynamos found themselves with 11 points, at this stage of the campaign, they ran Monomotapa close in 2008 and were beaten to the crown by just two points.
Two years ago Dynamos had a better return, after eight games, with 13 points but they could only finish five points behind Gunners in the championship race.
The last time DeMbare were crowned kings, in 2007, they also had 13 points after eight matches and then, just like now, if it will make Mutasa feel any better, the Glamour Boys had lost three matches in their first eight games.
On average Dynamos have won half the number of their matches (four), after the first quarter of the campaign, since the turn of the millennium and with Mutasa’s men having won three, so far, they are not far off the mark.
But the Glamour Boys will have to respond quickly, if they are to avoid a fourth successive year without winning the league championship and Mutasa knows that someone will have to provide a steady supply of goals for his team.
Dynamos have failed to score in half the number of games they have played in the league and that is a worrying statistic and, while their defence still looks solid and Saints needed a penalty to breach it in Bulawayo, their forward line remains suspect.
Mutasa has been trying to juggle Rodreck Mutuma, Martin Vengesayi and Patrick Khumbula but while the three can get a goal, here and there, finding the consistency to do the job in such pressure conditions has proved too high a mountain to climb for them.
The coach hasn’t been helped, too, by the departure of his two best midfielders – Archford Gutu and Denver Mukamba – for trials with foreign clubs and the tragedy for such a big club is that even if the players are bought, nothing will come into its coffers.
Given that they have turned themselves into a showground, where players on loan can showcase their talents and attract the interests of foreign teams, with nothing coming into the coffers of the club in the event of a transfer.
If DeMbare owned the players, as should be the case in a normal club, then such transfer receipts could be invested in junior development structures and Tonderai Ndiraya would have funds to bankroll his efforts to develop the next generation of Glamour Boys.
It’s only when you look at everything that is wrong at Dynamos, which is supposed to be right, that you end up sympathising with Mutasa and appreciating that this team will need to do more off the field for the results on the pitch to blend with the expectations of their fans.
Dynamos’ Quarter Mile Record
2011
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 3 2 3 8 5 11
Ranking – 45.83 FAILURE rate
Final Position – UNKNOWN
2010
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 8 0 0 9 1 24
Ranking – 100 percent success rate
Final Position – SECOND, 66 points, same as winners M ACTION
2009
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 4 1 3 14 6 13
Ranking – 54.17 percent SUCCESS rate
Final Position – SECOND, Five Points behind winners GUNNERS

2008
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 2 5 1 7 5 11
Ranking – 45.83 percent FAILURE RATE
Final Position – SECOND, Two Points behind winners MONOZ
2007
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 4 1 3 11 6 13
Ranking – 54.14 percent SUCCESS rate
Final Position – CHAMPIONS
2006
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 3 3 2 10 10 12
Ranking – 50 percent SUCCESS rate
Final Position – SIXTH, 19 points behind winners HIGHLANDERS
2005
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 3 0 5 9 14 9
Ranking – 37.5 percent FAILURE rate
Final Position – NINTH, 18 points behind winners CAPS UNITED

2004
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 3 2 3 13 11 11
Ranking – 45.83 percent FAILURE rate
Final Position – SIXTH, 36 points behind winners CAPS UNITED
2003
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 5 1 2 9 6 16
Ranking – 66.66 percent SUCCESS rate
Final Position – THIRD, three points behind winners HIGHLANDERS.
Note – Dynamos were docked three points for the improper use of striker Edmore Mufema.
2002
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 4 1 3 10 9 13
Ranking – 54.14 SUCCESS rate
Final Position – FIFTH, 28 points behind winners HIGHLANDERS
2001
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 5 2 1 14 8 17
Ranking – 70.83 PERCENT rate
Final Position – FOURTH, 12 points behind winners HIGHLANDERS

2000
P W D L F A Pts
Dynamos 8 3 2 3 12 12 11
Ranking – 45.83 percent FAILURE rate
Final Position – THIRD, 12 points behind HIGHLANDERS

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