Time to move on from the Williams-Khune debate

The Citizen

22-06-2025

Why is Williams judged by a different standard? The time has come to stop framing Williams' performances against Khune's legacy.
Ronwen Williams will likely be the first to admit that his performance against Borussia Dortmund at the FIFA Club World Cup wasn't his finest. He made costly errors, one leading to Felix Nmecha's equaliser and another contributing to Jobe Bellingham's goal.
Tired comparisons to Khune
The 4-3 defeat to the German giants has opened the floodgates of criticism on social media. While the scrutiny comes with the territory for a player of his stature, the familiar and tired comparisons to Kaizer Chiefs legend Itumeleng Khune have resurfaced yet again.
ALSO READ: Sundowns' Cardoso defends Williams and Mokoena after Dortmund defeat
Why is it that every time Williams makes a mistake, Khune's name is dragged into the debate? It's an unproductive and frankly lazy narrative. The two are shaped by different football philosophies and under entirely different circumstances.
No top goalkeeper, past or present, is immune to errors. The nature of the position means that their mistakes are magnified. However, what often goes unacknowledged is that the modern game places goalkeepers under far more pressure due to the emphasis on playing out from the back.
Sundowns, like many top sides around the world, requires the goalkeeper to act as a playmaker from deep. While the system is progressive, it comes with risk. Williams is not alone in being exposed by it. The likes of Manchester City's Ederson and Liverpool's Alisson Becker, who are widely regarded as among the world's best, have also made several high-profile errors for the same reason, but their overall quality is never in question.
So why is Williams judged by a different standard? The time has come to stop framing Williams' performances against Khune's legacy. They are different players in different contexts. More importantly, South African football needs to move past individual comparisons and start asking the right questions.
Are we developing the next generation?
What does the future of Bafana Bafana's goalkeeping look like after Williams? Just as the national team leaned heavily on Khune for years, there now appears to be a similar reliance on Williams. Are we developing the next generation?
Khune was a joy to watch in his prime and often unbeatable. Williams also has shown his class at club and international level and both have made mistakes. Rather than circulating clips of their errors to score points in a tired debate, perhaps it's time to shift the conversation to what really matters, and that is the succession plan.
Ronwen Williams will likely be the first to admit that his performance against Borussia Dortmund at the FIFA Club World Cup wasn't his finest. He made costly errors, one leading to Felix Nmecha's equaliser and another contributing to Jobe Bellingham's goal.
The 4-3 defeat to the German giants has opened the floodgates of criticism on social media. While the scrutiny comes with the territory for a player of his stature, the familiar and tired comparisons to Kaizer Chiefs legend Itumeleng Khune have resurfaced yet again.
Why is it that every time Williams makes a mistake, Khune's name is dragged into the debate? It's an unproductive and frankly lazy narrative. The two are shaped by different football philosophies and under entirely different circumstances.
No goalkeeper is immune to errors
No top goalkeeper, past or present, is immune to errors. The nature of the position means that their mistakes are magnified. However, what often goes unacknowledged is that the modern game places goalkeepers under far more pressure due to the emphasis on playing out from the back.
Sundowns, like many top sides around the world, requires the goalkeeper to act as a playmaker from deep. While the system is progressive, it comes with risk. Williams is not alone in being exposed by it. The likes of Manchester City's Ederson and Liverpool's Alisson Becker, who are widely regarded as among the world's best, have also made several high-profile errors for the same reason, but their overall quality is never in question.
So why is Williams judged by a different standard? The time has come to stop framing Williams' performances against Khune's legacy. They are different players in different contexts. More importantly, South African football needs to move past individual comparisons and start asking the right questions.
What does the future of Bafana Bafana's goalkeeping look like after Williams? Just as the national team leaned heavily on Khune for years, there now appears to be a similar reliance on Williams. Are we developing the next generation?
ALSO READ: OPINION: Cardoso's Zwane U-Turn raises more questions than answers
Khune was a joy to watch in his prime and often unbeatable. Williams also has shown his class at club and international level and both have made mistakes. Rather than circulating clips of their errors to score points in a tired debate, perhaps it's time to shift the conversation to what really matters, and that is the succession plan.