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Dingilizwe Ntuli Sports Editor
IT has been a long, strange and frustrating season so far for Highlanders’ supporters as they have endured their team’s worst run of form in about two decades.

Bosso supporters will easily be at the top of the Long-Suffering Fan Index if it existed – at least giving them something to be on top of. The fading Bulawayo giants’ fans must surely look over enviously at the successes of their neighbours Chicken Inn, who are among the top contenders for the Premier Soccer League crown.

They have endured the punishing heat, braved the chilly and rainy weather to cheer their team on at Barbourfields Stadium and other venues across the country, but unfortunately for them, the results have been piercing leaving them wondering why they continued doing it.

Fans have hung on all season hoping and praying that the players will eventually bring back the glory years, but their disappointment continued almost every weekend.

Ten defeats in 24 games have left Bosso sitting 10th on the league table and fans questioning what they did in their previous life to deserve such punishment. Despite being a massive 21 points behind log leaders and neighbours Chicken Inn and six points away from the chop, the Bosso fans can’t help themselves and have chosen to stick with the team through good and bad times and keep on believing things will change.

Players, the club’s executive and board are not happy at the amount of criticism that has come their way so far this season, but unfortunately, most of it is fully justified and there is no hiding place for them after collecting only three points in their last six games.

The club’s hierarchy should take collective responsibility for the failures as it’s unacceptable for a club of Bosso’s stature to lose five out six games.

One has to be a seasoned supporter to remember the last time it was this bad. Right now, the fans are sweating on Bosso being in the Premier Soccer League next season on the evidence of present form.

Barbourfields Stadium used to have visiting teams quaking in their boots, but has now become a place where some fans turn on each other due to what they see on the pitch.

As the fans lose their heads with games running out and the points drying, they have resorted to backing other teams in Bulawayo in a bid to stop eternal rivals Dynamos from clinching a historic fifth title in a row.

However, this adopted formula to soothe their pain backfired terribly last weekend as the Bosso fans suffered more heart ache and pain. On Saturday, they converged on Luveve Stadium to support FC Platinum against Tsholotsho and left disappointed after the Zvishavane-based side were held to a goalless draw.

The following day, the Bosso fans were at Barbourfields to cheer log leaders Chicken Inn against Dynamos and were left in tears again as the old enemy moved a step closer to the title by chewing into the Gamecocks’ lead, reducing it from seven points to four points.

Such is the misery of the Bosso fans right now that another defeat would merely deepen their depression. They face basement club Dongo Sawmill in their next league encounter at Barbourfields Stadium and need a win, any win, because right now Bosso’s morale is at rock bottom.

Bosso are heading towards a dead end as many parts are clearly missing. They are missing defenders and strikers, and cannot score goals or keep them out, and it’s surprising that a club built on a proud tradition and attracts some of the largest crowds on match day continues to struggle like this.

There are now six games to the end of the season and Bosso need four wins. The question is whether this present crop of players is capable of that. Recent performances and present form show that it’s doubtful if they can win another game this season and again it’s the fans that will bear the pain of the team’s failure, unless something really dramatic happens.