Phil Masinga may not have played often for Leeds but his skill, heart and tenacity made a lasting impression

Phil Masinga
Philomen Masinga was more than a cult hero, his decency shone through Credit:  Colorsport/REX 

Philomen Masinga, who died of cancer at the age of 49 on Sunday, was not a Leeds United “cult hero” in the standard sense, though that designation was the most commonly applied one because it is difficult to find the right kind of label newspapers insist on having for a player who scored 11 goals in 39 appearances.

Bona fide mavericks have a swaggering charisma or audacious but languid skilfulness that begs the crowd’s indulgence. Or they have a dash of pantomime villainy. Masinga was a far more wholehearted forward than the types who traditionally command cult status -  he was admired for his tenacity and positivity, qualities that are genuinely attractive rather than the flashy magnetism of a bag of tricks or an ostentatious bad boy schtick.

Masinga joined Leeds in the summer of 1994, spotted by the chief scout, Geoff Sleight, who had been following up a tip recommending South Africa’s Lucas Radebe. He watched Bafana Bafana twice more over the next fortnight, in the Nelson Mandela Friendship Tournament against Australia in Sydney and Adelaide which Radebe missed through injury, and argued for the purchase of both. Howard Wilkinson agreed without having seen either himself, paying £275,000 for the striker and £250,000 for the defender.

Leeds were experiencing another spell of wild fluctuation in their finances when Radebe and Masinga joined. Eight months before they had sold David Batty to Blackburn Rovers for £2.75m because they needed the cash yet by the summer of 1994, having banked the season ticket money, they were capable of paying Sheffield Wednesday £2.6m for Carlton Palmer.  

Wilkinson had bought Brian Deane from Sheffield United in the summer of 1993 and with the FA Youth Cup-winning centre-forward Noel Whelan making express progress in the reserves, Leeds’ need for an out-and-out No9 was not immediately obvious. Yet Deane had struggled as a target man in his first season back at his hometown club. He was a highly effective chaser of passes chipped diagonally into space behind defences or exploiting his speed and strength to burst through the lines to meet angled throughballs (and had a blistering, mule-kick of a left-foot shot). So, too, though, was Rod Wallace which dulled the variety of attacking options. Getting on the end of overlapping full-backs’ crosses was never Deane’s forte despite his height and it was for this that Wilkinson turned to the 6ft 4in Masinga.

Arsenal v Leeds United, Phil Masinga of Leeds.
Masinga at Highbury in 1994 where he scored twice against Arsenal Credit: Mark Leech/Getty Images

Radebe and Masinga, following the path their compatriots Gerry Francis and Albert Johanneson had taken in the  Sixties from South Africa into the Leeds first team squad, moved into digs in Beeston within walking distance of Elland Road. Masinga was the first to be granted his work permit and came off the bench to make his debut in the first match of the season, started the home victory over Arsenal three days later and scored with a bullet header from eight yards in the next match, a 2-3 defeat by Chelsea. “Players like McAllister and Strachan are legends to us, but they have kept encouraging us all the time, so we must keep our heads up not bow down,” Masinga told The Times.

“Phil was a big hit with the team and the players," Radebe told the BBC World Service on Sunday. "I looked up to him and I think he inspired me the most. It was absolutely great the way he adapted to the situation.”

He started up front for the first home victory over the champions Manchester United since 1980 but by the time he scored his next goals, in December’s 3-1 away victory over Arsenal, Leeds’ first at Highbury for 19 years, Wilkinson had addressed the team’s defensive inconsistency by changing to a formation that reduced the number of chances created. Deane and Whelan now played on the flanks, doggedly shielding their full-backs and leaving Masinga to occupy the opposition central defenders. This he did diligently and his perseverance earned him two goals, the second of which still features on compilations of the Premier League’s most freakish, wacky aces if you will.  

Masinga began it with a slaloming run from 25 yards out that put Stefan Schwarz on his backside with a quick turn. He then gulled Steve Bould with the flick of a telescopic leg to go one-on-one with the advancing Vince Bartram, completely missed his shot as the ball skidded away, airkicked balletically and gave the goalkeeper the advantage. But Bartram poked his clearance at Masinga as he closed him down and the forward put the ball in the net with a finish that was half block-tackle, half stab. In January he came off the bench to score an extra-time hat-trick against Walsall in an FA Cup third-round replay and, to the fans’ dismay, was selected at centre-forward to start the next match against QPR.

Phil Masinga
Masinga's opportunities dried up in his second season at Elland Road Credit: Phil Barker/PA wire

That was no slur on Masinga, it was because Leeds had signed Tony Yeboah a few days earlier and it seemed a typical example of Wilkinson’s paternal strictness not to be seduced into crowd-pleasing schemes. Prudence and principle were always Howard’s way, commendable virtues in retrospect but easy to interpret as obtuse and prim when you just want to see the explosive and expensive striker you have craved. Masinga scored twice, a near-post header from a corner and a tap-in off the post which demonstrated his razor-sharp anticipation and intelligent positioning.

He scored again the same week in the FA Cup victory over Oldham but it was his last of the season as Yeboah established himself as first choice with a hot streak as soon as he was fit enough to start and the following season he was a squad player. There were still important contributions such as the goal against Birmingham City in the League Cup semi-final, another quick gobbling up of a parried shot but he was trapped between the crowd’s preference for Thomas Brolin and Wilkinson’s exasperated buyer’s remorse at the state of the once sublime Sweden forward’s fitness and appetite for work.

Leeds sold him reluctantly in the summer of 1996 because he hadn’t made enough appearances to renew his work permit and though they successfully appealed the decision also to turn Radebe’s down on the ground of his injury record, Masinga left for Switzerland and St Gallen while his friend and former housemate went on to become one of the most cherished players in Leeds’ history.

As early as his first pre-season with Leeds, the nickname ‘Waltzing Masinga’ was coined and taken up by people who could not have seen him play. For while it’s a decent enough pun, it didn’t describe his style at all. He wasn’t a smooth and nimble mover, he loped. He had a surfeit of skill but it was sometimes not matched by a sureness of touch and control which made it seem that he was at the very edge of his talent when striding forward with the ball.

Masinga had persistence and honesty that overrode those flaws and an endearing enthusiasm that he  transmitted to all on his side. Those of us who were fortunate to see many of his games for Leeds will picture him in one of those Asics kits - the Sampdoria tribute, the beatnik polo neck or the two deckchair-striped away shirts - and will remember those towering headers, his humility and sinuous dribbles, his palpable enjoyment and predatory instincts when following in a shot.

Masinga was caught between two styles at Leeds, the one geared up for Lee Chapman’s aerial prowess that preceded him and the one that tightened up midfield to spring from 4-5-1 to 4-3-3 which required a more dynamic, spectacular striker and reliable finisher. When Yeboah became available he was a far better fit for Wilkinson’s tactical evolution and Masinga’s opportunities drifted away. At his best, though, he could fulfil both roles, scoring some cracking headers and, in 1997, a year after South Africa won the Africa Cup of Nations, he scored a 25-yard screamer against Congo that earned qualification for their first World Cup and was in the Yeboah class of thunderbolts. Later, at Bari, he struck up a fine partnership with a young Antonio Cassano and scored in both victories over Inter in 1997-98, the season Ronaldo et al lost the title by five points.

In South Africa he was 'Chippa', to most Leeds supporters simply 'Phil', a player whose decency and determination shone through. The clubs he served will mourn him this week for his dedication and the joy he brought with his cheerful approach. What a rotten shame.   

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