Cape Town Spurs suffered another relegation setback, following their failure to secure enough points to keep them in the DStv Premiership in their first season back. The Urban Warriors are guaranteed to finish 16th on the log, which translates into automatic relegation as they couldn't amass a minimum of 30 points to give themselves a fighting chance.
Everyone knows the excitement Spurs' promotion brought to the Western Cape citizens. After all, these guys had been huffing and puffing for five years in the Motsepe Foundation Championship trying to get back into the elite league. With three top-tier sides in the south-western coast of Mzansi, everything looked aligned and there was one more time for the Big Three to grace our shores, while there were more trips to football match venues. We expected a serious rivalry between Spurs and Cape Town City, what with the history between the two clubs, but to say that rivalry didn't even take off would be an understatement! So much was expected from the Parow-based side's promotion but now, after one season among the best teams in the country, all of that is gone!
For all intents and purposes, Spurs never challenged for anything this season! The only fight they participated in was relegation, from the first whistle up to the last! They were the whipping boys of the League, and no one can argue about that, even Orlando Pirates who 'donated' four points to the Urban Warriors know they could and should've done much better. In fact, that solitary Warriors win against Bucs, in the first round, is one of the reasons coach Jose Riveiro's charges haven't come anywhere near the league championship this season. The fact that, after 16 matches, Warriors only had 4 points in their bag was just a sign of things to come. Red flag right there!
Their second-round points tally is chalk and cheese from their first round. They've secured 15 points since the turn of the year, which puts them among the Top Eight performers bracket in the second stanza of the campaign, despite their failure to move off the log basement. Why did it go so wrong in the first round for Cape Town Spurs? It is easy for people to look at Shaun Bartlett and blame him as a leader. It would be easy for people to look at Spurs management and blame them for not securing quality players. But the reality is that yes, Bartlett is to blame – as a head coach in charge of the team. Yes, the buck stops with Spurs management. Yes, some blame must be apportioned to the players.
The blame is not necessarily what most people think. They are all to blame for failing to win automatic promotion when they had a strong chance to do so. They are to blame for having to go through the play-offs because, by so doing, they lost the advantage of having almost a month of off-season to give themselves enough chance to sort things out in preparation for the following season. They missed out on enough time to run around and secure top-quality players that were available at the time. The same fate is going to befall the team that is going to win the play-offs this season, which is one of the reasons why a lot of people feel the play-offs should be done away with. Not only are they unfair to the Motsepe Foundation Championship teams by giving a second chance to the 15th placed DStv Premiership side, they also inconvenience the eventual winner because available players are already taken. No player will commit into a contract with a team whose future is uncertain, just like the clubs won't dive into any contract not knowing whether they will be promoted or not. If anything, the whole exercise makes a mockery of our league!
As a MFC team, the season starts without you getting proper rest and by the time you finally find your feet in the Premiership, it is too late into the campaign. Because of those inconveniences, it was almost impossible for Spurs to rally their troops and put together a solid, strong team. It wasn't Bartlett's fault! At the risk of sounding like I'm contradicting myself, had Bartlett got the players he would have identified and reinforced his team before the season started, things would have turned out completely differently for his team. One believes they would still be in the elite league next season. Unfortunately, everyone will point at Bartlett for the team's failure to secure enough points in the first round, as everyone witnessed their struggles.
In came coach Ernst Middendorp, who is unfortunately making a name for himself as a 'relegation-fighter.' This is the same coach who ditched Moroka Swallows, in their time of need, right in the middle of a relegation battle for another coaching gig in his native Germany, where his team there ended up being relegated. The experienced mentor pulled out all the stops to ensure Warriors' survival, but it proved to be a little too late. Truth be told, the experienced campaigner really tried. His impact was there for everyone to see. He really, really tried but the damage had already been done in the first round.
If a team can go for 15 games with only one win, that is a recipe for disaster! Unfortunately, when you put all these factors and more, you realise that Spurs got what they deserved! It is sad to see them gone but they always had a huge mountain to climb in order to maintain their status. One hopes that they will learn from this heartbreaking experience and that, one day we will wake up to a DStv Premiership that relegates the last two teams on the log and promote the top two MFC teams at the end of the season. That will certainly go a long way in alleviating unnecessary challenges faced by some of these teams and also ensure that players go into the new season, fully rested. The play-offs are not only a waste of time and resources but simply a serious inconvenience to those who take part in them.
Once again, it's really sad to see Spurs gone but they really tried! When you look at the history of this team and the impact it has had in South African football, it breaks one's heart to see them going through what they are going through. Here's to hoping that there will have been lessons learned from this experience, once again, and things will get better from next season. All the best in the lower division, Urban Warriors! Now we sit and wait to see who will finish 15th between Richards Bay FC and Royal AM who are separated by three points, while Swallows have done enough to keep their heads above water yet again this campaign.
On a non-football but equally important note, next Wednesday – May 29th – marks another crucial day in the history of our country, as the general elections will be taking place. This will be the seventh democratic election since 1994 and everyone who has registered will be expected to go and cast their vote. It is important for everyone, especially youth, not to treat this day as another 'public holiday' where we put our feet up or see it as another day to socialise. Let us all exercise our democratic right and vote.
South African football has been dealt yet another terrible blow by the passing of AmaZulu FC legend, Joel Faya who passed away after a short illness. Our sincere condolences to the Faya family, friends, the Usuthu family and everyone who knew this extraordinary legend in the football fraternity. May his soul rest in peace.
Cheers.
VeeJay
