I can just imagine the pain the former Bafana Bafana striker Shaun Bartlett must be going through with his promoted side Cape Town Spurs — the only team yet to register a point in the DStv Premiership after six rounds this season.
When Spurs won promotion via the PSL’s ridiculous promotion/relegation play-offs to move up to the big time alongside Motsepe Championship winners Polokwane City, there was huge jubilation.
There was jubilation for Bartlett, who a few years ago (2015) had promoted Lamontville Golden Arrows to the PSL, only to be fired by the Durban club boss Mato Madlala when he was supposed to guide the side in the top-flight.
Bartlett’s story and association with Spurs is a long and incredible one. This is the club that groomed him as a youngster before he won the SA league title with the club in 1995. That victory led to Bartlett’s successful career with both Bafana and local and overseas clubs.
So, if there’s anyone fitting and qualified to be Spurs coach, it’s Bartlett. But that the going has been tough for Spurs in the elite league points to several factors the club must look at, the obvious one being that Spurs have not invested in the squad after promotion.
It’s very good that Spurs owners have concentrated on building their club through the vast number of young players developed in Cape Town, but they’ve ignored that Bartlett thrived in a Spurs side that had players coming from all over the country and elsewhere on the continent.
The championship winning side of 1995 included the likes of David Nyathi, Francis Shonhai (Zimbabwe), David Modise, Ronnie Zondi and Mike Mhlanga complementing the likes of Bartlett, Andre Arendse, David Kannemeyer and Edries Burton who were born and bred in Cape Town.
The current Spurs team’s struggles raises the question of whether Cape Town or Western Province deserves to have three clubs in SA’s top-flight. It’s the same question I had last season when KwaZulu-Natal had five teams in the Premiership.
A thorough squad audit will show Bartlett and Spurs owners what their team needs to help them move away from the bottom of the log spot.
Sometimes less is more as we’ve seen with the success of Cape Town City and Stellenbosch FC in the past few seasons. For Spurs to make an impact and move from the situation they’re in, the club owners must review their squad. The squad Bartlett had in the second tier of SA Football was good but certainly not good enough for the Premiership.
The PSL’s transfer window closes on Friday (September 22) and the reality is that Spurs need to sign a few players with some experience. Failure to do so could damage their chances of survival because the closer you get to the end of the first round having not collected decent points, the more likely you’ll struggle the whole season.
In his current squad Bartlett has good young players such as striker Ashley Cupido (22), Luvuyo Phewa (23) and Chumani Butsaka (21), supported by the experience of Nazeer Alie (38), Clayton Daniels (39), Granwald Scott (35), Michael Morton (34) and Keegan Buchanan (31).
What is clear, is that the experienced players Bartlett has in his team are not helping to balance them well. It could be these players have reached their ceiling in as far as playing in the Premiership goes.
As hard as it may be for Bartlett to lose some of these players, it may be good for the team. Losing them, while getting others who are younger but with PSL experience, may finally give Bartlett’s team the positive results.
A thorough squad audit will show Bartlett and Spurs' owners what their team needs to help them move away from the bottom of the log spot.
Bartlett need look no further than neighbours Stellenbosch FC, whose coach Steve Barker has mastered the art of balancing his squad with a couple of experienced players who help the youngsters they churn out every season from their development ranks.
From what I’ve seen of Spurs, they play better football than most teams in the PSL. However, the Spurs defence lacks the strength and energy that can help them survive. Once they get that right, the likes of Cupido will get confidence to get more goals that can help Spurs.
It is vital Spurs correct these wrongs now. Any delay will lead people to start pointing fingers at Bartlett, that is if they haven’t already.
The problem at Spurs seems not to be coaching but rather a squad which was not critically looked at once they gained promotion. Rejigging there might bring better results.
But it might not be a bad idea for Bartlett to look at what Barker has done over the years to survive in the PSL, since Stellies’ promotion in the 2018-2019 campaign.
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