No disrespect to the coaching duo of Tyren Arendse and Roger de Sa, but Cape Town Spurs’ decision to part ways with Nasief Morris at the start of the season appears to have done more harm than good for their ABC Motsepe League side.
And it is not as if De Sa arrived on a bargain contract either.
Under Morris, Spurs looked to be laying the foundations for a serious push back towards the professional ranks. While the former Bafana Bafana defender ultimately fell short of achieving promotion in his first season, there was a sense that the club was building something promising and that a second campaign under his stewardship could have yielded greater rewards.
Instead, it is the fallout from his departure that has raised eyebrows.
The Ikamva-based outfit have endured a dismal start to the new Second Division campaign, with results suggesting that the coaching change may have disrupted rather than accelerated the club’s progress. Spurs have managed just one victory in their opening eight matches, while a solitary draw and six defeats have left them huffing and puffing in Stream A.
For a club that prides itself on its renowned academy and player development structures, those numbers make for uncomfortable reading. Even more concerning is the fact that Spurs find themselves locked on points at the bottom half of the log, a far cry from the expectations that accompanied the start of the campaign.
There is, however, a glimmer of hope. Their goalless draw against Stream A leaders FN Rangers showed that quality still exists within the squad. Holding the division’s pacesetters to a stalemate could provide the spark Spurs need to kick-start their season and restore some credibility to a campaign that has fallen well below expectations.
For a club renowned for producing future stars, languishing closer to the drop zone than the league leaders is a damning indictment of how far standards have dropped.
Whether that result marks a turning point remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Spurs cannot afford many more false starts if they are to avoid another season of underachievement and begin the climb back towards the professional game
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