Is Our Failure Quotient High Enough?

Article by Brent Weber

I started this season with high expectations and optimism. I still remain optimistic. On paper, Spurs are loaded with talent and are top 4 contenders. Unfortunately for us, the matches are not played on paper. Right now, we are what the table says we are, and that is a mid-table team. I think AVB is a good manager and I think it would be a mistake to fire him. He understands the game, the tactics, and last year proved he could get the most out of his players. This season, he is struggling to make the parts work together and we are underachieving. Our performances have been boring, stale, and ugly thus far through the season. Tactics only go so far and it is time for the players to step up, take responsibility, and start performing.

We dominate possession in most matches but our possession is over-rated because it doesn’t translate into goals. Only one stat matters at the end of a match and that of course is the score. Points are not awarded for possession! Without penalty kicks, Spurs would be the lowest scoring team in the league. Spurs are the only team in the top half of the table with a negative goal differential. Some of you will say that we have more points now compared to the same point last season. Last season after week 12, we had already scored 20 goals, more than double our current total. The only difference is we have only allowed 12 goals versus 21 at this point last season.

Spurs have the worse home record of the top 9 teams. In addition, we have failed to defeat any of the teams ahead of us in the table. We have played 5 of the top 8 teams and totalled 2 points from those matches. In other words, we have yet to beat a good team and we have zero quality wins.

Fortunately, we have good opportunities in the coming weeks to get quality wins and turn this season around. There is no bigger opportunity than this weekend when Manchester United comes to White Hart Lane. In my opinion, this match will define this team, their character, their commitment, and will decide the outcome of our season.

Dale Brown, former basketball coach at LSU, believed that FQ (failure quotient) was much more important than IQ. He believed that failure was only a detour and an opportunity to begin again. The most successful teams are not afraid to fail and when they do, they come back stronger! Teams with high FQ always persevere and succeed. The City match was the ultimate failure. We failed on the scoreboard. More importantly, we failed in our effort! Most of our players quit on the pitch!

The United match will show the character of this team. We will find out how high our team’s FQ can be. We will learn if these players believe in AVB or if he has already lost their confidence. We will learn if these players believe in each other. We will quite simply learn if Spurs are a team or just a bunch of individuals. A coach can only do so much and there are only so many formations and tactics to try. This match will come down to effort. If the team comes out and plays with passion, energy, and toughness, I believe that we will start climbing up the table. If the team comes out flat, lethargic, and unwilling to attack, it will be a sign that they no longer have confidence in themselves, no longer believe in each other, and no longer believe in AVB.

My heart tells me that AVB will rally this team. I believe this team is resilient and has a very high FQ and will play our best match of the season. As bad as we have played so far, we are luckily only 8 points out of first and 4 points off second. This match could easily put us right back in the mix.

This match will define this team, our season, and AVB’s future with the club. How will we respond? Does this team have a high enough FQ to respond with a victory?

I believe we do but it doesn’t matter what I believe. The players must start believing and start producing.

Come On You Spurs!

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