Well, what a disaster today has been for Agne Postecoglou.
If this is to be his final game as the manager of Yokohama Marinos he’s not exactly gone out on a high, but on the kind of result that might have forced the board to make that decision without us needing to go through the bother of paying them any compensation.
His side has just crashed out of the Emperors Cup to a side named Honda FC.
They are a team from Japan’s fourth tier.
They took the cup tie to extra time having been a goal up at the break (a penalty, scored by their keeper.) Yokohama levelled and then during the 30 minutes extra took the lead.
But they were pegged back and went on to disastrous failure in the shoot-out.
There are a lot of people who want to talk up this guy’s record in Japan without actually giving proper scrutiny to his failures there.
A league title sounds impressive until you consider the finishes which book-ended it.
This guy has struggled as much as he’s succeeded and we’re doing ourselves no favours at all not to consider that in our deliberations.
This is an appointment that makes no real sense to me, and this result means a barrage of negative headlines even as we continue fumbling about without actually getting the deal done.
I can’t hide the fact that I hope we don’t get it done, although that would mean an extension to this calamitous waiting, but I am dismayed at what I know is coming in the next 24 hours as the press will certainly use this result to batter us relentlessly.
It is the last thing our club and our fan base needed.
As far as I’m concerned, it may have some value if it wakes people up to the very real size of the risk we’re taking here.
This result should send shockwaves through our support and, indeed, the whole of our club.
Everyone should be aware by now that this is a risk … is it a risk too far though?
Is it a risk too much?
Is it a risk we can afford to take?
We shouldn’t be taking it, that much I do know.
But I think we’re too far down the line to do anything else.