It was the worst performance in franchise history against the worst team in the league in the most important game in the club's three year existence.
How do you explain that one?
We're all flabbergasted.
Even former coach John Carver called me from England Sunday morning to ask what happened. Like anything else, the problems begin at the top and filter down from there. Ultimately the rot is revealed on the pitch. Many things can be hidden, but every bad decision and every personality conflict is revealed in the team's performance on the pitch. And while many of the players are accepting responsibility, they're also pointing fingers at one another as Dwayne DeRosario explained after Saturday night's mind numbing, season ending 5-0 thrashing at the hands of the inept New York Red Bulls.
But don't believe the garbage that floated around earlier in the week about Carl Robinson being a bad apple. That's way off base, and must have been planted. But that's another story.
The coach is also admitting to mistakes and is likely to take the fall. In my opinion Chris Cummins won't wait for it to happen. His family is back in England, and I believe he'll join them before Mo Johnston pulls the trigger. At least that's what I think. It makes sense to me.
In fact the search for a new manager has been underway for a while now, and at least one current MLS coach has already turned it down. But what about upper management? I don't hear anybody above the players and coaching staff accepting responsibility.
This franchise is heading towards a scenario that will see it begin year four having never made the playoffs with yet another man in charge. That would be four coaches in four years. Is that not a sign that this is a club without direction or a long term plan? Every decision is either a quick fix bandaid, or a knee jerk reaction to public demand without the actual benefit to the club taking priority in the decison making process.
Funny, isn't it? Once upon a time, the announcement that a grass pitch was on the way would have been seen as the final piece to the puzzle. All of a sudden it seems trivial, as the challenges this team faces in the off season are much, much more important.