It is probably too late - it seems that Sydney FC have pursued Graham Arnold for months, and the Mariners' exit from the A League finals will loosen Arnold's ties to the Central Coast.
But for what it's worth, this is a plea to the club - do not hire Graham Arnold.
The case for Arnold is simple. The former Socceroo player and manager has led an unfancied and cheaply assembled Mariners outfit to a grand final and a Premier's Plate in two seasons. He has promoted several young players who have blossomed into budding stars. Arnold's Mariners have mostly dominated the Lavicka-led Sydney FC. And while Arnold's A League coaching record is second only to Ange Postecoglou, Arnold is the better-credentialed coach as he is a rare Australian-born manager with international and Asian experience.
With Postecoglou either Melbourne-bound or staying in Brisbane, Arnold looks like the obvious choice. But he is not the man that Sydney need.
Even if all that an Arnold era promises came true - if Sydney FC won the league - they would win ugly. And winning ugly is a pass mark in the A League's toughest market.
Viteslav Lavicka was respected for his acumen and decency, but his style of football saw the club shed members when losses mounted. Even the premiership season was witnessed by an average amount of fans.
With Lavicka heading home, the A League limping into an off-season and Sydney rudderless at front office, Sydney FC need success. They need an inspired choice who will commit to playing attacking football, not a man who plays the admirably dogged Daniel McBreen at number 10 and whose tactics attract 7,500 fans to an elimination final.
Sydney need someone who can communicate with the city and seduce those former members who have severed ties. Graham Arnold has strengths but communication is not one of them.
The final factor is less obvious but no less important. Sydney FC is a club diametrically different to the Mariners in culture, profile and expectation. Sydney FC have Socceroos and marquees where the Mariners have a small-town ethos (and Arnold's record at managing Socceroos is aging, but not encouraging). Sydney is the bling football club in a city that ignores domestic football, while the Mariners are the only fish in a much smaller pond. And while Mariners fans delight in surpassing expectations, Sydney players are slowly boiled in them.
Graham Arnold has proved himself as an excellent coach and his achievement at the Mariners is undoubted. But football repeatedly shows that success at one club does not guarantee the same elsewhere.
Winning ugly is the minimum that Sydney demands and a pass mark will not do it anymore. Sydney FC have bled fans since season one, and while the club's immediate future is assured, it is time for Sydney to strive for success.
Sadly this devilish dilemma comes at the worst possible time. Sydney's acting CEO Stefan Kamasz is caught in the vice. He needs to find a coach so the roster can be filled before Western Sydney and other clubs sweep up the best Australians. But if he makes the wrong appointment, Sydney will suffer a worse fate - for every coach or CEO that departs, members decide their dollars are better spent elsewhere.
Former CEO Dirk Melton had a hit list lined up but one wonders if Kamasz has had the time to look overseas. I have no suggestions for him. But the club should look further than Arnold.
