Dutchy's game plan backfires

Gary van Egmond has come out of his brief flirtation with club management with a tattered reputation, at least in the eyes of some observers.

One of Australia's most promising coaches, who guided the Jets to the A-League championship in his first full season in 2007/08, would be as welcome in the Hunter Valley as a bad vintage crop.

And, as a neutral A-League club chief executive put it, he will find it very hard to find another senior club in Australia after a series of extraordinary events that, in my opinion, have made him look sneaky, disloyal, selfish and unprofessional.

Only months after signing a four-year contract with the Jets, Van Egmond was wheeling and dealing his way out of the club.

And on the very same week the Jets were involved in a crucial AFC Champions League clash in Korea against Pohang Steelers, the young coach they call "Dutchy" apparently was concluding negotiations with an FFA official over his next coaching assignment.

Four days after the Jets crashed 6-0 at The Steelyard, he phoned Jets chief executive John Tsatsimas to inform him he had resigned.

On the day he quit the club, I rang Van Egmond to find out if the strong mail, that had come right out of the blue, was correct.

“Yes, it's true, I've quit the club because I've got another job,” he said, almost cockily.

Since Van Egmond had always been available whenever I needed him for a quote or two, I got on well with him and I wished him the best of luck even though I was not quite sure if he had done the right thing by the club.

It has since emerged that throughout his negotiations, Van Egmond had expressed a wish that the FFA do not inform his club that he had applied for the advertised job, which also casts a shadow over the FFA’s sense of ethics.

No wonder the Jets were livid when they found out that they were let down not only by their own coach but also by the FFA who, as guardians of the game, are supposed to protect the interests of the clubs.

This is the same governing body that jumped up and down and claimed treason when Dutchman Dick Advocaat reneged on his agreement to become Socceroos coach in 2007.

But that’s not the end of the story.

It also has been revealed that the FFA were not aware of certain details in Van Egmond's Jets contract, like the lack of an exit clause, which seriously compromised the FFA's position.

And as the Jets vowed they would seek compensation from the FFA for breach of contract, the FFA must have realised they had no leg to stand on and told the Jets that they had aborted the arrangement with Van Egmond.

Van Egmond will now get only the AIS gig, which will leave him out of pocket.

But he is not complaining. He said in a statement that he was pleased to have certainty and be able to move forward. How about saying sorry to the club, players and fans!

The Jets are determined not to let the matter go and it is understood they will continue to seek compensation, regardless of the FFA’s backflip over Van Egmond. And they are confident of winning their case.

The Jets’ colourful chairman Con Constantine has created his fair share of controversy over the years but the general feeling within the football fraternity is that he was dudded and that he deserves sympathy.

Something Van Egmond will find hard to achieve, at least until this whole sordid saga is forgotten.