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The truth is, van Egmond’s sacking has been coming for quite some time.
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Van Egmond guided the Jets to their only championship with a 1-0 victory over bitter rivals Central Coast Mariners back in 2007/08 before leaving the club to take a job with the AIS in 2009.
However, the Jets have missed the finals on both occasions under his tutelage since returning to the club in 2011.
He ruthlessly cleaned out the club on his return making it well known that he wanted younger players to help execute an up-tempo possession-based game plan.
He recruited a host of highly talented yet inexperienced youngsters to the club, many of whom he coached at the AIS, with the hope that he could develop them into high quality A-League players.
With his supposed reputation as a master in youth development, he was going to turn the Jets into a hard-working machine which passed teams to death ala Brisbane Roar of two years ago.
But the truth is, despite all the good intentions and promises from van Egmond, he delivered very little of what he set out to do.
Despite recruiting some of the best youngsters in Australian football over the past three seasons, the Jets have been a rabble of inconsistency and the results have been ordinary at best.
Van Egmond’s insistence on keeping possession and playing out from the back failed miserably for the best part of two seasons, as poor decision making and execution cost the team dearly.
It was comical to watch opposition teams simply wait for the Jets to make a mistake in their defensive third and swiftly capitilise to punish them on the counter.
Jets fans called for van Egmond to be more pragmatic in his tactics but he wouldn’t listen. The mistakes kept coming and the goals conceded column kept on ticking over.
Two consecutive years meekly missing the finals and fans were over it - they had had enough.
But despite the loud calls for van Egmond’s head, the club extended his contract and publicly backed their main man.
Fast forward to this season and all of a sudden the Jets’ tactics had changed.
Seemingly unwilling to deter from his possession-based mantra over the past two seasons, van Egmond suddenly employed a more direct game plan. Funnily enough, it worked.
Their snatch and grab 2-0 win over the Brisbane Roar proved that defensive structure, hard work and taking your chances can win you football games. Perhaps he realised he was going to be out of a job so he adopted a game plan which made his team more difficult to break down?
Defensively they have been excellent this year but it’s the attacking third where they have been unable to punish teams when they have been dominating.
The team’s inconsistency marked the downfall of van Egmond in the end as they struggled to back up their strong showings against the better sides when they have tackled the sides below them on the ladder.
Four losses in the past five matches forced the Jets’ hand as the likelihood of another season without the finals became a real possibility.
Youth team coach Clayton Zane has been promoted to the senior role and it will be interesting to see how the former Socceroo handles the pressure of the top gig.
Zane has formerly coached the Jets W-League and youth team but has not previously coached at senior level. He has promised changes and hopes to restore the confidence of the players who reportedly disliked Gary van Egmond’s man management style.
By all reports, Zane is a far more down to earth character and gets along well with the players which could be exactly what the Jets need after a tough season to date.
Affable Englishman Michael Bridges has been employed in a player/assistant coach role for the rest of the season and the popular figure will play a pivotal role in helping Zane transition into the senior coaching role.
Zane has the gig in the interim for the rest of the year before the Jets reassess their options at the end of the season. If he can guide the Jets to the finals then he’s a good chance of getting the gig full-time, but if things don’t go to plan, the club may have to look elsewhere for a replacement.
Time will tell.