Ach. That was the first word out of my mouth when I heard of Kris Doolan being sacked by Partick Thistle, and I would imagine it was the first word out of the mouths of many a Jags fan too.
Perhaps that’s because it captures the sadness at a legend of the club departing Firhill as manager, but also the resignation that it probably, regrettably, was the right call in the end.
Perhaps playing icons at a club should be barred from ever managing it. It seems to hurt all the more if and when it all goes pear-shaped.
Not to get in there and make it all about me, but for transparency, I got to know Doolan a little bit some time ago, and feel that experience can offer some context when discussing his legacy.
When I first started out on the Partick Thistle beat for the Evening Times around a decade or so ago or more now, the responsibility for a relatively new sports reporter was a little daunting.
I wasn’t a Thistle fan, but had supported a smaller club growing up, and knew that the general media coverage – or the lack of it – about your team could be frustrating.
An initial meeting with club historian Robert Reid was fascinating, and instructive, as another legendary figure around Firhill gave me a whistlestop tour of the history of the club. I came to understand that the Thistle support was proud, fiercely protective of their own, and that they lived by their motto – ‘once a Jag, always a Jag’.
In the modern history of the club, at least, no man deserves that accolade, or the affection of those supporters, more than Kris Doolan.
It was clear from the earliest days in the new gig that this was not only someone who was held in the highest esteem by the support and the staff because of his abilities as a player and his goalscoring prowess, but for the way he embodied the values of Thistle.
He, along with the likes of Chris Erskine and Stuart Bannigan, were welcoming and generous with both their time and their patience. You could immediately tell what it meant to them to have the responsibility of representing Partick Thistle.
A few years later, when Doolan scored his 100th goal for the club to draw Thistle level against Ross County – an afternoon later dubbed April Dools Day – he could scarcely contain his emotions. Fittingly, he also scored his 101st in short order to give his side a crucial win.
“It’s a dream come true, especially to do it here at Firhill,” he said afterwards.
“To do it in front of these home fans makes it even more special, to then go on and win the game just makes it even more memorable. To do it wearing the captain’s armband was even more perfect.
“It’s a day I will never forget.”
I’m not meaning to make it a little dusty in here for the Firhill faithful, but his contribution to the club as a player is also something they will surely never forget.
Read more:
-
Partick Thistle sack Kris Doolan amid poor Championship form
-
'You can't say we're pushing for the title': Bannigan on Thistle's aspirations
-
Kris Doolan furious with Thistle players after 'worst performance' of his reign
And, but for a fateful, 20-minute sliding doors moment, he would have enhanced his legendary status as manager of the club too. Again, apologies if casting up that afternoon in Dingwall inspires a wee greet, albeit for entirely different reasons.
As it transpired, his Thistle team somehow managed to let a three-goal advantage slip against Ross County in those ridiculous closing stages of the season, and promotion back to the Premiership via the playoffs slipped agonisingly from their grasp after spot kicks.
Sadly, that was as close as he came to promotion during his time in charge. Last season brought another exciting playoff charge, losing out in heartbreaking fashion again at the semi-final stage, and again on penalties, to Raith Rovers.
When Doolan was relieved of his duties this week, Thistle were sitting in fourth place in The Championship standings, and looking set for the playoffs again. But when his budget this season is factored in, the growing distance between them and the teams above and the rapidly shrinking distance to the teams like Morton below after recent results, proved his undoing.
It was an outcome that no one with a connection to Thistle would have wanted, even if a majority of the fanbase seemed to accept that it had to happen for the greater good.
I don’t follow Thistle quite so closely these days, but from the outside, it seems that while the gap to the teams above them in the table was clearly a concern for the board, a much more important one for them to be mindful of is the gap that has been forming of late between the fans and the club.
At the very least, the board must recognise that there is a growing lack of faith from the rank and file that they are up to the task of running the club in a competent manner.
The fanbase seems generally aligned, if saddened, by the decision to sack Doolan, but various mis-steps (such as the curious Charlie Sayers signing and subsequent – and expensive - early release from a three-year contract, and the apparent waving of a white flag in the promotion race by seeking to reign in costs in January), have done little to inspire faith, and much to inspire doubt.
Dispensing with Doolan won’t be a panacea to their problems, and it won’t insulate the club from that most corrosive of emotions once it creeps into a fanbase – indifference.
The board are currently also looking for a sporting director, and placing a caretaker like Brian Graham in charge of first team duties for the timebeing while they get that appointment right would seem the most logical course of action, allowing that person input into the choice of a new permanent manager. Otherwise, it would rather be putting the cart before the horse.
Time will tell if they can sort out the structure behind the scenes, and find a suitable candidate for both the position upstairs and in the dugout. Their credibility would seem to depend on it.
As for Doolan, his own Firhill legacy is secure. Once a Jags legend, always a Jags legend.
