Removing Marcelo Bielsa from his post is not something Leeds United would have really considered a possibility given the thrill ride of success his tenure has proved until recently.
Tellingly, television cameras dwelled on Andrea Radrizzani, Peter Lowy and Victor Orta in the front row of the directors’ box at Elland Road.
As they chewed on each of the four goals their side conceded, taking it to 20, a third of the entire season’s total, shipped in the last five games, they would have known the conversation coming their way at full-time.
If the fans, booing for the first time in the Bielsa era, can see it in the stadium, those at the summit of the club can see it too and know the head coach’s position has to be considered.
As Saturday evening drew in, The Athletic doubled down on its original story on the uncertainty around Bielsa’s future with growing expectation the axe would be swung.
If this were to be their ultimate decision, the Leeds board, including Paraag Marathe representing 49ers Enterprises on the other side of the Atlantic, will have played out the coming weeks in their mind.
The discussions going on within the boardroom tonight should not automatically lead to a sacking for one of the club’s finest head coaches in decades.
Orta, the director of football, will have a key insight in those discussions on how sees the product on the pitch now, as well as a line into the dressing room and how the players see Bielsa’s position.
Orta’s also the key voice on who they could actually recruit to replace Bielsa. That’s the key consideration for Radrizzani et al: if you are going to remove the man who knows this squad better than anyone, who do you think will do a better job with the next 12 matches?
There is no doubting the level of risk attached with keeping Bielsa. Evidently, the results have been nothing short of horrendous and the ease with which Tottenham Hotspur raced to 2-0 inside 15 minutes on Saturday was alarming.
There is a very real risk Leeds will barely make it to the critical double-header with Aston Villa and Norwich City with any ounce of belief left in their legs.
Radrizzani and the 49ers, the key decision-makers at the top of the organisation, will not be able to contemplate the prospect of relegation to the Championship.
A return to the second tier, after 16 years away from the top flight, is far more than a minor blip in their masterplan which was supposed to be taking them to Europe before long.
That is why the unthinkable is being put on the table at the very top of the football club tonight.
Drastic times may call for drastic measures, but there can be no certainty a new head coach can retrain this small group of players into a new system of football and make it sing within 12 matches.
And if not a new system then why not keep Bielsa?
Bielsa, wounded right now, is at least a known quantity. The top brass knows his brand of football has worked at this level, but against recent opposition, it has floundered.
Can Radrizzani and co have that same certainty with a new face at the helm after four seasons of the squad being drilled in one man’s singular vision?
