It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings is a proverb, essentially meaning that one shouldn't assume the outcome of some activity. But in the case of soon to be former Malaysian National Coach B. Sathianathan, it was not a case of the fat lady singing, but rather fat boy singing. Could Berita Harian in its veiled reports be implying the same thing?The irony of the whole matter is that the national TV station RTM aired on its news bulletin the day Malaysia played Thailand, mind you quoting a key member of the FAM set-up, that Sathia will no longer be in charge of the national team after AFF, and that interview took place in the morning before the Thai match. And this is the same person that told a journalist that FAM had already talked to Peter Withe and the high salary was not an issue as it was to be shared with a private company.
Yet he is now saying that he has no idea with regards to a replacement for Sathia and the fate will only be determined by the National Team Management Committee, which meets on Monday, I believe at the directive of the President of FAM.
It seems that Sathia's fate was well decided before even the first match kicked off in Phuket and at the end of the match against Laos, Sathia gathered that he was surplus to the requirements. Having spoken to Sathia upon his return from Phuket, one can understand what he is going through at the moment. He did his level best and but little did he realise that those around him were plotting his downfall, an exit that that was planned well in advance.
Word has it that some quarters could not stand Sathia and made fun of his ability and loathed his demands for competetive matches. So it is not a surprise when some claim Sathia's preparations were sabotaged by a good friend of his as mediocre teams were brought in for the Merdeka Tournament, thus the lull before the storm.
It is a tsunami that Malaysian football could do without but when you are up against those who do not give two cents of their time to improve Malaysian football fortunes, then there is only one thing left to do, god help Malaysian football.
