Henk ten Cate quit threat has sent barbed message to Al Jazira board

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  • Pointing the finger: Henk ten Cate (l) at Al Jazira (all Getty).

    Turning a relegation scrap into President’s Cup glory, winning just a second-ever Arabian Gulf League title in record fashion and then bloodying the nose of European icons Real Madrid on home soil at the Club World Cup.

    These landmark achievements during two years at the helm should mean support is not in short supply for Henk ten Cate, unquestionably the finest coach in Al Jazira’s history.  Instead, his triumphs have been ‘rewarded’ with the institutional disorder laid bare in the wake of Saturday’s 2-0 reversal to Al Wahda in the Year of Zayed Arabian Gulf Super Cup.

    This “serious situation” is “breaking the team in two”, unspoken things “beyond my reach” forcing him to “have a good talk about my future”. It is easy to misconstrue those words as coming from a moment of forlorn weakness, yet this does disservice to Ten Cate’s wide experience and wiles.

    At 63 years old and with 18 posts held in eight different countries, he knew what he was doing. A reaction from the board is guaranteed after incendiary remarks that can be summarised as saying: ‘make the Pride of Abu Dhabi worthy of the nickname, or I’m walking.’

    It is now up to the leadership to decide whether a return to the chaos that has defined their club for much of its existence is more desirable – or attainable – than acquiescing to Ten Cate’s demands.

    Between Abel Braga’s top-flight success of 2010/11 and the current incumbent’s surge to the same trophy in 2016/17, Jazira were often the laughing stock.

    Diminishing results under Franky Vercauteren, Caio Junior, Walter Zenga, Eric Gerets and a miserable return for Braga were experienced. An expensively financed four-player foreign quota received equally capricious treatment, most alarmingly choosing to discard Manuel Lanzini on loan to West Ham United in July 2015 for a set permanent fee of just £9 million (Dh51.1m) which proved a snip as the Argentine playmaker excelled in the Premier League.

    Grumbles from Ten Cate have been apparent throughout a ramshackle title defence. Ex-France defensive midfielder Lassana Diarra and coveted UAE striker Ahmed Khalil lasted six months or less at their new side before contract disputes forced free transfers.

    With neither available for the CWC, the run to the semi-final and late, 2-1 loss to Madrid is the most remarkable result recorded in UAE club football.

    Jazira are playing a dangerous game. Only last April, Ten Cate turned down the Netherlands job because the “whole organisation” was not behind him.

    You should not toy with a man of principle.

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