I sat down to begin this column at about 9.30am on Monday, waited for about 90 minutes to make sure nobody else would join Ernie , Marco Kurtz and most recently Markus Babbel on the list of sacked A-League coaches, and then glanced at the back page of the Herald.
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There was the photo of Carl Robinson, apparently at short odds to be named as the Jets' next coach, under a clever headline of "Doctor Carl", a clever reference to the much-loved doctor on the long-running Aussie soap Neighbours, and the recovery mission required to turn Newcastle's season around.
Cunning work by the sub-editors, and of course my mind drifted away. If I got a job with the Jets, I'd probably be "Toadie", I surmised, and by the time I'd thought of Nat Bass, and Margot Robbie, well , lunchtime hunger pains had seriously kicked in! Back on track Lowe ...
The post-Christmas period is not known as the "silly season" for nothing, and three clubs who consider themselves as underperforming have bitten the bullet and sacked their coaches. It will be interesting to see if new appointments make the sort of improvement the clubs are hoping for, and whether there are some rushed signings before the close of the transfer window.
Six weeks ago, Perth Glory sat bottom of the table, with one win and six points. Nobody really doubted they would come good. Successful coach and too many good players not to turn it around, all the experts agreed. Today they sit third with 24 points.
Coaching qualities aside, (after all, is Poppa a better coach now than he was six weeks ago?) can we say the same about the respective squads?
Everyone has an opinion, but I doubt too many people would argue that Victory or the Jets have stronger rosters this season than last.
I doubt too many people would argue that the Jets have a stronger roster this season than last.
The Wanderers possibly have on paper, but much of that assessment would be made on reputations earned overseas, and that doesn't always transfer to local conditions.
Is it surprising that one of the league's best-ever creative players (Diego Castro), and the league's most prolific striker on a per-game ratio (Bruno Fornaroli), have formed a dangerous combination? Didn't think so.
I'm savvy enough to know that a lot of readers don't care too much about the Wanderers or Victory, or Glory for that matter. They only want to know whether the Jets will get better, and how quickly?
They can certainly be more efficient defensively, more compact front to back. They can benefit from players returning from long-term injuries. Cutting out repeated mistakes is possible, certainly more likely than turning a five-goals-a-season player into a 15-goal man.
But they don't have a Castro, or a Fornaroli. They don't have a Le Fondre-Barbarouses front pairing like Sydney, midfielders of the stature of Ninkovic, Brattan or Baumjohann, or the depth to cover them with the likes of Caceres and Retre. They don't have a Jamie Maclaren, with 13 goals to his name, for that matter .
The incoming coach - let's assume it's Carl Robinson for arguments sake - won't need to look much further than the game he witnessed on Saturday, or the tape of the Sydney match the week prior, to get a gauge on his squad, and the level of the league.
Those two games encompass the season to date.
Competitive on most levels, fit and mobile, and with the pace to counter effectively.
Lacking a natural scorer, genuine creativity in an individual sense, and someone to dictate tempo in midfield. Prone to poor decisions defensively too regularly, and occasionally not desperate enough under pressure.
The Jets are honest, and together, and that combined with their athleticism is still a decent base for an incoming coach. They are a way off Sydney FC, but give them a McGree and Troisi from Adelaide, and say a Berisha and Diamanti from Western United, and in my mind they would be in a similar league position to those clubs.
"Yeah, but we haven't got those players Lowey," I hear you mutter. Yes, I understand that. Barring the return of Wes Hoolahan, they ain't coming from within the camp. Over to you, Martin Lee.
The incoming coach is probably aware that the Jets are at a disadvantage, in terms of financial resources, to pretty much all other franchises.
He will also find that the youth-development pathway has failed to produce as much talent as the level of investment suggests it should have.
In short, this ain't no easy gig, as 11 changes of coach 15 seasons suggests. There are barriers and handicaps to overcome, on a pretty regular basis .
If it is indeed the start of a new era under Carl Robinson, we say welcome to Newcastle, and the best of British luck to you, sir.