If only they had fired Bertille St Clair sooner. Surely I am not the only one thinking it. But my feelings have less to do with St Clair's reign than the possibilities offered by his replacement.
To lose St Clair as national football coach and realise that Leo Beenhakker is taking over is like breaking up with that shy, awkward girl and then having Halle Berry ask you out. Sure, the shy girl used to have a name. But it is pretty difficult to remember under the circumstances.
How much sweeter it is to swoon over Beenhakker's resume than to discuss St Clair's perceived shortcomings. Three Spanish titles at the helm of Real Madrid, three Dutch league crowns, a World Cup finals appearance with Holland (1990), while he got Saudi Arabia to the 1994 edition for the first time in their history-they showed their gratitude by sacking him before the tournament started because of their dislike for his training methods.
He even has experience of CONCACAF superpowers, Mexico, after joining Club America as coach for the 1994-95 season. Again, he was sacked. Ostensibly for failing to win silverware, although there were rumours that he threw a club director from his dressing room.
Already the fact that Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation (T&TFF) special advisor Jack Warner was on the verge of appointing Ron Atkinson as head coach seems like a bad joke. The announcement was meant to be in the daily papers on April Fool's Day, right?
We were gawking at Warner's right hand and, "wa-la!", he whipped an ace from his sleeve. Neat trick. Now we feel too foolish to ask just how long Beenhakker had been hiding there. A good magician, after all, never reveals his secrets.
The 62-year-old Dutchman is the most accomplished coach ever to lead out a Trinidad and Tobago outfit and he deserves every opportunity to fulfill his mission, which is to take the artists-formerly-known-as-the-Soca Warriors into the Germany 2006 World Cup tournament.
Although the T&TFF could not resist another prank by giving Beenhakker feuding former national captains Russell Latapy and David Nakhid as his assistant coaches.
Spare a thought for St Clair who, like Hannibal Najjar two years ago, was crudely replaced on April Fool's Eve. It is a date that local coaches with international aspirations might want to write into their calendars. Then, Najjar reiterated his commitment to the job and willingness to continue at the same time that the T&TFF was faxing his resignation to the various media houses.
St Clair discovered he was sacked on his way to a team meeting with his employers via a radio broadcast. How would you feel if you turned up for work and saw someone sitting in your desk and your family pictures in a cardboard box while everyone tried to avoid eye contact?
I do not think St Clair would have taken T&T to the World Cup. I felt he did not enjoy the full support of T&TFF technical director Lincoln "Tiger" Phillips, who questioned his tactics too freely in public or the Football Federation, who subjected him to a humiliating "public symposium" last November.
And I believe he was in danger of losing the dressing room by his tactical meandering.
St Clair's assertion to the press that he started Dundee defender Brent Sancho in midfield for a World Cup qualifier against St Vincent and the Grenadines because "you all say you want ball winners" was shocking.
His failure to settle on a team system, a strike partnership or a holding midfielder was also a distraction.
But I also believe that St Clair does not deserve to be called a flop. He left the team in a better shape than he got it, just like he did in his first stint five years ago.
Birmingham City striker Dwight Yorke, Trinidad and Tobago's most successful and best player, is back in the fold and committed enough to sacrifice his attacking instincts by playing a midfield role, while Portsmouth goalkeeper Shaka Hislop also agreed to lend his calming influence to the squad-on and off the field.
At the local level, the players were again taught to respect the national shirt and the merit of graft and discipline. Anton Pierre and Densil Theobold emerged better for it, as did Clayton Ince, Stern John and Dale Saunders during his first spell as head coach.
In 2000, Scotsman Ian Porterfield took over a team in a rich vein of form after an unprecedented top-four finish at the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament.
On this occasion, Beenhakker will hope to harness their improved performance in a goalless draw against Costa Rica and a fairly sizeable, though admittedly mediocre, player pool.
It was St Clair's rotten luck to twice run first leg rather than anchor, but it is to his credit that he was asked to run in the first place and he did not disgrace himself on either occasion.
His final record is 35 games played with 18 wins, three draws and 14 losses, which makes him the first coach to end with more wins than draws and losses since Porterfield, who was sacked on June 25, 2001.
Trinidad and Tobago managed just one point from a possible nine in their first three final round World Cup qualifiers but that is not an unusual position for the twin island republic.
Porterfield got one point from five outings before Warner's patience ran out. They are the only three coaches to lead the T&TFF into the final CONCACAF qualifying round since the 1974 World Cup campaign.
St Clair did not ask for the job-he was summoned to serve his country, did his best and should be thanked for his efforts.
Perhaps he was the chosen one.
Brazilian coach Rene Simoes had just two points from his opening two games at this stage in Jamaica's 1998 campaign-including a 6-0 hammering away to Mexico when his star player, Onandi Lowe, walked off the field during the match-yet the "Reggae Boyz" kept faith and famously rebounded to appear in France for the big show.
St Clair's personal dream is over, though, and the nation's quest goes on with Beenhakker in the driving seat. It is uncertain whether the unquestionable calibre of his replacement helps to numb the pain, as is likely for less emotionally involved supporters.
The king is dead...hail the king.