In this regard, Japan is the best example. Every year, it takes lessons from its club and national team performances and uses these to educate coaches at the grassroots level about what is missing, what is required, how to face an evolving game and ensure lessons are consolidated as early interventions to create players for a specific future, one they are identified and planned for. We are still not at this stage, but must get there fast. Having a small player population means we must use every advantage we can, so we maximise the potential of every player and devise the perfect system to encourage participation, identify talent and accelerate players through to the national teams. All of this applies equally to coaches. Wastage is our enemy, slippage is to be hated, monitored and overcome as a priority. Obviously, we need a national player identification system so we can compile data on every player to create maximum efficiency.

Where do we stand with our young players, in international football? What are our main challenges? How are other countries adapting and evolving and what does this mean for us? What is working well and poorly? These questions should be answerable immediately by any operative in charge of talented youth, and known by the media and other stakeholders, to provide an environment that maximises progress. The successor to national technical director Han Berger must have the competency and personality to bring all this together as well as foster a culture of constant growth and the pursuit of excellence. An open mind will also be required to test every aspect of the current methodology, which has to evolve quickly to be benchmarked against the best. How are we training technique? Are we at the forefront of youth training? Is our methodology the most efficient way to progress? How can our physical abilities be tested and utilised? Are we understanding the game to a high enough level to transmit the ideas to our young players? I strongly suggest the answers to these questions are not yet in the affirmative, and we have a very long way to go.

What can we learn from our three representatives in the Asian Champions League this season and, particularly, the Japanese teams that have played some brilliant football? What does their ability on the ball tell us about ourselves and our league? Where must we improve, and how? Questions, questions, questions. Never be afraid of them but embrace the learning that comes as a result. All of which leads us to Arnold’s short-lived experience in Japan. I had great hopes for him as a Trojan horse for Australian coaching, leading the way for our future coaches to operate at the top level in Asia and afterwards in Europe. It did not work out as hoped, but the experience can still be of tremendous value if used the right way. The key is to extract the lessons for everyone. Arnold trained under Guus Hiddink, had multiple World Cup experiences and multiple trophies in the A-League, so is well placed to teach what the level was like, how teams were organised tactically in Japan, where they have advantages over us, and where we need to go.

Working like an ASIS operative, every player and coach we send abroad should be a spy seeking intelligence to protect and further our national interests. In this case, not national security, but success. Without a cultural imperative to learn and share, Arnold will take another A-League club, benefit from the experience and move on, but the game doesn’t evolve, or it will, at the most, very slowly. Too slowly. Too inefficiently. Whether these operatives are our national youth teams, our ACL combatants or our coaches working abroad, we need to follow the Japanese concept of constant learning and ensure the lessons are made available to all, at every level of the game. The fact is, we can get much better, much quicker, if everything is shared.