The FFA certainly won the battle with Melbourne Victory over the hottest property in Australian football, Ange Postecoglou, the new Socceroos coach.

But, in the process, have they merely fired the first shots in what could turn out to be an ugly war with the nation's biggest (apologies to any Western Sydney fans reading this) club?

Farewell: Former Melbourne Victory coach departed the club to coach the Australian national side. Credit:Getty Images

Fergie's half-time hair dryer was renowned as being the fiercest bake in football. But the sound and fury in the Victory boardroom over the manner in which their erstwhile coach was wooed, and then plucked, from their grasp might run it close.

To say that Victory are incandescent over the doings of the past fortnight does not come close. The club feels, quite simply, that the FFA used its status, money and authority to undermine it and take its best asset - one in which it had invested heavily - with scant regard for the impact their actions could have on the club, the competition and the integrity of the game's governance.