But in another way these results are instructive. There is clearly a sense that, whatever the reality might be, there is an atmosphere of crisis surrounding the club. Is it justified? Well, on-field, it certainly is at the moment. Sydney got the better of an ordinary looking Newcastle outfit in the first match of the season, but has struggled since and is near the foot of the table, above only Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne Heart. The fact that chairman Scott Barlow has publicly given coach Frank Farina a vote of confidence earlier this week will only add to the sense of drama: in the gallows humour which reigns in the world of soccer, such approbation is widely regarded as a prelude to the sack. There is no doubt that large sections of Sydney's fan base would be happy to pull the trapdoor on the former Socceroo boss with little ceremony if given the chance.

Yet one thing that soccer's history teaches us is that stability is generally the key to success. Melbourne Victory supporters were demonstrating against Ernie Merrick and newspaper headlines were calling for his dismissal at the end of the A-League's first season, when the team finished seventh of eight. The board stuck fast, and Merrick delivered two titles in the next three seasons. I am not saying that Farina can produce any such sparkling recovery. But round four of a 27-week season does seem to be rather early to be sharpening the knife. The soccer aside - and I admit, it's a pretty huge aside - is Sydney really in a crisis? Yes, it loses money. But it has perhaps the richest owner in the A-League, a man who has been involved and on the board since its inception, an investor who has consistently upped the ante to the point where he is now 100 per cent in control. Its overall attendances have been boosted by the arrival of Western Sydney Wanderers: last season its average was around 19,000. Yes, it's easy to point to the fact that the derby crowds would have pushed that up, but isn't that what the introduction of second teams in both Melbourne and Sydney was all about, to lift overall interest in the game and grow attendances? You can't applaud the crowds in one sentence, and then suggest they artificially inflate Sydney in another.

According to insiders, several of its commercial metrics are showing positive signs. The signing of Alessandro Del Piero was a high-profile and expensive gamble at $3 million a year. But the club's merchandise revenues have lifted as a result, and the Italian's arrival led to Sydney games being televised in Asia and Italy, giving it a footprint that few other A-League clubs have. Its task now, if it is up to it, is to exploit that opportunity and try to leverage it so that it generates positive cash flow benefits. While those in Melbourne will undoubtedly argue, Sydney's location makes it the best placed of all A-League sides to "grow the brand". The harbour bridge and the opera house are Australia's icons; ask any citizen of London, Tokyo, New York or Johannesburg what they think of when Australia pops into their head and those structures are likely to be among the first mentioned.

Despite all the issues over the club's image - and it has been somewhat schizophrenic over the years - Sydney remains, alongside Victory and Brisbane, the only team to have won two A-League titles, which is something that cannot be forgotten. What Sydney has to do is settle on an identity, lift its game on-field, and develop some backroom stability. It has had eight coaches in the A-League's eight and a bit seasons, which is ludicrous. It has variously marketed itself as the A-League's glamour club - Bling FC - and then tried a volte face to sell itself as a community club. What next? It needs to harness its strengths, its brand name, perhaps leveraging Sydney's CBD and business community more than it has.

It needs to settle for an image and identity, and stick to it. The team that wins wouldn't be a bad way to go about it.