I agree.We're fielding the thirds, given all the departures and outs. It's probably a blessing to be out of the Cup; at least we can concentrate on salvaging something from the league matches. The squad is far too thin to push into the finals, but we might jag sixth by the end of the season, which would be something.
Also, I think that we may expect too much of whoever is about to brought in. It took Isa 6 months to adjust to the local game and there were plenty of contributors on this forum calling for his head and for the recruiting staff to be sacked. One new striker, no how matter how good he is, does not turn around an entire team. Look at Ronaldo at Man U; he's the world's highest paid sportsman and even he can't make Man U look like a team.
Best we can do is to keep supporting AUFC through the tough times ahead and recognise that this year will not be our year.
But … I sort of wish we’d prioritised the cup. It’s silverware and we’re the defending champions. Rather win the cup and finish 7th than finish 6th and go out of the finals in the first game.