It is fair to say that Zamalek's embarrassing Champions League ousting following a dismal display against Ahli wasn't a surprise by all means, it was in fact the only logical consequence to a catastrophic management by the club's inept board.

Apart from the stereotypical notion that follows any defeat 'everyone shares the responsibility' – which is surely the case here – that incompetent board of directors should be brought to account before even taking a swipe at Helmi Toulan's technical mismanagement of the crucial tie.

Now Zamalek's 4-2 thrashing at the hands of their arch-rivals would beg several questions, all of which need to be answered to tackle the club's ominous situation.

How did former boss Jorvan Vieira, whom Zamalek enjoyed under his guidance a stunning run, leave so easily?

Another question; where is Abdoulaye Cissé - the Champions League second-top scorer? How was instrumental midfielder Ibrahim Salah allowed to leave without even negotiating a new deal?

The board's inability to address the club's own financial problems – a condition that took its toll on every club in Egypt due to the ongoing turmoil – had its impact on the team with a host of influential players departing.

Zamalek's technical ordeal became evident with the failure of misfiring striker Ahmed Gaafar to pose threat on goal due to his inherent sluggishness and poor positioning.

Young midfielder Ahmed Tawfik failed as well to fill the void left by Salah – who is doing well in Saudi Arabia – to allow Ahli's attacking midfielders move around comfortably in Zamalek's own half.

This is in addition to an abysmal defense line, which is now responsible that Zamalek have reached an all-time low in terms of goals conceded in a single season.

The board's inability to keep indispensable players in addition to the out-and-out failure to secure quality signings left the five-time-African champions languishing at the bottom of their group.

Comparison with Ahli

Following Leopards draw with Orlando Pirates - the result that blew the group wide open - I've been frequently asked 'do you believe Ahli and Zamalek are going to qualify for the competition's semis? '

My answer flatly came 'just make a simple comparison between both team's attacking departments and you'll know the answer'.

Ahmed Abdul-Zaher, Walid Soliman, Al-Sayed Hamdi and the talismanic Mohamed Abou-Treika – especially the latter – all have the goalscoring prowess needed to settle games for Ahli.

That said, a high-profile striker like Emad Meteb is injured, the pacey Dominique da Silva could only make the bench, while Amr Gamal is an up-and-coming star.

Meanwhile, it's the other way around for the reeling Zamalek, who don't have but Gaafar as the only recognized frontman while Mohamed Ibrahim is unsettled; a fact that clearly sums up the Whites' misery.

The solution

The first step is very simple…this board must be terminated.

They will never recognize that they had utterly failed in their simplest mission to keep the Cairo giants up and running and are thus unlikely to be stepping down.

Zamalek fans are praying for a board that would only manage the club appropriately and be competent enough to end the financial predicament.

That should be followed by the appointment of a manager of the caliber of Vieira, who did a great job in containing the team's problems and getting his players act together.

Last but not least, that management must make it clear that they will be going through a process of rebuilding a team and that the 11-time-Egyptian champions should not be illogically burdened by claiming titles.

That aforementioned aspect, in my viewpoint, is of the utmost importance as it would help the team – who do boast quite a good number of classy players – perform under no pressure.

And I wouldn't be surprised if that proved the only way of ending the club's lengthy five-year wait for a mere trophy.

If the common impractical measures were taken to tackle Zamalek’s woeful situation, then every fan should be bearing in mind well that officials are doing nothing but reinventing the wheel.