Written correspondence has flooded into the Herald expressing anger and dismay at proceedings and the Blues executive, seemingly determined to blame anyone other than themselves for this mess, may be staring at an even greater sea of empty seats next year and have to face the sobering truth they have alienated much of their fanbase.
They have already done plenty of damage as it is, with just 8000 people in attendance against the Bulls on Friday. A few more nights like that and the financial position will become unsustainable.
They released a statement on Friday that said they had narrowed the field in their quest to find a coach next year. The options are now to either retain John Kirwan or give the job to anyone else in the world.
This fabled 'process' in which everyone has been asked to trust them has effectively progressed not one inch since early April.
In fact, it has regressed quite alarmingly, with chief executive Michael Redman telling the Herald on Sunday he's worried that, if the post is made contestable, those who apply will have no faith it won't be leaked to the media.
"I think candidates may have observed recent history and be concerned that they may not be entering a confidential process," he said.
Candidates, should they be invited to apply, may also wonder why Kirwan was left to front media on his own last week. He needed to be protected, for his chief executive to be fielding questions about the coaching saga. Every professional coach in the country would have felt for him and also noted the lack of support and leadership from his executive.
And while the Blues say no decision has been made about whether to retain Kirwan, the contestable process route is being viewed as a virtual non-starter.
Redman says the board hasn't contacted or even talked to a single coach anywhere in the world about their willingness to come to Auckland next year.
No one will be sounded out, Redman says, until a decision has been made about Kirwan and that is a process that is destined to become a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. As the clock winds down, the prospect of running a successful contestable process and installing a new coaching team in time to recruit players and get a handle on next season becomes remote. So the longer the board takes, the more it becomes true that Kirwan becomes their best option.
The Herald on Sunday understands that the Blues intend to extend Kirwan's contract for just one year and spend the rest of 2015 and 2016 trying to lure a high-calibre, long-term option such as Joe Schmidt or Vern Cotter.
Blues supporters might understandably feel massively short changed by both the process and outcome - possibly even outraged they are having Kirwan foisted on them again largely because the board were adrift at sea for weeks on end. How could they feel any other way? The Blues, whose squad contains 11 All Blacks, have won just three times this season and only 16 times in their last 46 games.
In three years, the Blues have won away just twice and compounding matters was their inability to realise what they had in Malakai Fekitoa, Waisake Naholo and Marty McKenzie.
In three years, fans have seen the Blues make the same mistakes. They have heard Kirwan offer the same excuses.
Time's up now. There hasn't been enough, or indeed any, evidence that things will change next year.
A city desperately wants to believe, but what has become clear is that Kirwan is selling a future he can't deliver.
Public patience has been remarkable, but it has run out and this is what the board have seemingly failed to realise. They are the only ones who still believe in Kirwan.
They continue to peddle the line about so much progress having been made behind the scenes, yet not one iota has translated into performance.
The Crusaders went through a slump this year. The players blamed their poor execution and vowed to improve it and the coaching staff blamed their strategic approach and vowed to improve it.
The Blues, in a far worse place, insisted they were progressing marvellously in any number of immeasurable, non-specific areas.
One of those areas was presumably their professionalism and culture, yet there was no awareness on their part that the best teams don't lose and talk about their great culture - they live their culture and win.
Perhaps the most galling part of this faith the board continue to show in off-field factors is that it patronises fans.
The implied message is that the great unwashed would have no idea what it takes to make a professional football team successful, therefore, they have no business drawing conclusions about the effectiveness of the whole set-up based on actual performances and results.
"The criteria was signed off before the start of the season," says Redman of the review process. "There is a weighting towards on-field performance and, quite rightly, there are demands and expectations of our fans to be considered.
"But there is also off-field criteria and we appreciate that could be difficult for some people to understand."
Redman says the challenge the board now have is trying to determine what balance to strike when judging Kirwan. Are these ghost improvements made behind the scenes enough to outweigh the terrible results?
It's hard not to believe the answer is already known and the real challenge for the board is determining how they can force their fans to swallow some rather unpleasant news that has nothing to sweeten it.
