The Newcastle Jets’ performance on Friday night against the Brisbane Roar, in which they lost 4-0 at Hunter Stadium, was utterly disgraceful.
There was a complete lack of the necessary mental application, discipline, fortitude and desire that is required to compete in an elite competition.
Many commentators and pundits criticised the team in the aftermath of the game, and the fans were even more vocal, booing and jeering the team as they left the field.
What was even more shocking was the reactions from within the club.
The Jets’ CEO, former Newcastle player Robbie Middleby, on the morning after the match gave the players an R-rated spray, wanting answers for the team’s disappointing display.
What I would like to say to you, Robbie Middleby is that giving a spray to your players after a bad result is not in your job description. You are not the coach. You may have been a good football player a long time ago, but it is not your job to tell the players what you think of them.
To make things even worse, there was footage captured by NBN News of Middleby giving the players the spray, which shouldn’t have been allowed to be filmed.
What were Middleby and the club’s media manager thinking in allowing NBN to film this? They both should know better than this – maybe it’s what they wanted?
The statement from captain Kew Jaliens to NBN News, saying, “We apologise for our performance, and the way we lost the game”, is just a public relations charade to shut the curtain on the problems within the club, both on and off the field.
I actually feel sorry for Phil Stubbins, who is very much in the hot seat, and his bottom is being scalded and blistering up significantly. If I was Stubbins I would resign from my position – it is clearly untenable.
These remarkable scenes the morning after the game show that the club is being poorly run, and Stubbins cannot be blamed for this, as this was clearly the case when Gary van Egmond was the coach.
The Newcastle Jets are in total disarray.
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