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A record defeat, player unrest, assistants sacked and a club in crisis. How can the Newcastle Jets be turned around?
The same time as the Hunter hosted its biggest ever game of football – the Socceroos’ historic 2-0 Asian Cup semi-final win over the UAE – the crap is hitting the fan at the Jets. Talk about timing.
Last week I wrote a piece on the embattled club outlining their issues at the time.
On Saturday Newcastle was annihilated 7-0 by Adelaide United in the South Australian capital. It easily could have been 8-0 or 9-0. The Jets’ Socceroo goalkeeper Mark Birighitti departed for a loan move to Italy on Monday, and things came to a head on Tuesday.
News from The Newcastle Herald and other media outlets filtered out that the Jets players wanted coach Phil Stubbins sacked.
Stubbins flew to Brisbane for talks with owner Nathan Tinkler, but also heaped a load on his players. According to The World Game he seems to have Tinkler’s support.
The Jets cancelled training on Wednesday, apparently because of the ‘rain’, and then came the news that assistant coaches Clayton Zane, Andrew Packer and Neil Young had been sacked.
The official statement from the club was short and sweet:
Newcastle Jets have parted ways with Assistant Coach Clayton Zane, Goalkeeper Coach Neil Young and Strength and Conditioning Coach Andrew Packer with immediate effect.
These changes form part of the internal club review currently being conducted.
The club wishes to thank all three coaches for their contribution and wish them all the best for the future.
No further comment will be provided.
So now the Jets have no CEO, no chairman, no goalkeeping coaching, no assistant coach, no strength and conditioning coach and just 20 players, by my account, two of whom are unavailable through long-term injuries.
It also seems that they have no media manager, with commercial director Mark Duffield-Thomas sending out press releases.
Birighitti, Marcos Flores and Sam Gallaway are all gone, while Jonny Steele left months ago. None have been replaced.
The Jets are well and truly a basket case and there is no easy way out of this mess.
The FFA are waiting until Tinkler breaches the rules of his license, which it seems he has yet to do, while also being occupied by the Asian Cup.
Tinkler wants to be bought out, but it’s unlikely the FFA will want to play ball. So who can be the savior for Jets fans?
A new owner and new administration is needed, and fast, but who can step up? Are Dundee United the answer? Former owner Con Constantine? Who else in the Hunter has pockets deep enough to save the club?
There are no easy answers for Jets fans. The club has quickly become the A-League’s laughing stock.
A night after Newcastle was celebrating after a great Socceroo win, the town is in mourning as their side lurches from one disaster to the next.
Follow John Davidson on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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