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The Roar

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Miller's revolution at Newcastle has reinstated club pride

Scott Miller was the first to go, and now his former assistant Luciano Trani has also left the club. (Photo: AAP)
Expert
1st November, 2015
14

On November 2 last year, the Newcastle Jets were sitting bottom on the A-League table. They had lost three of four games, shipping in eight goals. This year could not be more different, with the club sitting equal second having already played three genuine title aspirants.

The Jets have rediscovered an important trait that has been missing from the club over the past few seasons – pride.

New manager Scott Miller has installed a wonderful camaraderie within the squad, and the work is translating on the pitch.

The fans have responded, too. An average of more than 11,000 fans have turned up to Hunter Stadium for the first two home games, up on last year’s average of less than 9000.

Despite a lack of finals football for longer than most fans care to remember, an impressive 8000 have signed on for memberships, the fourth highest behind Melbourne Victory and the two Sydney teams.

As Newcastle local Ben Kantarovski recently quipped – “The Newcastle Jets are back, watch out”.

The disastrous Nathan Tinkler saga behind them, the Jets are ready to re-embrace their status as an over performing underdog, and it is fantastic to see. Finals are a real possibility, though it is only four games into the season.

If they do not make the finals, fans will be disappointed, but they will still be able to once again wear their jersey with pride, something which had sadly become near impossible. There is no reason why the club cannot look to match the crowd average of 14,000 from 2007-08, the year they won the A-League championship.

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Miller has been crucial to the transformation, and the early season predictions that the 34-year-old rookie would struggle in his first main post have been swiftly dispatched.

His first task was reuniting a fractious dressing room, one which in 2014-15 saw three players bail mid-season and another five sacked. That job has been an undeniable success, with local boys Nigel Boogaard and Jason Hoffman returning to help the transition.

“It’s pretty lively (in the camp), but lively can’t become overconfidence,” Miller said recently.

“We’ve got to stay realistic and ambitious, that’s the word I suggested to the team last week – I want them to be more committed than they’ve ever been and show more ambition with the ball.

“I haven’t seen a group like this since the early days at Fulham when everyone was on the same page

“It was more than football, they were friends and they cared for each other – I think that’s our strength.”

Equally important has been a revamped media department, with Benny O’Neill reestablishing ties with local media that were treated with disdain during the Tinkler era. Through those renewed relationships the publicity for the Jets has not been better, and that is translating into increased fan engagement and rekindled interest.

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On the field, the Jets have now recorded three wins against Wellington Phoenix (1-2), Melbourne Victory (1-0) and Melbourne City (2-3), while losing to Sydney FC with a legitimate goal ruled out for an incorrect offside flag.

Slowly, they are starting to adapt to Miller’s gameplan, which is continually evolving with the help of former Victory assistant Jean-Paul de Marigny.

Installing a 4-2-3-1, Miller has concentrated first on making the Jets a compact and organised defensive unit. They have sacrificed possession and frustrated opponents, relying heavily on counter-attacks to create goalscoring chances.

The defence plays deep and looks to close down space in the middle of the field, forcing opponents onto the wings. Newcastle are more than happy to accept that a large amount of crosses will be directed into their box as a result, confident that they can deal with aerial threats.

Their four opponents have sent in on average almost 28 crosses per match.

Yet while their tactical approach has been defined by their defensive attitude, that is slowly changing. More focus is starting to be concentrated on attack, and that was most apparent in a 3-2 comeback win over City in Round 4.

Going two goals down in the first 20 minutes will always force a team to become more ambitious, but what was promising was that the Jets executed the comeback while still holding their defensive shape.

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The Jets’ first three games saw them average just 39 per cent possession, with less than 300 passes attempted per game. Against City they increased possession to 49.7 per cent and made 424 passes, a significant rise.

Meanwhile, their passing accuracy jumped from a three-game average of 67 per cent to 77.4 per cent, and their long balls also decreased from about 20 per cent to 12 per cent.

Miller’s decision to push Kantarovski into the No.10 role was a masterstroke, allowing the once highly touted midfielder to assist the transition into attack. His headed goal sparked the comeback, Milos Trifunovic then scoring with a fortuitous penalty and well taken winner.

The move which highlighted that this team can play arrived between the second and third goals.

Kantarovski sprayed the ball out to Enver Alivodic, who cut inside and found David Carney. The former Socceroos then hit a perfect side-footed cross for Trifunovic, who really should have scored. It was a wonderful passage of play, and proof there are more goals in this team.

The introduction of a pressing game has also produced results for Miller.

Against Victory they employed an impressive press against the defending champions, Miller probably observing how effective it was for City in the second half of the Melbourne Derby.

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Their two imports, Leonardo and Trifunovic, along with Carney, Alivodic and Kantarovski, were particularly busy, pushing up on Victory and forcing a few mistakes. Trifunovic should have scored from a one-on-one with Danny Vukovic early in the first half.

Leonardo and Trifunovic’s ability to acclimatise to Australian football will be crucial, and as they gradually improve their fitness the Jets will be able to impose an increasingly intense gameplan.

The deep defensive line was still the base for their win, however, with the press impossible to sustain for 90 minutes. Thankfully, Victory’s final ball was again lacking, an uncharacteristic pattern so far this season.

There are concerns, however. The tactics could prove to be unsustainable.

The Jets have conceded the most shots in the A-League – 68 over four games, with 41 inside the box. They have benefitted from wasteful finishing, but have also concentrated on limiting clearcut chances.

It should be noted that both City’s goals came from deflections, only Bruno Fornaroli’s individual brilliance created a true genuine goalscoring chance in the second half.

At the other end, the Jets have made on average just 9.5 shots per game, and have only placed a total of 12 on target.

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From 12 shots on target, they have scored six goals, an extremely impressive success rate, and one which is surely unsustainable. When you consider Trifunovic has missed two or three sitters, those stats are even more remarkable.

It is likely Miller will gradually move towards a more attacking mindset, but concentrating on the basics first has been an astute move, while grabbing results has helped vindicate the approach.

“I wanted to play the big teams in the first six games because it gives us a benchmark, an idea of where we’re at physically and how we can compete physically against them, but also tactically. I think we’re doing very well,” Miller said.

“Every performance is giving us a great framework to continue our development as a team and rebuilding of the club.”

A mixture of smart, simple tactics, a renewed enthusiasm and determination in the dressing room, and a rekindling relationship with the Hunter community has elevated the Newcastle Jets into finals hopefuls.

To see the players head straight for the away support at the final whistle against Melbourne City, led by Miller, was heartwarming.

It is a refreshing change for the football-mad region, which has had to put up with mediocrity for too long. It is also nice to see a non-capital city club once again challenging the status quo.

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This is not the end of the Miller-led Newcastle Jets tactical revolution on the field, there is much more to come from the promising coach, and his work off the field will keep this group of players grounded.

It is only four rounds in, but the reinvigorated mood in Newcastle should push the Jets back into relevancy.

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