Having finished last this season, thirteen months after their championship success, the Newcastle Jets began their Asian Champions League campaign in Beijing. It’s been quite a journey for them and there are signs that they will rebound strongly from their wooden spoon with a raft of impressive signings.
The peculiarity of the A-League and Asian Champions League calendars means Newcastle had to wait over a year before they were rewarded for their success with entry into Asia’s showpiece club competition.
That wait can be excruciating, especially for Newcastle.
In that period their squad was pillaged, the memories of their title win against their archrival down the F3 a distant one.
Their A-League defence fell in a heap, and after the disappointment of claiming the wooden spoon, the Jets have to avoid another humiliation, this time in Asia.
Inspired by this they have, aside from the expansion franchises, been the most active club in the transfer market.
The list of ins and outs from Newcastle could fill this article in itself.
Gone or going are the likes of Joel Griffiths (for the meantime at least), Adam Griffiths, Jade North, James Holland and Mark Milligan.
In is the impressive Nikolai Topor-Stanley from Perth.
Joining him in defense is Ljubo Milicevic, the former Melbourne Victory and Socceroo who has overcome the demons of depression, his return a welcome feel good story for the football community.
Angelo Costanzo and Sasho Petrovski both ooze experience and will be invaluable for the ACL campaign.
The combined talent of Topor-Stanley, Costanzo and Milicevic gives Newcastle a solid foundation at the back.
It could also free up new club captain, Matt Thompson, to move into his preferred midfield position, as he did in the latter half of the season just past.
This experience combined with the incredible potential, and youth, of the likes of Ben Kantarovski, one of the finds of Version 4 of the A-League, and the addition of former Serie A goal sneak Fabio Vignaroli, on a six month deal and Dutchman Donny de Groot must give Jets fans enormous hope.
Off field, the signing of Branko Culina as technical director is a wise choice.
Whether the Jets can repeat Adelaide United’s heroics remains to be seen.
The fact the Jets’ most successful and recognizable player in Joel Griffiths lined up for the opposition in Beijing typifies the crazy couple of years it’s been for Newcastle and just how much has changed.
Their Asian Champions League adventure will allow the multitude of new signings the chance to gel before the A-League season.
Even if they fail to make an impact in Asia, you sense the wise signings could herald their return to the forefront of the A-League, in much the same way as Melbourne rebounded from their dip in the standing following their first A-League crown.
Adrian Musolino
Expert
Towser, you click the report comment link on the comment you feel is inappropriate and the team will act on it.
Towser
Guest
Zac Cheers Agreed about a lot of comments. How do I report if I feel a comment is inappropriate?
Zac Zavos
Editor
Towser - we respond to anything we're alerted to (there's a lot of comments on this site!). Please report any ones and we'll act on them. Thanks Zac
Towser
Guest
Zac Seems to be a bit of my post missing,but you get the gist. Not necessary to a tongue in cheek post by myself.
Towser
Guest
Zac Zavos Perhaps then Zac you should be more vigilant with your policing of flaming/personal insults,because lots are going through to the keeper. not long ago with no provocation whatsoever to the person who posted it. I didnt reply because in my mind the poster sounded to be a juvenile. However juvenile or not uniformity applies across the board. Nick said | March 3rd 2009 @ 12:06pm (2 weeks ago) | Report comment “Jimbo its the nature of some football fans around the world,that is Knuckle dragging. The same fans who do monkey noises, throw bananas at black players ,question a players sexuality or birthright,they exist everywhere” Ever heard monkey noises at a Melbourne Victory game? Your mum should’ve done the world a favour and swallowed. Enter the text shown:
jimbo
Guest
Thanks Adrian. That could give the jets more hope if they can bounce back and get the second group spot to go through to the knockout phase. A home and away knockout round can even things up.
Zac Zavos
Editor
Quick response to Joe regarding your comment above: "Come on roar. have the courage of your own convictions to post what people think of what you write". Our response is that The Roar is all about informed and respectful sports debate. It's not a place to personally attack people. If you can play by these rules - it'll be published. If you can't - there are hundreds of forums out there where flaming is the norm. We hope you appreciate we're trying to do something different with sports debate on The Roar. Cheers, Zac The Roar
midfield general
Guest
Not bad for being the first outing for this new team, but can't see the Jets getting too much change out of Japanese and Korean clubs to get through. Ljubo did well, I thought, and maybe under few games under his belt he might come into contention for the diet socceroos. Still bloody shambles, putting together a team few weeks before the club's biggest game in history. Feel sorry for GVE, no wonder he lost it.
Robert B
Guest
Seriously the FFA has to fix the problem of past A-league Premiership and Championship winners playing in the current ACL. It should be Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory currently competing this year. I guess things take time.
Adrian Musolino
Expert
Another point to mention is Newcastle being in the race to sign Scott Chipperfield. If he does sign as a marquee player it could force the on loan Joel Griffiths out of the position and raise doubts about his future at the club.
David V.
Guest
Con Constantine has been the problem from Day One and he reminds me of any of: - Tom Cowie (Sunderland) - Charlie Amer (Middlesbrough) - Peter Swales (Manchester City) - Jesus Gil (Atletico Madrid) - Robert Chase (Norwich City) - Robert Maxwell (Derby County) - Corrado Ferlaino (Napoli) All of whom did, in many ways, a great deal of harm to the well-being of their clubs from which they took many years to recover from, if ever.
Adrian Musolino
Expert
This article was written before Newcastle played in Beijing but I stand by the point, Newcastle have recruited well and will bounce back from last seasons disaster, helped by their ACL campaign. The 1st half was shaky and Topor-Stanley was exposed numerous times but they did dramatically improve in the 2nd half and controlled the game at some stages. As has been said this is essentially a new team and it will take time for them to find their balance. Whether they can repeat Adelaide's performance in Asia or win back the A-League title remains to be seen but I do believe they can be a threat next season. jimbo, yes the top two teams go through.
jimbo
Guest
Is this year the start of the new ACL system where the top two teams in each group go through to the knockout stage? Jets are re-building after a bad year - first Aussie team to get the A-League wooden spoon (usually NZ). Some bad performances and some hope but unlikely they will do a MV and jump back from wooden spooners to claim the GTS next season.
Joe
Guest
Come on roar. have the courage of your own convictions to post what people think of what you write. If it's not discriminatory or threatening it should go up. Censoring peoples posts just backs up exactly what I said that you cut out...
megatron
Guest
Thats the shame for them, it may take too long to gel so they may struggle in Asia. It's like an all new team. But they will do very well in the A-League as this article says
Kazama
Roar Guru
I agree with megatron on the point that for a team basically thrown together they did OK. Beijing were still clearly the better side and deserved the win, and I think it is a hard ask for the Jets to make it through given that Nagoya Grampus are probably going to run away with the group and they've already dropped three points to the next best team. As for what they will achieve in the A-League next season - it's still a long way off yet. Oh, and those new kits were hideous! I hope Adelaide doesn't end up with anything like that.
Joe
Guest
It doesn't matter whether this was written before or after last nights game. The facts were there already. Last night was just proof of what we all (other then you) knew. The Jets are awful and hyphen is right up there with the worst players in the A-League.
Simmo
Guest
I watched the first half an hour before going to bed. I don't think there's anything mysterious about NTS' performance. He's a state league player at best. He doesn't belong in the ACL or Roos. Too slow to be a full back. His passing and decision making (the 'technical' part of Craig Foster's 'technical and tactical') are exceptionally weak for someone playing at his level. I consciously switched off the game because too many of Newcastle's possessions were killed before they got started because the defence wasn't quick or smart enough to find a proper outlet to midfield to get some attacking possesion going. NTS was the primary culprit. Not just hoofing long balls past the midfield but also passing straight to BG players.
Luke W
Guest
The Jets were better than the 2-0 scoreline indicates. Kudos should also go to van Egmond, a coach who in the A-League rarely moves away from his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation, but after a dour opening to the match tinkered with the formation to allow the Jets more space and time to suit their passing game and they matched it with Beijing for large periods of the match. If Petrovski had taken just one of his two fantastic chances, the result could have been much different. I look forward to seeing what the Jets can do with tihs new line-up in front of a vocal home crowd.
megatron
Guest
For a team thrown together they played alright. I have to agree that they will be a real threat in the A-League next season