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It is make or break for Branko Culina. Well it isn’t, but it definitely should be. The Newcastle Jets’ manager has been given a lengthy contract by Nathan Tinkler and should be around for a while.
Yet it is time for the man in charge to finally prove his credentials in a career that has been so far unfulfilled.
Branko arrived in Newcastle and immediately set about getting the team playing attractive football. It was great to watch and it was an exciting time.
Last season we saw a resolute Jets team who boasted the best defence in the A-League until an injury-related collapse of fortunes.
The two mixed together could have the Jets performing at the top of their game, despite pundits already writing off their finals chances.
But Branko and the Jets’ season rests on the crucial factor of pre-season training. It seems he wants to get his players as fit and tactically sound as possible during the long off-season break.
Fair enough. But he started those plans back on April 12.
That means that the side has been training for a full month longer than any other A-League club.
On June 1, after the announcement of the A-League 2011-12 fixtures, Branko boasted that the team was fitter than they were halfway through last season.
Is that a good thing?
I am not so sure, and it is on this point that Branko’s season will hinge. The majority of the Jets’ playing staff have never played in Europe and have therefore never gone through such a strenuous off-season training program.
The focus on pre-season training could blow up in Branko’s face and cause exhaustion and injuries within the squad midway through the season.
On the other hand it could provide the Jets with such superior fitness and tactical sensibilities that they squash all before them.
We can only wait and see.
Pre-season matches bode well, with wins over Melbourne Heart, Sydney FC and local league teams.
As a fan I want Branko to succeed and hopefully this ploy of his will prove to be a stroke of genius.
The team is strong, with two classy central defenders, wing-backs who can get up the field, a mix of creativity and grit in the midfield, and players in Griffiths and Jesic, who at the top of their game, can prove to be influential forwards.
The loss of Jason is a huge blow and another article all together, especially with rumours surrounding his knee’s condition prior to signing a three-year deal.
I am hoping we will be the fittest team in the league, our players will stand up to the rigors of a 27-game season and we will make the finals.
But that is why it is make or break for Branko.
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