Newcastle Jets' limbo in need of swift end

When supporters bail early from a football match, a contest they have paid hard-earned dollars to attend and enjoy, you know the situation is dire.

On Sunday afternoon, one of the Newcastle Jets’ most ardent high-profile supporters had had enough.

Joel Griffiths, who made more than 120 appearances for Newcastle during his career, helping them to the A-League championship in 2008, was left so disillusioned by his old club’s 6-1 humiliation to Perth Glory that he seemingly walked out.

He may not have paid for his ticket, unlike most of the 9000-odd crowd at Hunter Stadium, but Griffiths’ actions are indicative of the mood enveloping Newcastle at the moment.

Red card aside, the performance against Perth was woeful, and it has become an all too common occurrence this season after a promising start.

Scott Miller arrived in Newcastle pre-season and started his fledgling managerial career with aplomb, winning three of four games to sit top of the A-League heading into November.

Yet almost three months later and the dream of competing in finals football for the first time in six seasons has all but disappeared.

At the time of the Jets’ blistering start, Miller had reinstalled pride and passion back into the club. That hard work is starting to unravel, with the team on Sunday clearly lacking leadership or fight on the field.

The run was never going to be sustainable – the conversion rate of goalscoring opportunities was extremely high – but there was hope the club would remain competitive and stay in touch with a finals spot.

Depth was always a concern, however, and injuries and departures have decimated Miller’s options.

Whereas Miller looked to his bench upon Nigel Boogaard’s dismissal against Perth and saw a crocked star and three rookies, Glory coach Kenny Lowe was able to leave Richard Garcia and Andy Keogh out of his starting XI.

The Newcastle Jets’ last win in the A-League – before they broke a ten-game winless run with a 3-1 victory over Wellington Phoenix last week – was a 3-2 defeat of Melbourne City on October 30.

A day later Football Federation Australia claimed prospective Jets owner, Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson, had missed a deadline to put forth funds to purchase the club.

Since then, the ownership talk has run depressingly dry. Thompson’s name has evaporated from media speculation and with Dundee mired in a relegation fight the interest is unlikely to be re-piqued.

Is the drop in form on the pitch a mere coincidence? Unlikely.

Footballers, like any employee, need security to perform at their best, and the unsettling ownership issues are likely not helping them remain focused. Working under a dark cloud of uncertainty is not conducive to an efficient workplace environment.

We saw the Brisbane Roar collapse last season only to rediscover their feet this campaign under John Aloisi’s calming influence, while the Phoenix have similarly dropped off amid their own uncertain future.

The Newcastle Jets need a new owner, and quick. There are rumours of interest from China, and the FFA have talked up the interest surrounding the club on more than one occasion over the past six months. Jets fans can only hope the governing body’s optimism finally pays off.

Thompson’s lack of interest could be down to the drama encapsulating Dundee United – he is facing criticism in Scotland for selling Dundee’s best players, including Australian Ryan McGowan. In fact, it is debatable whether he would have turned out to be the saviour everyone was hoping for.

However, reports that the FFA knocked back Thompson’s $4 million offer for the Jets are concerning. Haggling over a couple of million dollars – the FFA are reportedly keen on $5-6 million – is trivial when you consider the loyal fans, players and long-term viability of the club.

There is a lot to love about the Jets from an investor’s point of view, to a degree. Nine thousand members is a remarkable achievement considering the club’s dire performances over the past six years, and as fickle as Novocastrian sports fans are, a winning formula has the potential to draw average crowds of more than 15,000.

There is no doubt the FFA would be relieved to get rid of the financial burden, but if they are struggling to find an owner, then perhaps it has something to do with the current ownership model.

There is little hope in breaking even for A-League clubs, and the Newcastle Jets saga has further highlighted the need for the FFA to find solutions.

If a potential owner can see no chance of breaking even, then why would he or she invest? Especially if they are foreign and with zero links to the proud Hunter region.

The FFA cannot continue to rely on millionaires popping out from nowhere, with questionable allegiances and interest in the game, to bankroll our clubs.

CEO David Gallop recently claimed there was interest from both Europe and Asia to takeover the Jets as the FFA pair together with asset management firm UBS Australia. Fans will believe it when they see it.

“On a best-case scenario, it will probably take some months and we want to find a good fit for Newcastle and the football community of the Hunter,” Gallop said.

“Obviously, the price is a consideration as well.

“There is genuine interest out there, both here in Australia and overseas, so I think that says a fair bit.”

Some months. The 2015-16 season is effectively over for the Newcastle Jets, and the FFA are unlikely to sink cash into a club with no finals hopes and in a league where relegation does not exist.

The ones suffering are the fans and the players. And Scott Miller.

You cannot logically denounce Miller’s credentials under current circumstances. He may be a future star, he may be a flop. In these conditions it is difficult to tell. He had the basics right at the start of the year but has since found it hard to pump up a bunch of players that look devoid of leadership on the pitch.

How much of that is due to the ownership woes is hard to discern. But when eighth meets ninth and the scoreline is 6-1 there is something seriously wrong.

One issue under Miller’s control – at least to a degree – is player retention, and the drama surrounding star man David Carney’s expiring contract is a debacle that has to be resolved.

Carney is an outspoken player, who ran into trouble with last coach Phil Stubbins, but he has excelled on the pitch and has been more than supportive of Miller and assistant Jean-Paul Marigny.

The 32-year-old is a player that the Jets can build a team around.

Yet Carney has been left frustrated with a lack of talks over his contract. Both CEO David Eland and Miller made fairly disrespectful comments following Carney’s agent airing his concerns, when silence would easily have been a better option.

As Griffiths pointed out in a piece for The Newcastle Herald, there is nothing worse than seeing your best players poached by competing A-League clubs rather than the greater riches available overseas.

If Carney moves to Sydney FC, which has been mooted, it would be an own goal from current Jets management.

The biggest problem at the club, however, and one that is most definitely a root cause of all other problems, is the ownership limbo. If there is no new owner in place before the end of the season, the FFA have another black mark next to their report card.

They have started 2016 admirably, merging NSL and A-League statistics, reportedly closing in on extending Wellington Phoenix’s license and hopefully rectifying the banned fan policy next month.

They need to sort out the Jets’ future sooner rather than later. And if they do not, they must treat the club as any investor would and try to build a winning formula. At the moment it feels as though the club has been discarded and forgotten.

Six years. It has been six years since Jets fans experienced finals football, and it is not good enough. The FFA brought the nightmare that was Nathan Tinkler’s ill-fated reign to the club and are partially responsible for the current crisis.

There has been a severe lack of investment in the club, with Steven Ugarkovic arriving but little action elsewhere. The longer it takes to find a new owner the further the Jets will fall.