Since winning their maiden A-League title, in 2007-08, Newcastle have only qualified once for finals football in nine seasons.
The question is, under Mark Jones, can the Jets rise above this horrible record and make the post-season?
Why they’ll make the finals
Newcastle are buoyed by the experience of Morten Nordstrand, Wayne Brown and Nigel Boogaard in each third.
Boogaard is a natural leader and a stubborn defender, Nordstrand brings a wealth of experience – particularly with his finishing – and Brown is the essential middle man to Newcastle’s 4-2-1-3 style.
Then there’s the young talent in the squad, such as Andrew Nabbout, Andrew Hoole, and Steven Ugarkovic. Nabbout is a strong and dangerous midfielder, and he and Hoole have the pace and skill to catch any team off guard.
Meanwhile, Ugarkovic is important to breaking down attacks in his more defensive midfield role.
There are other players that are important for the Jets, such as Ma Leilei and Jason Hoffman, but not to the same extent.
The most important thing at this stage in the competition is keeping these critical players from injuries. As Jones has said, things are easier with a full squad, and the Jets lack the depth to replace these key players.
Why they won’t make finals
The Jets need to start keeping clean sheets and get better at finishing. The perfect example of this came last week, against Melbourne City, when Nabbout tripped Ivan Franjic resulting in a penalty in the 68th minute. It let City right back into the game and made the last few minutes much tighter.
In other games, they have given away goals through mistakes or poor defending, and not been so lucky at the final whistle (such as the 2-2 draw with Perth the round before).
The City match further illustrates my point, as Newcastle had plenty of opportunities to finish the game, whether it was through Leilei or Hoole, but instead they were either not clinical enough or not composed.
I am confident that this can be remedied and the players will grow into the season. If not, their race to the finals will be as nerve-wracking as the end to the City game.
Verdict
Yes, they can make this season’s finals. They are among the best of the contenders for the bottom two places, and their attacking quality and experience should see them finish fifth.
Who
Roar Rookie
Thanks Chris for mentioning Hoffman, he has been rather good this season. I particularly enjoyed his strike last round in there loss to Perth Glory. (It was a cracker!) He is rather underrated and I probs should have mentioned him
Fadida
Guest
I'm driven mad by Kanta, slow, overweight, lazy
Griffo
Roar Guru
Yeah I can't help feel that Kanta has used his last 'local' ace card. A few knee reconstructions can cruel your chances. Seems like he's been around for ages but still young enough that his best years were ahead of him with his knee troubles.
Nemesis
Guest
I think you'll find the sporting world is littered with "looked good as a teenager, but didn't improve since then". Not just football, all sports. In fact, in your preferred sport, I'm sure I read only 10% (maybe less?) of the group who "look good as a teenager" each year end up playing more than 10 games professionally in their entire career. Professional careers in sport require the mental toughness to succeed in addition to technical qualities.
Mister Football
Roar Guru
Kanta looked the goods as a teenager, it's hard to believe he has not improved as a player since then.
Swanny
Guest
Griffo I totally agree brown is a number 10 only Deeper mids like poljak and ugarchovic break up the opponents play well . Kantaroski should never get another game , I believe he is our worst player . A ball playing mid would be an asset. Ma lei lei showed some potential , time will tell I guess .
Mister Football
Roar Guru
I don't disagree, but it happened and it's now part of the history books. For a short period there, Tinkler was hailed as a local hero helping local sport.
Swanny
Guest
The year after winning the gf. The owner sold every player . Then tinkler came along and destroyed everything .
Swanny
Guest
We can only hope they make it . They have only won 5 games so far This team was built by Scott Miller and I think jones took a while to get them Improving
Mister Football
Roar Guru
It's a very poor record from the Jets. In fact they have the ignominous record of beind the first club to win the wooden spoon the year after winning the championship. But that's all ancient history, the Jets are definitely in the running to make the final six.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Yes.
Griffo
Roar Guru
We certainly hope so ;-) Some reasonable players brought in by Jones' predecessor and no doubt what both Andrew's bring to the side and the impact when one of them is absent. Consistency will be key from here on in: defensively if this can be improved then we have a greater chance. While we give away too much possession and increase the pressure on the defence, it perhaps plays more to the counter attacking strength we have. To me we need more ball players in midfield. I'd hope we are at least considering Daniel de Silva: Brown is a good player but has been used in other positions, while de Silva would give our attack more options than just wide wing play, which Brown does provide when used as a 10.
Chris
Guest
I think you under-estimate Hoffmans contribution. I think he's been one of their standout players. Does a lot of the dirty work that sometimes goes unnoticed. But to your point, yes they definitely can make it. And I really hope they do.
OPTUSOUT
Guest
I agree Mark has achieved heaps this year