Memo to Martin Lee and the Ledman Group: the A-League needs a strong Newcastle Jets, but performances this season simply haven’t been good enough.
First things first – after Saturday night’s controversy, it was nice to see the video assistant referee get a decision right in the so-called ‘Desperation Derby’.
It looked at first glance as though Lachlan Jackson had handled a Storm Roux cross on 38 minutes, but replays confirmed the ball actually struck Jackson in the midriff.
Sadly the Jets couldn’t make the most of their reprieve, and in truth they were second best against a Central Coast side that looked hungrier in yesterday’s 2-0 win in Gosford.
Nick Montgomery’s opener came from a superbly worked move, and by the time Fabio Ferreira dinked home a second, the Mariners were well on their way to their first derby win in some 911 long and frustrating days.
They took a huge step towards avoiding the wooden spoon in the process, with the Jets sinking to the bottom of the ladder on the back of their fourteenth defeat of a miserable campaign.
It wasn’t just that Newcastle lost – again – but the manner of the defeat that should sting Jets fans.
Surely no player epitomises such wasted potential as Andrew Hoole, with the talented but erratic midfielder looking a world away from the player Sydney FC saw fit to sign last season.
The Jets desperately need an injection of talent, and it’s in this respect owner Lee has arguably let his team down.
It’s one thing to buy a club – and A-League owners deserve plenty of credit for the vast sums they’ve ploughed into their respective clubs over the years – but another thing entirely to invest the necessary capital to actually make a team competitive.
If Lee truly wants to make a difference in Newcastle, he should start by sourcing a genuine marquee player for next season, as much to make a difference at the turnstiles as on the pitch.
When Indonesian chairman Rahim Soekasah graced the Roar Supporters Forum with his presence last week, there was an important concept a few Roar fans failed to grasp – namely that failure to save face is deeply shameful in Asian cultures.
The Jets finishing bottom of the ladder will be hugely embarrassing for Lee and his Chinese entourage, although ironically it may just be the catalyst required to encourage wholescale reinvestment in the squad.
Sydney FC are in the midst of a battle to keep hold of some of their key personnel, and the Sky Blues were lucky to come away from Wellington with a point on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors benefited from a controversial VAR decision, with Bobo eventually slotting home from the penalty spot after Phoenix defender Marco Rossi was adjudged to have handled inside the area.
If the Sky Blues were fortunate to be on the receiving end of that historic VAR decision, luck clearly wasn’t on Wellington’s side when they were denied a couple of shouts for a penalty at the death.
So incensed were the Phoenix at being denied a spot-kick with what would have been the last kick of the game, that Kosta Barbarouses could clearly be seen asking for a video replay – a gesture that is supposed to be a yellow-card offence.
Perhaps we should expect a few teething issues with the VAR, although it’s hard not to feel a bit hard done by for a Phoenix side that saw their finals chance snuffed out by a couple of questionable decisions.
Still, the Phoenix have had all season to mount a genuine run to the finals, and along with the Jets they’ve been one of the most disappointing teams in the competition.
David Gallop may have suggested the Phoenix cannot simply “squat on a licence,” but it could be said they’re guilty of much the same thing as the Jets.
Newcastle simply must improve next season. For the good of the A-League, and a proud football city.
Arto
Guest
The other thing though, Realfootball, is that FFA & Fox Sports are Sydney-centric so they don't see the reality on the ground - just the metrics and the potential is what blinds them. At first, I thought your 'cross-border' Club idea was insane - Queenslanders & NSWelshmen managing to support the same Club???!!! - but maybe a 'North Coast United' Club could work if given enough backing from the start and with a long-term perspective... It can't be any worse than the 'Southern Expansion' hogwash Foz & Les Murray are showboating these days!
Waz
Guest
The FFA have said yellow cards should be handed out for appealing for the VAR but what difference is there between that and appealing to the ref directly or appealing for the ref to talk to the linesman? Both are pretty common so why is the VAR any different - once players realise the analysis is taking place in real time and refs won't review based on their appeal it will fade away.
Waz
Guest
"They’ve bundled them together, because that way it makes it incredibly difficult to make the HAL independent as funding then becomes murky" .... we've no way of knowing if that's true but I wonder how many football supporters believe it to be true? I certainly do. The FFA show every sign of a military dictatorship in its last days, desperate to screw over whoever is next and do what little it can to feather it's own nest for the future.
Arto
Guest
That's the difficulty for Clubs in the HAL - no transfer fees means players have a bit more power in these things than compared with Clubs overseas. Seems like the Jets really need a 'culture' rebuild as the Carney & Hoole examples seem to suggest - or maybe it's more a reflection on the poor scouting work by the Club in signing up players with a primadonna mindset? I thought earlier in the season that Jones was a good fit for the club as he's a 'no-nonsense' type coach, but obviously something has happened in the past 1-2 mths that has led to the team falling apart on the field. Ideally they need someone in the Graham Arnold mould who will right the ship and get the team doing the basics right with a good defense Whilst they need some extra creativity to help young Nabbout, what they need most of all is a core of signings that will give them some backbone & defensive steel as they've pretty much been swatted away these past few weeks by everyone...
Waz
Guest
Agree on Gallop. His time at the FFA will not look good on his CV. The comparison with the ARU is valid and I suspect Gallop/Lowe are paying more attention to what's going on at the ARU than their own stakeholders. This "we know best" and "we're unique" attitude is only reinforced when you see other codes failing with the same issues you're wrestling with - expansion is probably further away this week than ever and it's probably only Fox's pressure that will change their mind.
Arto
Guest
Dude, SFC, don't just poach talent - think you are putting 2 and 2 together coming up with 5! You've got max. 2 examples out of 10's of transfers the past few years - it's just coincidence that the Jets were the selling team (or was it?). As for transfer fees, take that up with FFA as it's a League rule, as you probably already know...
Arto
Guest
They've bundled them together, because that way it makes it incredibly difficult to make the HAL independent as funding then becomes murky and FFA hold the aces in that regard. Interesting to hear about the 'expansion clause' - that might just save FFA's bacon with regards to increasing the total rights income and might just open the door to more than 2 teams being admitted when they finally arrive upon the "right model" the future of the HAL...
Arto
Guest
Sorry, Mike, but I don't agree with your summation of the VAR in the WEL-SYD match - Rossi, clearly handled the ball (whether that was because he was fouled might be debatable - I don't think so, but others might), but Wilkinson didn't handle the ball & Bonavacia pretty much fell over so with the pretext of the VAR in mind (were the decisions clearly wrong?), the VAR got it right on all 3 incidents. The fact that both sets of players appealed for penalties is beside the point of the VAR, as they were simply asking the ref on the field to blow the whistle - when he didn't for WEL players, then they asked for the VAR to judge and I think it's pretty harsh to issue a YC for something which is likely to eb a pretty natural reaction in the heat of the moment, so commonsense prevailed there.
Griffo
Roar Guru
I know it's early in the season Swanny but Edgeworth are currently seventh from eleven...maybe they would do a good job :-P
AR
Guest
The FFA are hamstrung by lack of money, but Gallop has barely notched a single real achievement during his tenure as CEO. He really has been so ineffectual. All that trash talk at the beginning has amounted to very little in real terms today. The sport has suffered for it in my opinion. The management of the FFA and ARU are both marked by a common flaw - communication. The handling of the withdrawal of one of the Super rugby teams has just been appalling.
Realfootball
Guest
Will be interesting. The FTA rights of the A League would have negligible value. Hopefully that will change over time. If FFA pulls it's head out of it's collective and Gallop and Lowy start doing their jobs. Ah well, we could be the ARU, shafting one of their own clubs. What a shambles Union is at the moment.
Swanny
Guest
K b u united struggled when kenny Boden was bought by the richer Sydney city club. Newcastle breakers ran on a shoestring budget but it was a lot more enjoyable then following the jets . Right now I'd think Edgeworth eagles would represent the region better in the A league then the jets
AR
Guest
John's a nice guy, but he regularly summarises press releases and dresses them up as 'articles' for the AFR. I cannot see how the inclusion of WCQ matches could be true. You still tipping $100M for the total deal?
Waz
Guest
ha ha, you talk as if common sense is, well common, in football circles. Melbourne has been rulled out by CFG and Victory so that leaves us. At least we get a derby lol
Waz
Guest
Yup, out of options ...
Realfootball
Guest
I will be astounded if one of the next two clubs comes from Brisbane, Waz. There is nothing, nothing, to suggest that a second club could work in the city. No point of difference, same stadium, the Roar barely making ends meet. Fox aren't in the business of propagating disasters.
FootOverHand
Guest
Damien Mori, Ante Milicic, Arthur Pappas.
Nemesis
Guest
To be honest I found that article by John Stensholt incredibly poorly written. It meandered all over the place. It looked like he'd put it together late last night. I'd be surprised if the AFR print editorial team allowed it to be published like that. We know that WC qualifiers are not owned by the FFA, so I have to question the validity of that part of the report. Maybe, he only meant friendlies since friendlies are owned by the FFA. Qualifiers are owned by the AFC and I'm not sure if the AFC has even put the 2022 rights out for tender.
Waz
Guest
Next two clubs will be Sydney and Brisbane. Fox picks.
Realfootball
Guest
Depends on whether Red Bull comes in... club on the Gold Coast, with a ready to go stadium and a fast growing regional population of close to 1 million would be very attractive. I just can't see how another club in Brisbane can survive.