It was just over 18 months ago that Ernie Merrick had the Newcastle Jets tantalisingly close to the A-League summit.
Of course, as we all know, that fateful May evening in the Hunter Valley saw a catastrophic VAR blunder gift Melbourne Victory the only goal in the decider, robbing the Jets of that season’s championship.
Since then, the club just hasn’t quite been the same. Scoring has dried up, while the wins don’t come anywhere near as frequently or easily as they used to.
This season has seen the Jets start poorly once more, with impotent offense and suspect defence – against mostly beatable opponents – putting them on the back foot early on in the season.
There may be a lot of football yet to be played this A-League season, but should Ernie Merrick be feeling the heat? What chance does he have of turning this around and how long should he be given?
We were joined on the Game of Codes podcast by Roar football expert Mike Tuckerman to look at where it’s not clicking for Newcastle and whether Merrick is to blame.