How could you not love Italian football when SBS was showing >that< show on Serie A before Italia '90 rolled around.

I mean it's England…c'mon Aussie, c'mon! How could you even? 😂

MCY 1 vs 2 MAC. Can Maclaren break through the Bull’s defence?

SYD 1 vs 1 NEW. Potential for some new Jets signing/s to make an appearance. Sydney still feeling their way.

MVC 0 vs 2 ADL. Depends on which Adelaide shows up, and if Victory are interested.

CCM 2 vs 1 PER. CCM to come from behind to win. Again!

WUN 2 vs 1 BRI. Could go either way, really.

WSW 1 vs WEL 1. Can Ufuk batter his team from the technical bench for the win? Who’s coaching WSW again?

ADL 1 – 1 NEW – We were flat against Nix but we won’t be sitting back. Adelaide can score but not consistent enough overall for me. Won’t be surprised with a 0-1 win to Jets.

BRI 1 – 0 SYD – Brisbane will do alright at home. The after affects of Arnie’s reign are wearing off which should test Corica’s capacity to renew when results don’t flow easily.

MVC 1 – 2 MCY – Not Victory’s season.

WEL 1 – 1 PER – Interesting game given what I saw with my own eyes when Nix visited Hunter Stadium last Sunday and Ufuk’s demeanor with his own team. I’d prefer a Perth win.

CCM 2 – 1 MAC – Mariners might go behind but when has that stopped them winning this season?

SYD 1 – 2 WUN – The Bes-Alino football poetry will continue as will Sydney’s search for answers.

I do like how local school kids go to Lambton Park to learn of local history, and one of the landmarks to find on their list is the placard commemorating the first football game played there…

You wouldn’t want to adjust the LOTG to make it easier for VAR…I feel that could be where we are headed.

Which wouldn’t be a bad thing if the laws were black and white – you are offside or you are not – which then makes it easier for machines to analyse and interpret the laws.

Which goal-line technology is good at: the ball crossed the line or it didn’t.

But when humans interpret subjective laws – and VAR has only added a second layer to that interpretation – well that just means double the trouble and fan angst.

Want quick fan engagement? Ditch VAR as it is Greg O’Rourke. Especially if the infrastructure (cameras) have been reduced this season. But is having the regular number of cameras going to fix the way VAR is used?

—

Oh and when is a yellow a red from a reckless challenge on O’Toole in the Victory vs Jets game?

Seemingly if studs connect to the face. But the leather of the boot is okay as are studs to the neck, apparently.

Nice goal by Thurgate, good improve assist by Yuel, and again why it is important to replace Ugarkovic next season with someone equally capable to make runs and pass through midfield.

Waiting to see if we have them already.

Totally correct decision.

Such a start to the season would be perfect timing for negotiations but COVID cloud may mean media orgs are a little iffy on a huge long term contract?

On the other hand, the APL couldn’t do worse than take the first Fox offer imo, even if it is for just another year.

It all comes down to who else is bidding. Some of the weekends highlights reel getting played outside of Australia wouldn’t have hurt.

Also there is potential for some of the Jets’ SE Asian loan players to generate some SM interest if they play and fire…

Still the position of least concern for the national team given so many reliable players ready to step in.

More concern is how bad the hip injury is if Ryan had any hopes of extending an Arsenal contract with few opportunities.

WSW 1 – 2 NEW
WUN 2 – 0 MVC
MAC 1 – 0 SFC
BRI 2 – 1 ADL
CCM 1 – 0 WEL
MCY 3 – 2 PER
CCM 1 – 0 MCY

Brilliant David! From the heart and football soul.

I feel your pain. 😢

One coach’s bare coffers are another coach’s riches I suppose…JPDM wouldn’t like the Jets then.

Really the shock sacking of Jean-Paul, and the quick hire of Robinson, plus WSW before hand not entertaining Max Burgess (WU) from the same agency that has Robinson, Kenny Miller, Ibini, Ledley, Donachie…really wouldn’t surprise me that JPDM was turfed when a question was put into the wind around Robinson being interested in jumping ship came back in the affirmative.

Anywho – a decision on new owners might be pending the transfer of A-League independence, who then will be responsible in deciding and need to be happy with who comes in to buy the licence. I’d also say the FFA will not want to prop up the Jets if independence is looming…

…fun times.

If an earthquake didn’t flatten us, this saga won’t.

I wish Red Bull were interested. No concrete word they ever were. Shame, they’d be a good fit but like City, there would be some rebranding. We know what they bring – stability would go down well.

It might happen the world over – and is ‘just football’ – but still a bit hard to take, even with contract clauses.

I mean: it was an easy thing to do, but was it the right thing to pursue?

You can’t knock someone for doing what is allowed, and the dire circumstances at the Jets, and look after yourself and career, but it also speaks there of something of ‘seeing a project’ through and loyalty that the coach themselves was not hesitant in verbally and publicly expecting others to agree to at the Jets…

Carl said similar things when arriving in Newcastle as he has done at WSW around the work and development to do. Let’s hope WSW sort themselves out internally and that bigger clubs here or elsewhere don’t come knocking after a successful stint of games.

He is a great coach and plans on our youth pathways were progressing. No doubt he has found an even better setup there. Long term he wants to manage Wales, and likely end up managing in the UK in not too distant future.

But the local frustration at events over past few days, and the circumstances that led to them – well, that part of Sydney isn’t too popular right now. Neither is Carl.

Whilst I don’t agree with completely cutting off ties with the club, I can understand those who do. Carl was a hope more than positive feeling that this season would produce something among ownership and economic issues. Taking away hope is far worse. I’ve been fairly flat because of it but from a certain point of view it is a sign I care, so there is that…

We seem to be in a cycle at the negative end more often than not. Perhaps the pending new owner decision by FFA and APFCA should really keep in mind a single owner with shallow pockets and wafer-thin cashflow is really not a good fit for this club, given what has occurred before with Con and Tinkler (and now Martin Lee). Part community ownership, even as much as 50+1, might be worth a look. Not this time round given short notice and COVID unless the new owner/s are prepared to do something different. (I’m hopeful the new owner is already a consortium prepared to let in new parties at least…now that would be different!).

At least this sorry saga has given the city some clarity around what is actually going on internally at the club, because it was very quiet for too long.

There will be a Jets, or at least a Newcastle club. And hoping Lawrie McKinna is still at the helm but that will very much depend on who the new owners wish to bring in as CEO…

…but that is only a beginning, and not for the first time. After 15 years of meager funding and bust owners, the club has nothing to show: it rents it’s training ground, offices, stadium; it has offloaded and onloaded its youth academy and women’s team (mainly to Northern NSW Football) and to various parties and facilities over that time. Not to mention players and coaches and staff.

Let’s hope there is some stability this time round; that a decent financial base can be found so that some of the above can be offloaded from the rent column, such as training and a permanent home for the academy. Things that the WSW have brought online recently. That stability makes the Jets a good prospect for players to want to sign up here.

Such a carrot and stability might keep the next Carl Robinson at the Jets longer.

A very positive appointment.

Gustavsson I believe went for the US Head Coach role initially against Ellis before Ellis recruited him as her chief assistant. Gustavsson said a lot about local knowledge in key roles but that he would take the time to consider ‘the assistant’ to help him.

I wonder then if Morace could get that nod, given her links with Australia and, similar to Gustavsson and Ellis, a close second in getting the Matildas role.

An influx of money will do that.

Brilliant article, Stuart.

Is JJ kickstarting the football economy going to save the A-League as we know it, or transform it and the game into something new?

The status quo and ‘consolidation’ of what was certainly wasn’t going to.

Who’d be a club owner? 😛

Some players will go elsewhere for a season or two to get a bigger pay cheque understandably. No amount of PFA bargaining is going to stop that.

The upside could be some other local players getting opportunities in the A-League and finally making that leap when things normalise somewhat.

Owners are going to lose money – ie: they need to personally make up the shortfall, or cut costs. Understandably they want to avoid that, either way.

The downside is tickets and memberships may increase. It isn’t counter-intuitive to see that crowds/membership numbers will drop if members and fans are expected to pay these price increases passed on from the owners.

Most of all though this just highlights that the whole game needs to work together to get through this period – the next 2-3 seasons at least – and not feel like the game can go on as before.

The downside of not doing this is the game will not have changed when a completely unintended opportunity has presented itself.

Yeah Nabbout might easily end up in Saudi Arabia or Xanthi FC, but could as easily sign a season extension with City while global travel sorts itself out post-COVID.

As long as he remains injury free City fans should be excited.

I’d have him back at the Jets but I’m not holding my breath any time soon, if ever.

I think you articulated well why Nabbout is a by far a better player than Wales.

Remains to be seen what Kisnorbo implements for City but Nabbout doesn’t have to play second fiddle to Maclaren in attack – they are disimilar players that they won’t tread in each other’s space imo – but the opposite where they could be a twin attacking force and swap roles as easily as switch positions.

A good pickup by City that makes sense for Nabbout’s family to remain where they are is the perfect summary.

How much more effort and cost to host Y-League games before A/W-League matches?

Second divisions would then provide even more opportunities which can only be a good thing.

Seeing youth leagues as the first to cut costs and last to get funding is more detrimental for the 17-22 bracket as the tokenistic 8-game Y-League shows.

What is a ‘golden generation’ but a product of development of capable players all at once.

Development has moved on around the world but has ours?

Our development methods have changes since the golden generation were produced at their local clubs, played regularly since mid-late teens into their early 20’s, or went overseas, worked hard and made the first team.

Nothing wrong with developing at clubs, A/W-League or otherwise, but the end product + re-enforcing that education with game time is key in 17-22 age bracket.

Whether our current development setup is right or wrong is a bit hard to judge when youth are not getting the necessary, consistent game time in that age bracket.

Perhaps this could be where the ‘A-League All Stars’ would come into it…maybe two teams in an exhibition game for charity of who’s left while the FIFA tourneys are on…

Rather than State of Origin would you have an ‘East vs West’ team (WA/SA/Vic/TAS/NT vs ACT/NSW/QLD/NZ)?

Interesting take although I am surprised it didn’t happen during the NSL era in the 80’s when leagues version was taking off.

Although it is interesting that the youth championships between the football states over the decades serves this purpose in some way?

Personally I wasn’t a big fan of the A-League All Stars games – even though Berisha and Broich both indicated it was a way of representing Australia that they wouldn’t have – and even less so the exhibition club matches that followed later.

I wonder if it is just too big a concern to select between A/W-League and NPL/State teams that has the FFA Cup and potential other cups in the future serve a similar purpose and a rivalry through a different lens?

…and a young Robbie Kruse as a late sub before signing for Fortuna Dusseldorf a week or so later…a fairly newly appointed Holger Oziek…

That game was almost the equivalent of the 2003 England vs Australia 1- 3 win at Upton Park to begin the 2006 World Cup campaign.

Instead of a fairly new Lucas Neill et al, in 2011 we had Emmo, Neill, H, Holman, Ognenovski, et al retire as Ange left them out of the 2014 World Cup squad (or H two years earlier).

Will the young Poppa boys get a game or training time between now and when the A-League kicks off in December-February?

The move might be good for them 😉