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THE Newcastle Herald’s ‘‘Team of the Decade’’ competition is a poignant reminder how quickly the Newcastle Jets have descended from bad to worse.
Sporting Declaration has had no input into the selection of the hypothetical 15-man squad, but at a wild guess I would be extremely surprised if any incumbent Newcastle player made the cut.
I suppose a case could be argued for Ben Kantarovski, but other than the home-grown midfielder and former Young Socceroos captain, it is hard to imagine many of his 2014-15 teammates featuring prominently in discussions.
And I say that with no disrespect intended to this season’s players, who have battled bravely in almost-intolerable circumstances.
Yet only 12 months ago, Newcastle’s team sheet featured at least four players who would appear walk-up certainties in any all-time Jets selection – Joel Griffiths, Adam Taggart, Ruben Zadkovich and Emile Heskey.
The merits of Josh Brillante and Michael Bridges would presumably ensure they were also prominent candidates.
All six are now long gone. One has retired, three are plying their trade overseas and two have joined rival A-League clubs, having been discarded while still under contract.
In their place, bit-part players and rookies have been forced to assume the status of A-League regulars, and the results have been predictable.
With three rounds to go in the season, the Jets were last on the ladder, and on statistics alone it would appear illogical to deny they deserve the wooden spoon.
In their first 24 games (not including Friday night’s away game against Melbourne Victory), they had scored 18 goals, fewer than any rival team, and had the worst defensive record after conceding 49 times.
Along the way they suffered a club-record 7-0 hammering, conceded five goals in another game, four goals twice and been kept scoreless in their past four home fixtures.
In any league in the world, such numbers would point to sustained mediocrity.
That the Jets had won two games and were still a slim chance of finishing above last was something of a minor miracle.
But those two wins have to be considered in context. The first came against a leg-weary Adelaide team backing up after a midweek Football Federation Australia Cup final, the second against an unrecognisable Western Sydney outfit who had barely returned from a long-haul trip abroad for the Asian Champions League.
Other than that, it has been a largely joyless campaign for those long-suffering fans who have not already lost interest.
Inevitably, frustrations boiled over during last week’s 2-0 loss to Perth and supporters unfurled a banner, which read: ‘‘Enough failure, lies and arrogance 10,000 fans demand the muppet gone.’’
Those sentiments were clearly aimed at hapless Jets coach Phil Stubbins and prompted a typically defiant response from club owner Nathan Tinkler, who told the Daily Telegraph this week: ‘‘How many goals has Phil Stubbins missed? It is not his fault and no one is working harder to fix this. You would swear we had a squad everyone is envious of.’’
To some degree, I agree with Tinkler.
The Jets could sign Sir Alex Ferguson as coach but, given the same group of players, my suspicion is that results would be unlikely to improve spectacularly.
In saying that, how could things possibly be worse?
The bottom line is that there are two people who fans are entitled to blame for this shambolic season: Stubbins and Tinkler. This is a mess of their making.
A few months ago, I was content to give Stubbins the benefit of the doubt, arguing that the Jets had not reached the finals in their previous four seasons and he should not be held accountable for an ingrained, long-term culture of failure.
But then came the fiasco in which five players and three assistant coaches were effectively sacked, leaving the players who remained facing a thankless task.
To their credit, those players have been competitive in the majority of their games since. To borrow a line from Tinkler, ‘‘the effort is there’’.
But when the one-time billionaire suggested that Newcastle were ‘‘in the market for the right guys’’ and an influx of quality signings will ‘‘see us much higher up the ladder’’ next season, I can’t help thinking I have heard it all before.
Talk is cheap, Nathan. Decent players aren’t. Least of all when they are being approached to join a club with a reputation as a basket case, on and off the field.
Why would any self-respecting A-League player want to join Newcastle? They have been also-rans for five seasons, have a coach with one of the worst records in A-League history and seem to believe they are entitled to pay wages and superannuation when it suits Tinkler, not when it is due.
The Jets have become the A-League’s last-chance saloon. They will surely have to pay significant ‘‘overs’’ to attract any players with alternative options.
Even if Tinkler is willing and able to dig deep into his pockets, a prospect he has appeared intent on avoiding in recent times, fans are entitled to be dubious about Stubbins’ recruiting skills, judging by the squad he assembled for this season.
Maybe in 12 months I’ll be eating these words. I hope that is the case.
Last night's remarkable win against Melbourne Victory, which may well help Newcastle avoid the dreaded spoon, was a reward for the persistence and resilience of Newcastle's players.
But if it was a step in the right direction, there is still a long road ahead before the club has regained the credibility and respect it has enjoyed at other times over the past 10 years.