Printable View
As much as a statue of Boogaard and McBreen arm in arm would be fantastic for the local pigeon population im inclined to let him walk and we'll call it square.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeterpool
Legit though the bloke is a ****ing gypo never forget that.
Retiring captain Nigel Boogaard was farewelled along with leading scorer Roy O'Donovan, Ali Abbas, Matt Millar and Jack Simmons. Also leaving are loan players Luka Prso, Ramy Najjarine, Liridon Krasniqi and Syahrian Abimanyu.
Noticed Mattiske was not on the departures list.Quote:
Originally Posted by traffic light
Dylan Wenzel-Halls off to Western United
Lawrie walks away from Jets...
Quote:
HomeNewsLocal News
SUBSCRIBER
JUNE 22 2021 - 6:30PM
A-League soccer: Lawrie McKinna calls it quits after five years at helm of Newcastle Jets
James GardinerJames Gardiner
Local News
DEPARTING: Jets general manager Lawrie McKinna has resigned.
LAWRIE McKinna is confident that the Newcastle Jets are in stable position and believes the time is right to "move on" from the A-League club.
McKinna resigned as general manager on Tuesday, almost five years to the day after he took charge of the embattled A-League franchise.
ADVERTISING
The affable Scotsman will continue in an ambassadorial role, but will no longer be involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation.
"The big thing for me is that the club is stable, it is moving ahead," McKinna told the Newcastle Herald. "The new owners are investing money into the club, with a view to it being sold down the track. The club is on the right track now. It is time for me to move on."
McKinna was moved sideways in January after a new consortium of four owners of rival A-League clubs took control of the Jets following the exit of Chinese businessman Martin Lee, who had his licence revoked.
Shane Mattiske was appointed executive chairman.
McKinna played a key part in Lee purchasing the Jets from Football Australia in 2016, and has since been the face and the brains behind the operation.
He helped take the Jets to a grand final, ensured the team had a greater community presence and used his own money to keep the organisation afloat after Lee stopped funding the club.
"When Martin Lee bought the club he had three goals," McKinna said. "One was to qualify for the Asian Champions League, one was to get into a grand final and the other one was to break even. We did two out of three. We got the losses down but that was when Martin pulled the pin on funding.
"That 18 months before the new ownership came in was hard. The team is here for the long run now."
READ MORE: PAPAS IN WINGS AS JETS READY FOR REBUILD
Lee left more than $12 million in debt. A liquidator's report filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in April revealed that McKinna had injected $365,000 in an effort to keep the club going.
Mattiske praised McKinna's contribution.
"There is gratitude from everyone associated with the club, whether it is our fans, members, all the staff and playing group,"Mattiske said. "Lawrie has been a central figure in the club and has given his all to support the Jets. This is a change that we will have to adapt to. He has been a multi-skilled administrator.
"His contribution across the board, whether it is in business, whether it is putting us into a position now where we have young talent like Archie Goodwin coming through the club, whether it is the contribution to charity and the broader football community ... all of that is absolutely recognised and a legacy that Lawrie leaves here.
"We are comforted by the fact that he will continue to play an ambassadorial role for us moving forward. Those people skills and the connection he has to all members of our community is something that can continue. That is a real positive."
The Jets are expected to appoint Arthur Papas as coach next week.
However, McKinna's departure leaves a major hole in football nous and experience in the Jets' front office.
"With the change, we are building a new football structure," Mattiske said. "The business will have to adapt and build other roles. That is something we are addressing."
McKinna said he did not have a position to go to.
"I am looking for a new job but it doesn't have to be in football," he said
so if Lawrie has walked, will Griff stay??
Anybody heard anything about the new season? When does it start? When does the draw happen?
Someone said 30th October was mentioned in an interview with a Perth podcast
Terry McFlynn confirmed 30th OctQuote:
Originally Posted by Jeterpool
That was it!Quote:
Originally Posted by Buddha
I like what I hear from the gaffer
New coach Arthur Papas vows to make the Newcastle Jets the A-League's fittest team
ROBERT DILLON
NEW coach Arthur Papas has vowed to transform the Newcastle Jets into a team who win games through sheer hard work.
While hopes are high that a recent spending spree will add a touch of quality and class to Newcastle's roster, Papas believes the real key to success will be hours of toil on the training pitch and in the gym.
"The first area that I always address is our work ethic, to be honest with you," Papas told the Newcastle Herald.
"We've started [pre-season] early for a reason, because we need to ingrain a certain working culture into the organisation in terms of the way we approach our football and the mentality we have.
"The first thing is we need to be the hardest-working team in the league.
"That's a non-negotiable.
"That's something we're working on already, because to play the type of football that I like to play, you need to be hard-working.
"You need to be extremely mobile, you need to be extremely aggressive and the intensity is never compromised. It's all about dominating the game and dominating as high as possible, and scoring goals."
Papas said Newcastle's first few days of training had been "very positive", although he suspected the intensity of the sessions may have been an eye-opener for his new troops.
"There's no handbrake in anything we do," he said.
"We've trained three sessions now, and at the end of today's session, I said to the players: 'That's probably the easiest three days you'll have all year'. I think they were a bit astounded by that.
"But when you want to be champions, you need to train at the top intensity every single day. We won't take our foot off the pedal."
Papas said every player "has a clean slate from day one" and all positions were up for grabs.
Newcastle's first competitive opponents will be Western United in the FFA Cup qualifying round, on the weekend of August 7-8.
The Jets have traditionally struggled in the FFA Cup but Papas left no doubt what it means to him.
"It's an opportunity to compete," Papas said.
"It's an opportunity to win something, and that's important, because you want to be successful and win things.
"With the Australian calendar, there is basically the FFA Cup and the league. Most countries have three or four competitions.
"So anything we're entered into, our aim will be to be successful and win it."
Several new signings - including New Zealand Olywhites representatives Joey Champness and Dane Ingham and Georgian striker Beka Mikeltadze - are still several weeks from arriving in Newcastle.
In addition, defender James Donachie, who was loaned out to play in India last season, is not on deck and is expected to negotiate a release.
Donachie's situation appears unlikely to leave a door ajar for veteran Nikolai Topor-Stanley, who is weighing whether to retire or find another club, at the age of 36.
https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2021-...feud/100294318
Football was going so well...
Mind you, would anybody notice if they weren't covered by insurance? Does it actually cover you for anything???
It would look like Champness is definitely coming back.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hacker
Where's the catch?
Brillante has signed for Victory, up to his 5th A-League club now.
He's a top level aleague plauer though, Just isnt suited for overseasQuote:
Originally Posted by evolution
We should of thrown the kitchen sink at himQuote:
Originally Posted by evolution
Would have been a great pickupQuote:
Originally Posted by The Hacker
I will just leave this here. Let the comments flow
Cleanout continues as Newcastle Jets part company with a club legend
THE exodus at the Newcastle Jets has continued after football-operations manager Joel Griffiths was shown the door and and three more players were released.
The Jets confirmed on Friday the mutual termination of the contracts of Johnny Koutroumbis, James Donachie and Connor O'Toole.
New Jets coach Arthur Papas is intent on kicking off his tenure with a revamped roster and Koutroumbis, O'Toole and Donachie will follow former skipper Nigel Boogaard, Roy O'Donovan, Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Matthew Millar, Lachlan Jackson, Lewis Italiano, Ramy Najjarine, Luke Prso and Liridon Krasniqi out the back door.
Koutroumbis, 23, has been a regular since joining the Jets in 2016, playing in 90 A-League games, including the 2017-18 grand final.
He signed a three-year contract with Newcastle that was supposed to take him through until the end of the coming season. Instead it is understood he sought a release and is expected to join Western Sydney.
O'Toole, 24, was under contract for even longer, having signed a new two-year deal with Newcastle just four months ago.
Donachie signed a two-season with the Jets more than 12 months ago but has never actually pulled on a Newcastle jersey.
He was initially loaned out to Indian Super League club Goa, but since completing that stint indicated a reluctance to honour his deal with the Jets.
Within hours of Newcastle confirming his release, Sydney FC announced they had signed Donachie.
In addition, new recruit Cameron Devlin has attracted interest in Europe and might not be joining Newcastle.
Griffiths, the crowd-pleasing hero of Newcastle's 2007-08 championship-winning season, joined the club's administration ranks under former owner Martin Lee.
Along with chief executive Lawrie McKinna, who also parted company with the Jets recently, Griffiths was largely responsible for recruitment and helped assemble the club's 2017-18 squad that finished runners-up in the grand final.
It is understood he was bitterly disappointed when the club advised him this week that his contract would not be renewed.
"Joel has been a really valued, respected member of our staff for a long time and he will always be a legend of the club," Jets executive chairman Shane Mattiske said.
"But the fact of the matter is we needed to make changes, off the field as well as on it. We'll continue to support Joel and wish him well in his future endeavours."
While Griffiths was surplus to requirements, a new general-manager-of-football position has been created for Craig Deans, who stood down after a season as Newcastle's head coach.
Deans will be overseeing Newcastle's W-League team and academy as well as the A-League outfit.
Meanwhile, A-League expansion club Western United have signed John Aloisi as coach.
so who else has the Welchman told Lederer he needs from our squad?
So we can make room for Deans but not Griff.
I hope you’re all happy.
All I see is selfless sacrifice from griff. He knew that the team needed Deans to go but also knew that the club couldn't keep both him and deans, so he sacrificed himself. Much like he lets bridge take the credit for the grand final goal.Quote:
Originally Posted by Thomas477
Griff knows what he's doing.
History is littered with people sacrificing themselves for the greater good.
That old bloke from star Wars.
Randy Quaid from Independence Day.
Arnold in Terminator 2.
My mate Gilly who kissed the tubby girl so I had a shot with her better looking friend.
But no one has given more to this broke ass organisation than Griff.
2 x Grand Final wins.
Never losing to the gypos.
Scored the winning pen to get us to the 06 World Cup.
Wearing his brothers t-shirts even though they were shit.
Hail Griff, for He is selfless.
Griff.
GRIFF.
He's fukn crap, good riddance
He lost his way.
Pretty obvious the new ownership consortium wanted Lawrie and Joel gone so they make the big calls themselves.
Lawrie and Joel would have had a strong connection with some of the players Papas wanted gone. I'm sure if those guys were still running the club then some would have been retained.
Definitely a big clean out, Papas learned his craft under Ange. When Ange first went to Brisbane he cleaned out a few of the older senior players.
Well that puts us in the bin and into the new 2nd division. Deans over Griffo? thatll do me.Quote:
Deans will be overseeing Newcastle's W-League team and academy as well as the A-League outfit
The Cynic in me thinks this was purely a money decision, They needed to find a gig for Deans given he still had 12months remaining whilst Joel was prob a 4 week notice termination at the most.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim
how do the membership prices compare to previous years?
I only have the supporter package, which i think might have gone down. Not sure how i'm supposed to get the discounts for food and beverages at the stadium without a membership card back.
anyway, i've renewed my membership.
https://www.theguardian.com/football...om-this-season
Interesting development. I agree that something needs to be done but this seems really difficult to enforce.
https://www.footballaustralia.com.au...ease-optimised
The Australian football season (29 October 2021 – 28 October 2022) is designed to unite the game at all levels – organising domestic football over 52 weeks
For the first time, A-League and Westfield W-League will break for Men’s and Women’s FIFA International Windows
‘Transfer windows’ enable the registration of players for all applicable competitions in alignment with FIFA requirements
The Men’s season will commence with the A-League opening the 2021/22 season and finish with the FFA Cup Final as the last match of the season
The Women’s season will commence with the Westfield W-League and finish with the NPL Women’s Finals Day
NPL competitions to align finish dates across the country to maximise connection with an NPL Finals weekend for NPL Men’s and NPL Women’s respectively
A placeholder for the National Second Tier (NST) competition as an important first step towards bringing this competition to life
I’ve seen a few bad headclashes where I’m sure somebody has a concussion but continues to play.Quote:
Originally Posted by belchardo
I still remember being 12 years old, and our coach deemed us too scared to head the ball. So put up bombs for 20 minutes and made us head them.
In hindsight with what we know now, it seems a bit silly.
Thats not good but at the time none really knew any better. need to practice heading with softer balls and ban heading from GK kicks to start with.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bremsstrahlung
The more head impact we can reduce the better. I dont usually take the soft route in sport but this is turning into something like smoking where its disaster for our health.
Best part of this story is we have 2 foreigners signed just awaiting visas
A-League: Defender senses more than a hint of Ange Postecoglou in Jets boss Arthur Papas
James Gardiner
RECENTLY-arrived Jets enforcer Matt Jurman won an A-League championship at Brisbane Roar and made eight appearances for the Socceroos under Ange Postecoglou.
"That was a good time in my career when I was playing under Ange," Jurman said.
And when Newcastle coach Arthur Papas rang the defender asking if he would be interested in being part of the Jets rebuild, Jurman could sense more than a hint of Postecoglou in the pitch.
Papas was Postecoglou's right-hand man at Yokohama F Marinos when they were crowned J-League champions in 2019 - ending a 15-year drought.
"Just talking to Arthur on the phone when I was overseas I could feel that [Postecoglou influence]," Jurman said. "He told me about the brand of football he wanted to play. I was excited and wanted to be a part of it.
"There is a lot of hard work to come. We only started a couple of weeks ago. It is nowhere near where we want to be. It is something to build on."
As well as winning a championship at Brisbane, Jurman was part of the Sydney squad which won the premiership-championship double in 2009-10.
"Those teams were pretty exciting to play in," Jurman said. "I was lucky to play alongside some great players. Hopefully we can do something similar here. It is a good style that the coach wants to play. Once all the boys have arrived, I think we can start to gel and play some good football. After that, the results come."
More recently, Jurman, 31, has spent time in South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Greece, where he was part of a Xanthi outfit which fell just short of promotion to the Super League 1.
And he intends to use that experience to help what is shaping as a youthful Jets outfit.
"There are some good young boys in the team and there is a lot of potential there," he said.
Papas said Jurman had already had a "positive impact" despite only joining the group a week ago.
"In the dressing room, first of all," Papas said. "Just the type of person he is. On the park, you can see the quality and character he brings."
Jurman's likely partner in the centre of defence, Jordan Elsey started training this week after arriving from Adelaide
Papua New Guinean international Tommy Semmy is on a training contract, while Papas confirmed that he has agreed to terms with two foreigners but won't reveal their identity until visas have been issued.
"We are hopeful of getting that completed this week," Papas said. "There a couple more on top of those that we are working through."
Papas said he was likely to go with a squad of 24 or 25 players, including scholarship-holders Archie Goodwin and Blake Archbold.
Meanwhile, Apostolos Stamatelopulos, who was training with the Jets, has signed with Greek second tier club Rodos.
Sometimes you miss Con with his jumping the gun announcements.Quote:
Best part of this story is we have 2 foreigners signed just awaiting visas
Striker Beka Mikeltadze issued visa as Jets granted exemption to train
James Gardiner
Newcastle Jets' hired gun Beka Mikeltadze is a step closer to joining his new teammates after the Georgian international had a visa approved to travel to Australia.
Now all the club has to do is organise a flight - not an easy task given the border restrictions due to COVID-19.
Mileltadze signed a two-year deal with the Jets a month ago. He has since been following a training program, and Jets executive chairman Shane Mattiske confirmed that the striker's arrival was imminent, pending medical results.
"His visa is in the tray," Mattiske said. "He is not yet on a flight but we are trying to get him on one."
Mikeltadze has represented Georgia at every youth level and has two senior caps. The 23-year-old was last with Greek club Xanthi, where he was teammates with Jets defender Matt Jurman. Jets assistant coach Arthur Diles had the same role at Xanthi.
He is one of three senior strikers on the roster, which also includes scholarship players Archie Goodwin and Blake Archibold
Former Socceroo Eli Babalj and Papua New Guinean international Tommy Semmy are training with the club.
COVID restrictions have limited the number of flights permitted to Australia but Mattiske was hopeful that Mikeltadze would soon touch down in Sydney, where he will quarantine for 14 days.
The Jets have also agreed to terms with two other foreign attackers but are awaiting visas to be issued before announcing their signatures.
The squad is in the fourth week of pre-season. The NSW Health Department has granted the players exemptions to train as a group but they must adhere to strict protocols.
"It is a critical part of our preparation for the season," Mattiske said. "The players arrive right before the session and leave immediately after it. They are required to wear masks when they are not on the field. On the pitch, they train as normal."
However, trial matches are "an impossibility" and there is growing uncertainty about the FFA Cup proceeding.
"Our ability to play the FFA Cup is now in question," Mattiske said. "The qualifier against Western United was meant to be on August 14, then they gave us a later August date. Now it has been suggested that it will push into September.
"We have to get to Melbourne to play that game. If we win, we have to play Wellington. In the round of 16, you have teams from around the country trying to cross over and play. There are some headaches in terms of how that is going to work out.
"Trial matches are an impossibility at the moment. Typically we play Brisbane but we can't cross the border. We can't plan for that.
"There is still time to do those things but we are now starting to think about contingency plans."
The A-League is scheduled to kick off on October 30.
Come on give us something about the foreigners.Quote:
Originally Posted by The Hacker
I feel the same way but on the other hand the way the signings and then announcements have been rolled out by the club as been impressive. So I’m happy to wait for them to be sign sealed and delivered. The Clubs social media game has become strong this off-seasonQuote:
Originally Posted by Alton
Why? They could be negotiating with other clubs or a myriad of other reasons to keep it quiet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Alton
Exactly. We've been shot before announcing that we are signing players, only for it to drag on and we miss out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jetmaster
Keep the cards close to the chest.
The more you read the more confidence for the new season you get
Defender Jordan Elsey drawn by coach's vision for Jets
James Gardiner
JORDAN Elsey has only ever known Adelaide football.
A product of the Para Hills Knights, Elsey made his A-League debut for Adelaide United as a teenager in 2014 and went on to feature in 124 games for his home-town club, winning a championship in 2015-16 and three FFA Cup titles.
Keen to get out if his "comfort zone", Elsey was looking at going overseas until he spoke with new Jets coach Arthur Papas.
"I thought the time was right to make the move and challenge myself," the 27-year-old defender said. "Get out of my comfort zone a little bit. I have been in Adelaide my whole life.
"I had a chat with Arthur and was very attracted by what he is building here."
Papas sold a similar vision to Socceroo Matt Jurman and a host of other key building blocks in his renovation of the Jets.
"It is something I have not had from a coach before," Elsey said. "He was so interested in where I want to take my career and [was firm on] where he wanted to take the team as a whole.
"Obviously, I can't talk too much about tactics but it is a really exciting brand of football and will put bums on seats at the stadium, I can assure you of that."
As well as exciting football, Elsey is confident it will be winning football.
"I didn't come here to lose," he said. "It will be fun to live in Newcastle for a couple of years but I came here to win things.
"With what Arthur and the coaching staff are building I believe we can do that. I am really driven and, at this point in my career, I want to push forward. This year is very important for me."
Elsey touched down in Newcastle last week, fresh from his marriage to long-term partner Megan, who will arrive in the near future.
"Arthur and the coaching staff wanted me here as quick as possible and I wanted to get to work too," Elsey said. "My wife is a nurse, already has a job here and will be arriving soon."
On the pitch, Elsey has started forming connections, especially with fellow defender and major signing Matt Jurman.
"Like any time when two new players come to a club they holler to each other," Elsey said. "Matty is so experienced and has played at a high level. I'm looking forward to learning from him.
"All the boys and coaching staff have been welcoming. It has been a very easy transition so far.
"I spent time with Jordan O 'Doherty in Adelaide and I know Valentino Yuel. With the other boys, already it feels like I have known them for a year."
The successful teams that Elsey has been a part of previously have been close groups.
"Everyone has to be on the same wave length as the coach in what we want to achieve and what we want to do with our football," he said. "The other one for me is the camaraderie in the change rooms. Success off the pitch means success on the pitch."
Meanwhile, the Jets have parted ways with head of high performance Karl Dodd. Dodd joined the Jets in May as an assistant to then head coach Craig Deans.