Apparently, this is First Responders round, which might come in handy depending what condition the pitch is in on Sunday...
Apparently, this is First Responders round, which might come in handy depending what condition the pitch is in on Sunday...
Life isn't the same without Con... but it can only improve without Tinks...
and no surprises there, they've been told they won't get a run on the pitch before the game...
Newcastle Jets denied training run on patched-up home turf
By Robert Dillon
Updated November 30 2023 - 9:00pm, first published 8:59pm
THE Newcastle Jets have been denied their usual captain's-run training session at McDonald Jones Stadium this week, amid lingering concerns about the state of the playing surface.
The pitch was damaged by the recent supercross motorcycle event, prompting last week's scheduled home game against the Mariners to be transferred to Gosford.
While the Jets have been assured it will be playable for Sunday's clash with Melbourne City, it won't be available for their normal pre-match training session the day before the game.
The Newcastle Herald has twice contacted stadium management seeking an update but has received no reply.
Jets coach Rob Stanton said the state of the turf was "outside my control", and while he would prefer to train at the stadium, he wasn't overly concerned.
"I'm going to go and have a look at it, but we can't get on it and train, unfortunately," Stanton said.
"There's still some work to be done, apparently.
"It's one of those things where you always want the best pitch to play on, but if that's not possible, in the end it's going to be the exact same for both teams.
"I'm not too concerned. It might not look pretty, but they tell me it'll be safe and I'm OK with that. We've just got to get on with it."
Newcastle face a City team who have returned after an arduous Asian Champions League trip to Tokyo this week.
Melbourne gave away a late equaliser in a thrilling 3-all draw against Ventforet Kofu at Japan's Olympic Stadium on Wednesday.
Before the long-haul flight to Japan, City played in Auckland last Saturday, where they were beaten 1-0 by Wellington Phoenix.
Despite the time in transit, Stanton said the Jets would not be underestimating City.
"They're generally well looked after, and they've also got a bit of depth in their squad as well," he said.
"They've obviously played in the Champions League before and know how to handle it. I watched their game last night and they were quite good and caused a lot of problems for the J-League side.
"They've got a few days to recover and I'm sure they'll come out against us and be very, very good and very competitive. So it's a big challenge for us, but it's one we're looking forward to, because you always want to play against the best teams."
The result in Tokyo continued City's frustrating start to the season.
Last season's runners-up have won only one of their five A-League games this season and sit a point behind seventh-placed Newcastle on the competition ladder.
But Stanton has no doubt they have a squad brimming with quality players.
One of them is Socceroo Mathew Leckie, who returned off the bench in Japan after spending three months on the sidelines with a knee injury.
The veteran forward will be hoping for more game time against the Jets.
Life isn't the same without Con... but it can only improve without Tinks...
Ingham played some decent football late last season when given a more attacking role.
But he's back to a defensive role now and once again looks completely lost.
He is absolutely clueless when it comes to playing out of his own half.
The two goals were both from sub standard (at this level) individual skills. I'd expect better from NPL players
The ref got the Young yellow card call 100% correct, and more importantly, got the procedure 100% correct.
Hate all you want but he got it right.
Jets just stink.
Nailed itOriginally Posted by plague
Doesn't appear to be any clear plan selection wise. Midfield and defence are my big concerns. Papas tried to keep as much possession as possible, where Stanton is content to hit on the counter.
Simply something has to change with the tactics or Stanton will be out of a job at seasons end. That's the reality, it's a results based industry.
I think the midfield is looking thin, Big things were expected from the French import. He can't seem to crack the starting team. Might be time to give him or Timmins a run, why not.
Defence, we just don't have a commanding central defender. Natta and Cancar are playing well, but need a leader in there to help them out. Really we have 4 right backs, the squad isn't balanced.
Looking forward, History says it's difficult to win the A League without players outside the salary cap. The Mariners proved it can be done and I think Adelaide probably did it 7 or 8 years ago. But both those clubs develop players better then us and sign good foreign players that make an impact. Currently we have 2 imports and both ours aren't seeing much game time at all. Both would be on decent money, so it's not good business if they don't play.
I'm happy if they give some young guys a run, but let's get some quality experienced players around them.
Last weekend for mine was a massive kick in the guts against the last placed mariners at the time. We gave them way to much respect. 6 games in and I don't think we have progressed at all.
Our CBs aren't playing well for me. They don't keep track of runs or communicate with the midfield or fullbacks on who to mark. Especially Natta. Players keep sneaking behind him because he never checks
Agree. He was playing well on the wing. He was honking yesterday and has been poor the last couple games at fullback.
Vidic looked decent for a first game. Taylor still shows promise.
We looked alright on the ball from 20-45 minutes in patches, a few nice attacks.
Not a lot of other positives.
We need to get a bit more fight in some of the players. We are playing rubbish, but doesn't help that other teams get away with fouling us in build up every week. Would be happier seeing a few people pick up yellows each week giving some back, since the refs clearly don't care to prevent it.
I?m not sure what game you watched saying Cancar is playing well, I wasn?t expecting to see him after half time but out he trots and hand wraps city?s second goal, everyone was asking for youth to get a go, well here it is and it?s a hard watch, I?m starting to think Stanton is way out of his depth after his interview after the game, not sure what he was thinking
Tend to agree re the Stanton summation. Not trying to be disrespectful to the bloke but i just see a club littered with hand me down players and coach from the other clubs who currently carry us financially.
Something is just not right at present IMO. There seems to have been a shift in mentality the moment they took the field against the scum to the final whistle yesterday. Just no mongrel, urgency or desire.
I didn't watch yesterday but I think he has been OK in the other games which I have seen. I'm not basing it off 1 game. Marcus Rashford was crap on the weekend but I'm not putting a line through him.
I think there is more to it then the coach, As we certainly have had a few. With the marquee rule we are down big time on the other teams. City would use the maximum 3 marqees, they would have Arslan, McLaren and Leckie . That means the salary cap can me divided more throughout the rest.
What did he say?
We've got the worst defensive record in the comp, we can't afford to be playing wingbacks. Mauragis is being caught out position on a regular basis, and where is the entertaining football that Stanton promised, it's as boring as batshit.
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