^ Saving the big gun for the naming of the stand.
^ Saving the big gun for the naming of the stand.
so coffs harbour is local aye...I know its nnsw but to class sam as a local is stretchin it.good to see kenny boden makin the trip...he was class
I hope he likes prison food.......and penis
Those stats are even worse than GVE's managerial statsNewcastle Jets out to end shocking record against Phoenix in Wellington
Tom Smithies
The Daily Telegraph
January 22, 2013 12:00AM
Jets coach Gary Van Egmond. Picture: Liam Driver Source: The Daily Telegraph
THEY are the damning statistics coach Gary van Egmond says will ensure complacency is not an issue when the Newcastle Jets travel over the ditch to take on struggling Wellington on Sunday.
On paper, everything points to a Jets win.
After leaking like a sieve during the first half of the season, the Jets' defence hasn't conceded a goal in their past three matches.
Their latest offering was a commendable scoreless draw against A-League leaders Central Coast in Gosford.
In stark contrast, the shell-shocked Phoenix are at the bottom of the ladder and coming off a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of Sydney FC.
But van Egmond doesn't have to look far for the motivation to make sure his side takes to Westpac Stadium with the right attitude.
It's all there in the fine print.
The Jets have never beaten the Phoenix in New Zealand. Not even gone close.
The two sides have played on seven occasions with Wellington coming out on top seven times by a staggering 20-2 goal margin.
And their dominance of Newcastle is not just restricted to New Zealand. In 14 A-league games between the two sides, the Jets have won just twice, with their last win more than two years ago.
"The stats don't lie - it is always tough for us against them no matter where we play," Jets CEO Robbie Middleby said yesterday.
"Over there, we have never won.
"No question they are our bogy team and we won't be under any illusions about how tough it's going to be on Sunday. They have just been smashed by Sydney and generally speaking when you come off a belting like that, there's a significant response from players out to redeem themselves," he said.
People honestly talking us up for a win, hope the bookers start listening might be a good chance for an easy collect.The Lowedown: Star's pride and passion
By DAVID LOWE
Jan. 21, 2013, 10:53 p.m.
Alessandro Del Piero celebrates a goal. Picture: Anthony Johnson
NEVER again will I question why people still go to see The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Eagles - however, I do draw the line at Meatloaf - after Alessandro Del Piero's latest display at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Class and quality are enduring, it seems. You just need the right environment to display your gifts.
There has never been any question that ADP belongs centre stage on a football field and the Wellington defence allowed him to paint a glorious picture of finesse, touch and ice-cold clinical efficiency in front of goal.
We have already been treated this season to his wonderful vision and incisive, inventive passing. We have had glimpses of the pride and passion that burns inside and drives him on at 38 years of age, but on Saturday we saw something more.
Those who were present at the ground will never forget the day the great artist, and the clinical assassin inside the little maestro, appeared in simultaneous harmony.
It was Federer or McEnroe in their pomp - glorious, breathtaking, other-worldly, yet calculated, remorseless and unstoppable at the same time.
A certain Diego Maradona once said he would choose Del Piero over Zinedine Zidane because he looked like he lived, and loved, playing the game more.
As "Jetz Fanatic" blogged earlier in the season: "This is at 38, imagine what he would have been like at 28!"
For those who witnessed his sumptuous offering on Saturday, that might be a mind-boggling stretch, and perhaps we should all just be grateful for the privilege of watching a true genius at this stage of his career.
Speaking of blogging, your columnist had his first taste of the format during a live run of the Jets v Mariners clash on Saturday night. I must confess to cheating here. Herald online editor Eve Nesmith acted as my typist, otherwise I would have seen four minutes of football, as I searched for letters and punched them in with one chubby finger.
It was a fairly hectic experience, but one I enjoyed. It was a pretty decent match, with plenty of excitement and passion. The standard of some of the unprintable half-time jokes relayed by the participating bloggers wasn't half bad either, but I digress . . .
I said on Saturday night in the heat of the moment that I felt it was close to the Jets' best performance of the season, and I maintain that view in the cold light of reflection.
The front page of Monday's sport liftout showed a very fitting picture of acting captain Ruben Zadkovich first to the ball, winning a header, and the headline "335 minutes - that's how long it's been since the Jets conceded a goal".
That fact is noteworthy because of the porous rate of the concession previously, 18 games without a clean sheet. But the Jets, after all their defensive woes, became the first side to record three consecutive zeros in the goals-conceded column this season.
That is an area which we in the media trumpeted as needing urgent attention, and credit must be given to the playing and coaching staff for stabilising the foundations.
Is there a cost involved in such a change? One goal scored (or is it technically two?) in those same 335 minutes might suggest that the opportunities at the other end are not quite so consistently manufactured either. But most football people I know would love to take no goals against and build from there.
That is not suggesting that the Jets are not making chances, or have suddenly become a boring defensive team. Far from it. Their concerted decision to close the gap from front to back, means that, yes, they are compact and hard to break down, but also when they win the ball, the majority of the field players are condensed, and space is at a premium.
Certainly the Jets have the pace to spring forward from those crowded midfield areas, and they consistently exploited the space in behind Pedj Bojic on the Mariners' right to good effect on Saturday night.
Five points and no goals conceded in three pretty tight matches, against decent opposition, is a good outcome at this stage of the season. It's not outstanding, but better than par.
Now comes the important test, the game that form suggests you should win. An away trip to Wellington in previous seasons was a precursor to sleepless nights and horrible lost weekends. But it represents a real chance for the Jets to put one of the six sides fighting for two semi-final spots out of contention.
No doubt the Jets will focus on their performance, and on maintaining confidence and momentum. However, if they bring three points home from across the ditch, they will put themselves eight points clear of the Phoenix, and all but extinguish any play-off hopes for Ricki Herbert's side.
That would be a fair fall from grace for the Kiwis, so, like Jets coach Gary van Egmond, I'm expecting a desperate, backs-to-the-wall Wellington side to fire up, and give the Jets a fight.
Make no mistake, the top four positions are signed, sealed and delivered - it's just a question of the order they finish. So outside them it's a real dogfight for the other six clubs to claim one of the two available spots.
If the Jets remove one threat in Wellington, and the Glory manage to put the Roar to the sword in Perth this Saturday, it will be mightily difficult for either of those sides to climb back into the mix.
Mind you, the Glory are in no great shape themselves, sitting on 19 points, and outside the top six. At least one of last season's grand finalists looks likely to miss the play-offs - which would be a real fall from grace - and Saturday night's clash might just have a major bearing on who that is.
Adelaide, who have suffered some injury problems and struggled on the road in recent weeks, will do well to get a point in their top-of-the-table visit to Gosford.
Western Sydney will be hard to beat at home to the Melbourne Heart, who are talented but without captain Fred. They can also be brittle away from AAMI Park and in the second half.
Sydney FC, with confidence and their goal difference somewhat bolstered, will face a much sterner task when they visit Melbourne Victory than they did against Wellington last week. They come to Hunter Stadium next weekend, so it's a vital game for all concerned.
The Jets will do well to concentrate totally on Wellington. Traditionally, Newcastle sides have done well fighting against the bigger-name teams and struggled to dictate against the lesser lights.
History indicates a point would be a good return, but form suggests the Jets should be aiming a little higher.
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/12...assion/?cs=306
Can see Brockie scoring in this one and for us to drop out of the six.Brockie desperate to end rut
By JAMES GARDINER
Jan. 21, 2013, 10:53 p.m.
OLD BOY: Jeremy Brockie in action for the Wellington Phoenix.
FORMER Jets striker Jeremy Brockie has a lot on his plate.
Brockie's wife, Jess, is due to give birth to their first child on February 10.
Then there is New Zealand's crucial World Cup qualifiers against New Caledonia (March 22) and the Solomon Islands (March 26).
But of immediate concern is ending the rut the Wellington Phoenix are in against none other than his old club, Newcastle, at Westpac Stadium on Sunday.
Semi-finalists for the past three seasons, Wellington sit in unfamiliar territory at the bottom of the A-League ladder.
They were embarrassed 7-1 by Sydney FC - the Nix's biggest ever defeat - last round, their fourth straight loss, and the blowtorch has been applied to coach Ricki Herbert and the playing squad.
"When you have a big loss like that the next game can't come soon enough," Brockie told the Newcastle Herald on Monday.
"All the boys are hurting and we will be working our butts off to make sure we take something out of the game on Sunday.
"It is the worst run of consecutive losses for Wellington and that was the club's biggest loss as well.
"We are back home this weekend and have to stick together as a team and bounce back pretty quickly."
Of most concern has been their frailty in defence.
Normally rock solid, they have leaked 13 goals in the recent run of losses and have conceded first in the past eight games.
"Wellington has always been known as a hard team to break down and hard team to score goals against," said Brockie. who joined the Phoenix this season. after two years in Newcastle.
"We have to get back to that. As a team we are just conceding soft goals.
"When you are in a rut, sometimes you cop a goal and the confidence goes out the door quickly.
"We haven't scored first for eight games now. Us attacking players need to make sure we finish off our opportunities when we get them to take some pressure off the defence."
Brockie scored a brace in Wellington's 3-0 win over the Jets at Hunter Stadium in round seven and has since increased his tally to 10 goals - one more than his total last season for the Jets.
"I worked hard in pre-season to make sure last year wasn't a one-off in terms of goal scoring," Brockie said.
"I am happy to be sitting where I am with 10 goals so far but I would swap a couple of goals for wins any day.
"I am an attacking player and it is my job to help the team get us out of the situation we are in."
Following the Jets, the Phoenix host Perth in Auckland, after which Brockie not only hopes to have their season back on track but also be a dad.
"We are just past the 37-week mark and the baby can arrive any time it wants now, so it is exciting times," Brockie said.
"The nursery is ready to go and everything is set. It is just a matter of waiting for the arrival.
"We have a home game this weekend and then we are up in Auckland, which is not too far away.
"It would be nice if the baby arrive between now and then."
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/12...nd-rut/?cs=306
Would need to be a huge inury crisis for jesic to even get a look in at this stage.Jesic bouncing back into his A-game form
By JAMES GARDINER
Jan. 21, 2013, 10:53 p.m.
Marko Jesic. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers
FORGOTTEN Jets striker Marko Jesic has not given up hope of reigniting his A-League career and pointed to reborn defender Sam Gallaway as an example of how quickly circumstances can turn for the good.
Off contract, Jesic is the only member of the Jets' senior roster not to have played a minute this season.
In fact, it is closing in on a year since the former Olyroo made the last of his 41 A-League appearances - 90 minutes in a 1-all draw with Adelaide in Bathurst on January 25, 2012.
The 23-year-old has scored nine goals in the Jets youth league team, including four in the past two games, but has been unable to jump up the queue of attackers.
"I was playing week-in, week-out and now not to be playing at all is very frustrating," Jesic said.
"It's difficult, but all I can do is keep doing what I'm doing, keep scoring goals, and hopefully I am knocking on the door pretty soon."
The arrival this season of James Brown, Adam Taggart, Craig Goodwin and to a lesser extent Bernardo Ribeiro, and the emergence of James Virgili, have seen Jesic's stocks plummet.
It was only two years ago in a Sun-Herald newspaper article that Jets coach Gary van Egmond, who was then at the Australian Institute of Sport, rated Jesic alongside Ben Kantarovski, Terry Antonis and Eli Babalj as leaders of "generation next" and expected them to be pushing for a place in the Socceroos World Cup squad for Brazil 2014.
Jesic was about to return from a third knee reconstruction. He played 27 games for the Jets in their 2010-11 campaign, scoring five goals and a successful combination with former England frontman and guest player Francis Jeffers.
"It took me a while to get going but once Frannie came in my confidence grew and I had a pretty good year," he said.
Olyroos commitments and a couple of untimely setbacks with niggling injuries restricted his output to four games last season and things have continued to slide.
"I never give up hope," Jesic said. "I am one of the most motivated people. I have come back from three knee reconstructions. Some people don't come back from one."
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/12...e-form/?cs=306
Lol the Loldown. Who are you trying hoodwink Lowie? Perfect ambush again for the Nix to grab a vital three pointer.
I believe Sam came through the NNSW state teams when he was younger and NNSWIS. Technically he is not a local lad but he is a NNSW product so we should embrace him as one of our own as the Jets are the flagship for the whole NNSW.Originally Posted by seldom
Tom Smithies doesn't seem to know that we actually won our first ever match in Wellington. A very lucky 1-0 thanks to a scrappy Thompson free kick. Hoffman missed a sitter...I often wonder how his career might have panned out if it had gone in.
Actually, no I don't. He's shit.
If it had goen in he may have remained a striker() and never become the dominating central holding midfielder he has become
That game ever happen.??
Seems like a complete load of Bullshit to say that we won in Wellington.
My recollections of the place in 2-3-4-5 goal hidings with the contest usually over by half time and our blokes look and play like they have been out on the piss all night and haven't been in bed for 48 hours.
Suppose people will be telling me next we also have a good record at winning games in Perth, Gypos have won GF's, Mark Bridge has scored in the GF and that Marko Jesic will be called up to partner the Hoff for the Socceroos in the WC in Brazil.
Just like all those things saying the Jets win in Wellington just seems like outright blatant lies!!!
iirc, it was hoffman's debut and the bloke hit the post
we will loose
Caravella released from Adelaide. I'd like to see him here buuuuuuut 29 is way old.
^ 20 years to old and perhaps never been to Canberra other than to visist questacon, the mint and war memorial so no not a chance.
He'll go to Sydney. Everyone is going there. It's the place to be.
Actually, gypos could be a shout
We're signing him if its not already done. Injury cover for kanta
not bad.
Ya, pretty good.
Why is Kanta still injured though?
Ray Gatt is saying its a done deal.
Wasn't Chris Grosman cover for Kanta? Or was he bumped to Jobes cover and left when Jobe returned?
Middleby Gone
Lawrie Out
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