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 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.
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.
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.
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.Best part of this story is we have 2 foreigners signed just awaiting visas
Only one bloke on this foz constantly makes me laugh Plague and it ain't you - MFKS
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.
The Championship Chronicles - The Jetstream's review of the 2007/08 season. www.newcastlefootball.net/chronicles
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.