Derby disaster against Central Coast Mariners may impact Newcastle Jets' hip pocket

Barry Toohey
The Daily Telegraph
January 28, 2014 11:00PM

NEWCASTLE Jets' 3-0 drubbing at the hands of arch-rival Central Coast may prove more costly than just their tumble down the premiership ladder - it could also indirectly hit the club hard in the hip pocket.

Heading into their biggest home game of the season against the Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday night, Jets officials described ticket sales as "sluggish" with supporters left reeling from the F3 derby disaster.

"Yeah, it's been a bit slow and the last thing we want is to be outnumbered by Wanderers supporters on our home ground," Jets CEO Robbie Middleby said.

"But we have great support and I'm confident our fans will respond and come out in force for the game because it's such a crucial clash for Clayton (coach Zane) and the boys from a finals perspective."

If the buzz is missing among Newcastle supporters right now, one player who could have reignited things is striker Joel Griffiths.

But the former A-League Golden Boot winner remains at long odds to play because of an ongoing dispute with his former Chinese club Qingdao Jonoon.

Griffiths signed with the Jets for the rest of the season more than a fortnight ago but is yet to lace on a boot with Qingdao refusing to grant him a release because of a dispute over the financial terms of his termination.

Jets management have been working around the clock with Griffiths, the Players Association and the FFA in a bid to reach a settlement but were not confident on Tuesday it will be done in time for the Wanderers clash.

"We've had a lot of inquiries from our members and the media today about where Joel stands but at this stage, all I can say is it's an ongoing process and we are doing everything we can to expedite things,"Middleby said.

"But it appears unlikely we'll have him available for the Wanderers."

Security, meanwhile, will be beefed up considerably at Hunter Stadium with a significant police presence anticipated to combat potential anti-social behaviour.
I have a dream, a dream for the jets to one day have competent management... actually I think I'd just be happy to have con's crew back at this point.