Conned

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At the end of the second A-League season, Gary van Egmond’s team lost Johnny Warren Medal Winner, Nick Carle, as well as the likes of Paul Okon and Milton Rodriguez. He then guided the Jets to the Championship despite pre-season predictions of doom and gloom. He performed a minor miracle. With just over a month passing since the Grand Final, in order for van Egmond to replicate the feats of season three, it seems that he will once again be asked to perform a miracle for the fourth season.

The jets have already lost a host of players who contributed significantly to their Championship run. Andrew Durante, Mark Bridge, Stuart Musialik and Troy Hearfield have all been lost to other A-League clubs and Denni has been released. Their loss will be felt. The club has also disposed of several players that were deemed surplus to requirements in the likes of Mario Jardel, Scott Tunbridge, Paul Kohler, Steve Eagleton and Stephen Laybutt.

In addition to the above losses, Jade North has recently expressed his desire to move to Europe while the current A-League Golden Boot and Johnny Warren Medal winner, Joel Griffiths is on-loan to J-League Division 2 side, Avispa Fukuoka. While I have not heard news indicating that Joel will not return to the Jets, his return is nevertheless not guaranteed.

The Kids

Assuming that North does leave but the Jets manage to retain the services of Griffiths, the presentlt contracted squad is still tiny with only 14 members. The squad is also very young and relatively inexperienced. Ben Kantarovski is only 16 and is yet to make his debut. While Joel can play striker, James Hoffman is the only other recognised striker in the squad. He is only 19 and has only made three starts in the A-League. James Holland had a break-through year and he recently earned himself his first Socceroos cap. However, he is still only 18. Tarek Elrich is only 21 while Adam D’Apuzzo and Jade Wheelhouse are both 22. Elrich and D’Apuzzo in particularly both had very impressive seasons but only really have one full season of football under their belts. Additionally, Jin-Hyung Song, who has been very impressive since arriving on loan, is only 20. The club really cannot afford to lose the experience of North and Joel Griffiths although this could be a real possibility.

I’m not saying that a young squad cannot be successful and the Jets do have some of the most exiting young prospects in the league still in their squad. It is also undoubtedly a positive for Australian football generally that these youngsters will probably be called upon to make significant contributions in the next season. However, you’d have to image that the lack of experience of the players will be a factor at some stage during the season. It is ironic that while basically all other clubs need an injection of youth, the Champions need an injection of experience.

One worrying factor to come out of numerous departures is the number of players lost to A-League rivals. Players moving to foreign clubs is the norm given the disparity in wealth.However, losing players to other clubs that are restricted by the same salary cap is perplexing. We know that at minimum, the Jets negotiated to retain the services of Mark Bridge, Stuart Musialik and Troy Hearfield but lost out to other A-League clubs. The question needs to be asked, why is Newcastle being out-bided by other clubs given that everyone is working off the same salary cap?

The Con

It might be that the owner, Con Constantine, just doesn’t want to cough up the money to match other clubs. According to this article, the Jets are the lowest-paid club in the league. Apparently, Durante and Bridge were offered deals where their salaries would be lowered. The following extract is interesting:

As van Egmond told The Daily Telegraph last week: “It is retrievable if Con wants it retrievable.” The problem would be solved in an instant if Constantine allowed the club to tap into the $450,000 on offer under the additional services agreement (ASA).

Durante has a third-party sponsor waiting in the wings, prepared to pay him $20,000. That would virtually ensure he stays with the Jets. In return, Durante would have to undertake some promotional work and Constantine would not have to pay a cent.

Con should be recognised for the millions he has thrown into the club. But is he now killing the club’s progress by denying it vital funds that other clubs are using? Why is he now allowing these third-party sponsorships? Con’s grip on Newcastle is undoubtedly tyrannical and is now seriously affecting the ability of the club to compete. His grip on the club is not only evident by the way he negotiates with players but is also highlighted by the Mario Jardel saga, a player who was signed without consulting van Egmond. May be the fact that these such third-party deals could somewhat undermine his dictatorship is why he has denies the players such options.

The Club

For regional clubs like Newcastle, supporters really appreciate continuity in the squad and the retention of local heroes, much more than the big city clubs in my opinion. The Newcastle Knights have lived off heroes such as Andrew Johns, Matthew Johns, Ben Kennedy and Danny Buderus. It cannot be easy for the fans to see such a young, talented team torn apart by rivals on what is in theory a level playing field.

Musialik is from the local area and he could have been made an icon of the club and so could the likes of Bridge and Hearfield. The fans understand the realities of modern football and that losing players to wealthier foreign clubs is unavoidable. However, when you lose players to rival A-League clubs, the fans should rightly be unforgiving. Like van Egmond recognised, what Con says goes, let’s just hope that the man comes to his senses and starts to match the salaries offered by other clubs before the players and the fans are driven away.

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Filed under A-League, Australian Football, Newcastle, Olyroos, Socceroos, Youth Football