Newcastle United Jets

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Round 7

Melbourne Victory 0 - 1 Newcastle United Jets

2021-02-21 05:05 More Reports

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Newcastle United Jetsvs. Wellington Phoenix

2021-02-28 07:10:00 More Previews

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Season Guide

2020/2021

Newcastle United Jets

In

Matthew Millar (def) Shrewsbury – end of loan; Michael Neill (def) Rockdale City Suns; Ramy Najjarine (mid) Melbourne City; Valentino Yuel (att) Western United;

Out

Wesley Hoolahan (r) (mid) Cambridge United; Dimitri Petratos (r) (mid) Al-Wahda; Berni Ibini-Isei (r) (att) Western Sydney Wanderers; Abdiel Arroyo (r) (att) Maccabi Petah Tikva; Nicholas Fitzgerald (sp) (mid) Jamshedpur (IND); Joe Champness (mid) Brisbane Roar;

Jets had poor last season and never really found consistency under any of their 3 managers. Tough start under Merrick and bad luck with injuries to marquee players led to his sacking and only late in the campaign, when Robinson took charge, things improved. It all seemed to be going according to plan with Robinson making the team play much better after the COVID break and seemingly committing his future for the 2020/21 season but then came the offer from Wanderers and the loyalties of the English manager shifted so in shocking move he left. This caught Jets by surprise and only a week before the new season they still haven’t found new Head Coach. Currently inexperienced Craig Deans serves as caretaker. All this drama of course disrupted badly the transfer activity too and Jets are yet to make any significant new signing, while at the same time 4 regulars already left. With so much uncertainty and squad ill-prepared for the campaign hard to see Jets doing very well, but this all could change if an experience manager agrees to take the job and also if he signs at least 3-4 high-profile reinforcements. There are still some quality players in the squad, none more than Topor-Stanley, Ugarkovic and proved scorer at A-League level O’Donovan. However, 2 of those are about to turn 36 early in the season and, with squad very small right now, Jets have lots to worry about.

Target

Newcastle expected to struggle and even just avoiding last place would be seen as decent outcome for them.

Season Review

2019/2020

№8: Newcastle United Jets

Jets had positive end to the season, but the damage done early on proved too much and in the end the team fell 3 points short from making the play-offs. Signing playmaker Hoolahan and Arroyo last summer proved bad mistakes from coach Merrick, with former spending entire season injured and Arroyo not showing any kind of form all throughout. Just 2 wins in the first 15 games (D4 L9) not only saw Merrick sacked right on New Year’s Eve, but also placed Jets in last place. January proved to be good month for the club though with Carl Robinson appointed in charge and old favourite O’Donovan resigned to boost the scoring record. Under Robinson Jets lost just once (W6 D3), but even this proved not enough. Forward actions from January onwards were good and Jets definitely looked sharp when O’Donovan played. The team’s biggest strength was their midfield though where Ugarkovic in particular was hugely reliable. Defending set pieces and crosses from the wings once again were amongst the main weaknesses. Also Jets had issues with the conversion rate as less than 12% of the shots they attempted were actually on target. Coach Robinson seems to have started building something special in Newcastle already and if the gaffer manages to attract several players from Europe as everyone expects Jets would be a team to watch out for next season.