The standard protocol in Australian football is that each team makes at least two good signings per pre-season, which are usually players from Europe. Despite finishing bottom of the ladder for many years in a row now, even Central Coast Mariners manage to adhere to the above – it just never works out for them.
Now that Covid-19 has weighed into the discussion, however, these two teams suddenly look very bare. Newcastle Jets’ fans were actually optimistic pre-season that they might push for the title – until talented boss Robinson was poached by Western Sydney Wanderers, which led to a flurry of departures, including Ibini-Isei, Donachie, Millar, Arroyo, Fitzgeraldc, and Dimi Petratos. Moss retired too, and after one look at what was left in this squad, young striker Champness opted to play for Brisbane Roar this season instead, which is a real kick in the balls for Newcastle Jets. I mean, imagine thinking that Brisbane Roar are in a better place than them right now when they’re the worst they’ve ever been!
Allow me to put this rather bluntly now; the Newcastle Jets attack is bad as I’ve ever seen it. Everybody that could make something happen in one form or another has now gone – except Irish bruiser O’Donovan, who is nothing without support. Things have gotten so bad that Newcastle Jets actually classified defender Hofmann as an ‘attacker’ in their pre-season squad submission. I know he gets forward a lot, but Jesus! They have brought in youngster Najjarine, and Western United outcast Yuel, but if that solves the problem, I’ll eat my hat!
Newcastle Jets do work very hard; I don’t doubt them sending men trundling up the pitch to support attacks, one of which will indeed be Hofmann. I think Ugarkovic came on leaps and bounds last season as a playmaker, and his shooting has improved too. This is a very tenacious team so never doubt them mentally. However, this attack has very few goals in it, and there is nobody in the squad that can make something happen from nowhere. That’s a seriously big concern in a division where defending is improving more and more as the years roll by. Indeed, they panic-bought ex-Sydney FC live wire Ali Abbas just yesterday; I’ve no idea if he can play today or not, but it doesn’t change my mind. He’s got very quick feet and is a tricky customer but tends to lack end product. Still, it’s better than the nothing they had before!
Speaking of defending – that’s the one area that Newcastle Jets haven’t been impacted in, for the most part. Topor-Stanley and Boogaard are both cracking on a bit now but know one another really well, and will put off most forwards. They’ll win most balls in the air between them, and Topor-Stanley is good at bringing the ball out of defence to ease the pressure sometimes. Young defender Koutroumbis gets better with time, especially when played in the correct position, and defensive midfielder Kantarovski is still in town to plug any gaps. They may not score many this season, the Jets, but they shouldn’t ship many either.
Still, the above surely hands the advantage to their hosts – right? Wrong. Central Coast Mariners have done just as badly pre-season as Newcastle Jets have. Much like their rivals, they’ve opted to part ways with pretty much everybody that can make something happen for them in the final third. Fair enough – I don’t think there was much they could do about the departure of promising young forward Silvera, who joined Pacos de Ferreira in Portugal if my memory serves me correctly. I refuse to believe that they were unable to keep any of Jair, Majok, McGlinchey, Duric, Murray, and Harold though. Each had their flaws, it’s true, but each of them had their uses too, especially Duric and Harold.
Essentially, all that’s left from an attacking perspective for Central Coast Mariners is veteran target man Matt Simon (filthy, but I love the guy – never stops running, wins most balls in the air) and young playmaker de Silva, who honestly seems to have regressed since his loan spell at Sydney FC – his passing goes awry far too much nowadays. I’ll give the home team their dues here – they have at least attempted to improve their attack by bringing in midfielder Bozanic (great signing; bundle of energy, composed passer, consistent), Costa Rican forward Urena (hard-working, but never been a clinical finisher in his life), and Polish playmaker Janota, whom I’ve seen little of but is supposed to be very similar to the departed Serb Duric. It’s hard to regard the above signings as a step forward, you know? There’s still no goal-scorer, and now there’s even less pace out wide.
Comically, that’s not where they’ve embarrassed themselves the most, the Mariners. No, they’ve opted to play this campaign out without a defence. I’m not even joking. When he first came through, I was excited for him; he was built like a brick shithouse, and was very composed on the ball. However, as the years have rolled by, he’s become more and more injury-prone, and a lot more calamitous – yet the Mariners saw fit to make him their defensive mainstay for the season ahead alongside Rowles. Wow. There’s a defence that won’t keep many out! They’re bloody lucky that goalkeeper Birighitti, arguably the best in the country, has bizarrely opted to stay with this hopeless club yet again. Without him, I’d back them to finish bottom right now. It’s a terrifying defence, honestly – and not in a good way.
Despite this game technically being a derby (the F3 derby, if you please!), I think they’re both lucky to be facing one another today because, to put it bluntly, they’re both crap. Jets will frustrate some teams this season but will almost certainly lose if they ever concede. Mariners aren’t going to be good at anything other than goalkeeping and keeping the ball in midfield. Factoring in the natural early season rust that has been present in all of the other recent A-League encounters, I’d be absolutely amazed if this game did not go under 2.5 goals today. The visitors are without a couple of defenders but their hosts are without two of their new attackers too, so I am not concerned about the tip.
