Are the Australian football commentators embarrassing enough to call this one the Carl Robinson derby? I think they might be, you know! Time will tell, of course, but it’s a new low for the A-League if that happens.
Still, I do think that the Welsh manager will be at the centre of deciding which way this game goes. He was only in charge of Newcastle Jets last season for eleven games or so but it quickly became apparent that he had the ear of his players. They played so well toward the end of the campaign, Newcastle Jets, that they almost made the play-offs – and given how bad they were earlier in the campaign, that was bordering on a miracle. It also encouraged players to want to stay at the club pre-season, and they also looked set to bring some good names in too.
However, pre-season Western Sydney Wanderers decided to upset the apple cart entirely, appointing Robinson as their new manager. This has caused a mass desertion from the Newcastle Jets squad in general, although some have followed Robinson to Western Sydney Wanderers (e.g. Ibini-Isei). Now Newcastle Jets fans have gone from having outside hopes of winning the A-League to wondering if they’ll even finish above their rivals, Central Coast Mariners, who have not only finished bottom for numerous years in a row, but actually beat them in their season opener. Things are not looking good for today’s hosts.
Against Central Coast Mariners, they did create some chances, Newcastle Jets, not that it did them any good because of their lack of quality in attack. The only good part of this team is the defence, and with Boogaard back to partner Topor-Stanley today, they’ll at least be able to defend better. That said, young Koutroumbis is out, and defensive midfielder Kantarovski is out too, so I doubt they’re in for an easy ride. You can usually bank on Newcastle Jets defending in a semi-decent way though. They work hard, they give a shit – all the ingredients are there to make them hard to score against, basically.
Their attack, though? I doubt I’ve ever seen it this ineffectual. They’re never going to struggle with committing enough men forward, Newcastle Jets, and like I said above, their work-rate is good. They’ve just not got anyone that can play that killer pass though, hence the last-minute panic buy of ex-Sydney CF wildcard Ali Abbas, who will not solve their problems by himself. I still think that Ugarkovic is a good controller, and I think that Thurgate has a lot of potential, but the rest? O’Donovan stopped being a good finisher a while back, although he is still good in the air. Yuel looked knackered after twenty minutes against Central Coast Mariners; they’ve somehow found somebody that lasts for less time than Ibini-Isei! Najjarine is quite tidy in midfield but there’s too much niceness and theory, and not enough flair and practicality. This team does not have a goal-scorer, any natural flair players, and they’ve got a new manager to get used to. Oh, and they were kicked out of the A-League earlier this week too (because of unpaid salaries), only rescued by another owner last minute. Things are not good at this club, basically.
Western Sydney Wanderers were not amazing against Macarthur FC but they did alright. I saw some encouraging early signs under Robinson’s stewardship, and I thought they created some good chances along the way. I do still have concerns about who will play at centre-back and who will be the designated target man if they need an alternative to Cox, but aside from that, this team is good to go. Importantly, new creator Troisi looked settled and effective on his debut, and the team will only improve when they get used to being where he plays his passes.
It was nice to see Ibini-Isei get a good run out last time around too. As per usual, he only made it to just before the seventy minute mark, but he looked dangerous. I think that Western Sydney Wanderers have potentially got the fastest counterattack in all of Australia now that they’ve got Yeboah, Ibini-Isei, and Kamau, assuming the latter won’t be bizarrely deployed at right-back as he was under Babbel’s command. I rated the German rather highly, for what it’s worth, but to hear he’s now abandoned management in order to be a DJ was one of the stranger things I have come across. Those fellas supporting a clever striker like Cox will only produce goals in due course.
Indeed, all Western Sydney Wanderers really need is time together in order to be more effective. I don’t think that they can win the title without addressing at least one of the two problems areas I mentioned earlier in this preview, but I think that a top three finish is a realistic enough goal. They’ve got more than enough of what it takes whereas their hosts will be lucky to score more goals than games they play in. I don’t expect a walk in the park today; it’s far too early in the season for such. I expect a bit of a slog, to be honest, which is common in meetings between these two teams. JHowever, I perceive the visitors to be a lot better than their hosts, which is not reflected in the odds. Therefore, I’m happy to take my chances on the away win with draw no bet cover at good odds.
