Jets departure lounge still crowded

Inspiring A-League Coach Gary Van Egmond leaves the Newcastle Jets for the sheltered workshop down in Canberra.

Maybe after three years in Newcastle working with Con everyone should be given such a job!

I'm not happy, not because I don't think teaching our Under 17's aren't important, but because Van Egmond was one of the few coaches in the A-League who could produce great football teams, good young players...and one season they won as well.

And doesn't the A-league need them.

The Jets, Melbourne Victory, Adelaide, Brisbane Roar, even Perth and Sydney have produced good football playing teams over the years, but the loss of one of Australia's youngest and best coaches, and it feels like a loss, will be harshly felt.

Particularly if Con Constantie, the Jets Chairman, takes his ball and goes home which he is threatening to do if he doesn't get some compensation from the FFA.

Will the shambolic Jets where players vent their spleen, the Chairman rants and the fans turn on Con, will they recover from this blow?

Con Constantine clearly has his own chaotic way of running a club; The Jets must be the A-League team who have lost the most Socceroos in history. A tad careless!

Adam and Joel Griffith, Nicky Carle, James Holland, Stuart Musialik, Ned Zelic, Mark Milligan, Jade North the list goes on and on.

And Van Egmond is perhaps the only Coach who could work with Con sucessfully, for even a short-term.

So who next. Branko Culina. John Kosmina, or Graham Arnold. Phil Moss?

It will be someone local in my view, someone desperate for a gig. Culina appears out.
Kossie could last a week or two, surely that would be a clash of the titans. Arnie I imagine will pick his club carefully.

It's important for the Jets club that stability is found but really any Coach walking into that powderkeg could see his reputation destroyed, by the players, the management, in a matter of weeks.

Con may have poured money into the team, and he has, but it seems the money hasn't been spent with any long-term view.

Perhaps another Sydney FC. Spending to win, but no long term legacy and now Sydney and in the future Newcastle will have to revisit their whole club strategy.

Do the Jets even have a strategy?

Newcastle United Jets, a little laughter from the Owner as the kept a blast from the past in the badge of the club. Who is laughing now?

United should be taken out, surely a breach of the Trade Descriptions Aact.

They've earned an A-League title, destroyed the team, had a tilt at Asia, managed to rebuild a team in a couple of weeks in 2009 and now they've lost the man who skilfully did it.

What a waste of four years!