The A-League’s most capped player Matt Thompson says he hasn’t seen anything quite like what his former club the Newcastle Jets are currently experiencing.
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The new Maitland Magpies recruit, who played 221 A-League matches across three clubs, was left in disbelief as the Jets reached arguably the lowest point of their existence this week.
The day after Hunter Stadium hosted the Socceroos’ Asian Cup semi-final victory the almost winless Jets controversially sacked five high profile players, including Johnnie Warren Medal winner Joel Griffiths and skipper Kew Jaliens, and three support coaches, including last season’s interim manager Clayton Zane.
This followed a record 7-0 drubbing on Saturday night and a chief executive walking out during an internal review conducted in the Asian Cup break earlier in the month.
It also comes on top of the looming weekend deadline given to Jets owner Nathan Tinkler by FFA in regards to debts reportedly owed by the club and uncertainly surrounding the future of the A-League license.
“I haven’t seen anything quite like it in the A-League,” Thompson told the Mercury yesterday.
“All clubs go through rough patches from time to time, but this is a sad situation and it’s a shame it has got to this point.”
The 32-year-old, who will relocate to the Hunter from Sydney with his family next month in preparation for the 2015 Northern NSW National Premier League season, said he had a “soft spot” for Newcastle after playing 121 matches from the Jets over six years.
This period coincided with the Jets’ one and only premiership in 2007-2008 and Thompson recalls the tightness of the playing group being a key to that success.
“We all played for each other,” Thompson said.
“Whether it was the 16th man, the 22nd man or the man standing next to you, everybody played for each other and we had that here in Newcastle.”
Thompson said that closeness didn’t seem to be replicated in the current group and it was “hurtful” to see the club in such trouble.
“We can only see what happens in those 90 minutes out on the field - and the results are showing it,” Thompson said.
“From there we can only speculate because we don’t know what is going on behind the scenes.”
The Jets have won just the one match in their 2014-2015 campaign, which has not helped the cause.
“You don’t see the teams running first or second in the same situation,” he said.
“So it’s hard enough when you’re not winning games but it seems like everyone is pointing the finger and there’s not a lot of accountability.”
Thompson said it may be a matter of getting all parties together in the one room at the same time for a frank discussion.
“The quick fix might be to get everyone together and get everything out on the table,” he said.
“It might not make everyone happy but it needs to be honest and at least it would be out in the open.”
However, the future remains complicated and unclear.
“If I had a magic wand we would flesh it out, move on and then forget about it,” Thompson said.
“But I’m not sure if that is going to happen anytime soon.”
Thompson said the seriousness of the situation was highlighted by former teammate and “proud Newcastle boy” Griffiths taking a stand.