Full name | Newcastle United Jets Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | The Jets | ||
Founded | 2000 | ||
Ground | Ausgrid Stadium, Newcastle (Capacity: 33,000) |
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Owner | Nathan Tinkler | ||
Chairman | Ken Edwards | ||
Manager | Gary van Egmond | ||
League | A-League | ||
2010–11 | 7th (league) DNQ (finals) |
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Current season |
Newcastle United Jets Football Club is a professional football (soccer) club based in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. The club competes in the A-League and plays its home games at Ausgrid Stadium (EAS). The Jets have won one A-League championship, defeating arch rivals the Central Coast Mariners 1–0 in the 2007–08 Grand Final.[1] In 2009, Newcastle played in the AFC Champions League for the first time, reaching the Round of 16.
The club was formed in 2000 when it joined the National Soccer League (NSL) as Newcastle United,[2] and is one of only three former NSL clubs to appear in the A-League.
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Newcastle United Strip 2000–04
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Newcastle United was formed in 2000 by Cypriot-Australian businessman Con Constantine from the remnants of the Newcastle Breakers club.[3] The Breakers were dissolved when Soccer Australia revoked its NSL license at the conclusion of the 1999/2000 season. At the formation of Newcastle United the home ground was moved back to where Newcastle KB United played, now known as Ausgrid Stadium.
The Newcastle United club were reasonably successful, competing in two of the last three Final Series and finishing 2nd in the League behind Perth Glory in the 2001–02 season.[4] The clubs colours were Blue and Red, somewhat traditional colours of the region also worn by the Newcastle Knights Rugby League team.
Newcastle United was renamed as Newcastle United Jets when it joined the A-League in its inaugural 2005–06 season. The club was renamed to project a new image and to prevent confusion with the Premier League club Newcastle United F.C.. The name "Jets" is a reference to RAAF Base Williamtown, located just 20 kilometres north of Newcastle. The club's logo depicts three F/A-18 Hornets, which the Royal Australian Air Force has based at Williamtown. During the A-league the Jets continued their successful form from the NSL by making all but one finals series, and wining one Championship (2007–08).
The club found themselves in desperate financial times shortly after the start of the 2010-11 A-league Season, Resulting in the sale of the club to mining magnate Nathan Tinkler after the license was stripped from former owner Con Constantine. As a result of Tinklers ownership (until at least 2020), a football advisory board was set up in place of Con's Autocratic system of ownership.
On 4 October 2011 the club terminated the contract of coach Branko Čulina, as well commencing the process of applying to the FFA to have the 3-year 'Marquee' contract of (Branko's son) Jason "set aside".[5] Although no one reason sited for the decision it is believed that an argument took place between Branko, CEO Robbie Middleby and owner Nathan Tinkler regarding the nepotist nature of Jason's signing as well as "medical advice".
Middleby stated, "The decision to terminate the contracts was made after a long deliberation by the Newcastle Jets’ Advisory Board." While Tinkler stated "Jason’s injury could mean the Jets are without their marquee player for up to three seasons – not a good result for the club, supporters, sponsors and players."
On 23 December it was confirmed that Jason is still a Contracted player to Jets, as Culina is suing the FFA for insurance payments
Newcastle United's jersey for the 2009–10 season will retain the gold colour jersey, with navy socks and shorts and red trimming. The alternate jersey will, however, revert to something a little more historic, in light of the club's 10th year celebrations in 2010. The clash jersey will feature blue and red, with white and blue shorts and socks, in line with the old Newcastle United strips. The Tinkler Sports Group revealed in early 2011 that the Newcastle Jets colours will revert back to the Blue and Red worn by Newcastle United and Breakers. This is also to combined colours with the Newcastle Knights who will become a cousin club in 2011.
Ausgrid Stadium is the home ground of the Newcastle United Jets and the Newcastle Knights. It has a capacity of 33,000.
The record crowd for a football match in Newcastle was set at Ausgrid Stadium on 2 February 2007 in the second leg of the A-League 2006-07 minor semi final against Sydney FC, in front of 24,338 people.[6] This broke the record set earlier that season on New Years Day, where a crowd of 20,980 turned up to see a 2–0 loss against the same opposition.[7] Prior to that game the football attendance record for a match in Newcastle stood for 52 years, set when Australia played Rapid Vienna.
In the next few years, the stadium will be turned into a modern, state-of-the-art 33,000-seat ground.[8] This upgrade is as a result of plans to hold the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and 2018 FIFA World Cup in Australia. Newcastle may be one of the venues for these event, and minimum standards set by FIFA mean EAS is inadequate for this role. The next upgrade will involve demolishing the western grandstand and replacing it with one similar to the east, as well as placing seated areas on the hill at either end of the ground. This upgrade will cost around $60 million, of which $50 million is being provided by the State Government.[9] This upgrade means the Jets attendance figures can grow immensely, and will also qualify the Jets to host any Grand Finals they reach in the future.
The main supporter base of the Newcastle Jets is known as the Squadron Novocastria, which was formed in anticipation of the first ever A-League game between Newcastle and Adelaide United. The Squadron begun standing behind the goals on the Southern Hill, however because of the layout of the stadium, they moved to Bay 2 of the Eastern Grandstand at Ausgrid Stadium, in a successful attempt to increase group co-ordination and noise level. Standard songs/chants include, "We go by land and sea", "The Newy Boys go one by one" and "When The Jets Go Flying In". The Squadron have also started a new tradition of singing the chorus to the INXS song "Never Tear Us Apart" before the start of the game and second half. As the club's performances improved throughout the 2006–07 season the Squadron grew rapidly and continued to grow throughout the 2007–08 season.
Due to its geographical proximity, Newcastle shares a strong rivalry with both NSW A-League clubs.
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Australia |
Brazil Colombia Denmark Ecuador Italy Korea Republic |
Netherlands New Zealand Uruguay |
Brackets indicate statistics including A-League finals.
Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Teams | Minor Ladder Position |
Finals Position |
ACL Qualification | ACL Placing |
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2005–06 | 21 (23) | 9 (9) | 4 (5) | 8 (9) | 27 (28) | 29 (31) | 8 | 4th | Minor Semi-Final | DNQ | n/a |
2006–07 | 21 (24) | 8 (9) | 6 (6) | 7 (9) | 32 (36) | 30 (33) | 8 | 3rd | Preliminary Final | DNQ | DNQ |
2007–08 | 21 (25) | 9 (12) | 7 (7) | 5 (6) | 25 (31) | 21 (26) | 8 | 2nd | Champions | Qualified for 2009 | DNQ |
2008–09 | 21 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 39 | 8 | 8th | DNQ | DNQ | Round of 16 |
2009–10 | 27 (29) | 10 (10) | 4 (5) | 13 (14) | 33 (34) | 45 (48) | 10 | 6th | Minor Semi-Final | DNQ | DNQ |
2010–11 | 30 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 29 | 33 | 11 | 7th | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ |
2011–12 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 10 | TBD | TBD | TBD | |
Totals | 141 (122) | 49 (44) | 35 (29) | 57 (49) | 167 (149) | 235 (212) | Champions* | 1** | Round of 16* |
* Shows the best finish achieved ** Shows number of qualifications
Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Teams | Placing |
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2005–06 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 7th |
2006–07 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 4th |
2007–08 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 5th |
2008–09 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5th |
Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Placing |
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2009 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | Round of 16 |
The Jets competed in the last four seasons of the National Soccer League under the name Newcastle United
Brackets indicate statistics including NSL finals.
Season | P | W | D | L | F | A | Teams | Minor Ladder Position |
Finals Position |
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2000–01 | 28 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 37 | 56 | 15 | 14th | DNQ |
2001–02 | 24 (27) | 10 (11) | 12 (12) | 2 (4) | 33 (36) | 21 (26) | 13 | 2nd | Preliminary Final |
2002–03 | 24 (33) | 10 (12) | 7 (8) | 7 (13) | 37 (46) | 25 (42) | 13 | 4th | 6th † |
2003–04 | 24 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 33 | 13 | 11th | DNQ |
† For season 2002–03 a round robin contest between the top six was undertaken to see who would be Grand Finalists. Newcastle were placed sixth and last in this competition, although a washed out game against Northern Spirit was never played as it did not affect the outcome of the top two.
(All records as of round 19 2009–10)
Name | Goals | Games | Average | Years | |
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1 | Joel Griffiths | 28 | 59 | 0.47 | 2006–09 |
2 | Matt Thompson | 15 | 111 | 0.14 | 2005–10 |
3 | Labinot Haliti | 14 | 69 | 0.30 | 2005–07, 2009– |
4 | Mark Bridge | 12 | 47 | 0.26 | 2005–08 |
5 | Vaughan Coveny | 8 | 36 | 0.22 | 2005–07 |
6 | Jobe Wheelhouse | 8 | 96 | 0.08 | 2005 - |
7 | Ante Miličić | 7 | 20 | 0.35 | 2005–06 |
8 | Milton Rodriguez | 7 | 21 | 0.33 | 2006–07 |
9 | Michael Bridges | 7 | 22 | 0.32 | 2008–10 |
Preceded by Melbourne Victory |
A-League Champions 2007/08 |
Succeeded by Melbourne Victory |
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