Three wooden spoons, eight coaches and David Beckham: how the Newcastle Jets reversed 10 years of misery
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The tension was palpable, as the hour mark ticked over in the biggest F3 Derby of all time. The 2008 A-League grand final.
The match was tight, very tight.
Then, for the first time a crack appeared. Former Socceroo Tony Vidmar swivelled as he received possession just inside his own half, but his first touch was too heavy and the ball skewed infield.
Jets striker Mark Bridge saw the moment to pounce, latching onto the ball like a viper after its prey. And he was away.
But there was still work to do as he weaved towards goal, approached the penalty area and then opened up on his right foot to crack a curling strike which sailed into the back of the net.
It's vision Jets fans remember so vividly, a grand final goal, a 0-1 victory over their bitter rivals. They could do no wrong.
This was the beginning of a dynasty wasn't it, right?
Wrong.
Trouble on the horizon
Ten years of torment was only just beginning and, like KB United and the Newcastle Breakers before them, the Newcastle Jets were about to face their toughest test.
The warning signs were evident that owner Con Constantine's money was tight as key players weren't re-signed, including grand final hero Mark Bridge.
The Jets finished the next season in ignominy, receiving their first wooden spoon.
The next to go was championship winning coach Gary Van Egmond and, while new man Branko Culina quickly revived their A-League fortunes, disaster was on the horizon.
Just weeks into the 2010/11 season it was revealed the Jets were in financial difficulties. Without a buyer, the club would be lucky to survive.
Soon enough, Constantine was stripped of his A-League licence, and like a knight in shining armour Nathan Tinkler came to the rescue.
Cash injection brings two superstars
Mr Tinkler's money brought global superstar David Beckham to town, for a match which packed out Hunter Stadium.
Months later Socceroo Jason Culina was signed as the Jets marquee, in a huge coup for the club.
What many fans couldn't see was that this was the eye of a complex storm, years in the making.
Culina was sacked days before the 2011 season, as was his son Jason, and the Jets coaching merry-go-round began.
Hurriedly, former manager Van Egmond returned three matches into the season and he looked to put his stamp on the side.
Even the former championship winner couldn't turn the tide as the Jets missed the finals again, and again, before he fell on his sword as Newcastle appeared destined for another finals failure.
Four years before, it seemed Mr Tinkler's reign would be a new dawn for Newcastle. Incredibly it wasn't, and the clouds weren't about to disperse yet.
Jets' darkest day
Phil Stubbins was signed and his side never got going. The darkest day arrived in Adelaide when the Jets were thumped 7-0 by the Reds.
Days later five players were sacked for an apparent "revolt", one of whom was current Jets football operations manager Joel Griffiths.
"Looking back, I thought it was quite refreshing [when Stubbins arrived]. I liked what Phil Stubbins was saying," Griffiths says.
"When we lost 7-0 in Adelaide I got a phone call from Nathan [Tinkler]. He asked me what the problem in the team was, what was happening.
"I said, the change room has gone. He didn't criticise me, he didn't say anything. He thanked me for my honesty and the next day he sacked me."
Griffiths says it was Mr Tinkler's lack of football knowledge which crippled the club.
"Once an administrator doesn't know too much about football and the politics that goes with it, then you are going to be in trouble and that's obviously what happened."
End of Tinkler's reign
A second wooden spoon was compounded weeks later when Mr Tinkler was revealed to be in financial trouble. In late May 2015, the FFA came to the club's rescue as the former billionaire was stripped of his A-League licence.
Under coach Scott Miller the side improved, but ultimately missed the finals. It wasn't until Chinese businessman Martin Lee purchased the club in 2016 that a silver lining appeared.
Former A-League coach Lawrie McKinna was appointed chief executive, and he set about re-connecting the club to its fanbase.
"We needed to become part of the community again. I just picked up straight away, the club was above the community," McKinna said.
"We had great offices in Honeysuckle, but straight away my first impression was, how can fans, and members get access to an office when you have no parking, and you're in the sixth storey of a building."
But just as it looked like Newcastle was back on track, incredibly, just a month out from season kick-off, Miller was sacked.
Mark Jones became the club's seventh coach in five years leading the Jets towards seemingly a drought-breaking finals appearance, until the wheels really fell off.
The side lost seven of their last eight matches, and slumped to a third wooden spoon.
Soon enough, Jones too was sacked.
Merrick and the Jets rise from the ashes
The grand final success nine years earlier was distant memory, and just as it seemed the Jets were at their lowest ebb, Ernie Merrick enters.
The experienced Scotsman who had previously coached Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix took on the job.
"I knew the history of Newcastle in sport. Mad on rugby league, but also a great region for soccer," Merrick said.
"I saw it as an untapped city, that hadn't had much joy in the last few years."
That lack of joy wouldn't last long as Newcastle rocketed off the runway, and where in the past they would have slipped up, the Jets kept winning, and winning and winning.
In round 21 the club secured finals qualification, a week later they defeated the previously untouchable Sydney FC for the first time since 2012, and in round 23 they sealed their spot in the top two.
They finished the season with a final round F3 derby, smashing the Central Coast Mariners 8-2 — only the second time an A-League side has scored eight goals in a match — and consigning their old rivals to the wooden spoon.
Last hurdle
Friday night's home semi-final against Melbourne City is last hurdle ahead of another shot at the A-League championship.
Unlike 10 years ago, the team's foundations are solid to continue their success beyond this finals campaign.
"The academy is up and going very well, the W-League is going very well. It's not just a first team and a youth team," Mr McKinna says.
"We are actually 14 teams at the club, we are now a football club and we need to keep that continuity going."
The hope for the Jets though will be to ensure this success is sustainable, not just a flash in the pan.
Because 10 years of turmoil for one championship may be too great a price to pay.
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