Jets training cancelled as rain dampens rumoured revolt

Newcastle Jets players were understood to be willing to train on Wednesday morning, having earlier vowed to take strike action, but they weren't given the chance with the club calling the session off due to inclement weather.

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Newcastle Jets striker Joel Griffiths sits despondent on the turf that has since been deemed to water-logged to train on. (Getty)

A source close to the playing group confirmed on Tuesday its intention to turn up to the session, but refuse to train, as its deteriorating relationship with coach Phil Stubbins reached crisis point after the 7-0 demolition at the hands of Adelaide United last weekend.



The move from the club to hose down the situation by cancelling the session, ironically due to rain, came amid a declaration from Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) that the players are ready to put their differences with Stubbins aside and prepare normally for their next A-League game – the Round 16 clash against Brisbane Roar.

The playing group – at odds with the Stubbins's methods and team selections - received a text message late on Tuesday night saying the session had been cancelled due to "rain", leaving them to instead meet with PFA chief Adam Vivian to discuss the on-going crisis at the embattled club.

Bureau of meteorology data indicates light to moderate rainfall around the Hunter region
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Vivian, who was in Newcastle for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup semi-final between Australia and United Arab Emirates, insisted the playing group is not in open revolt against Stubbins and is fully committed to playing for the jersey and turning its horror season around.

"The players are fully prepared to fulfil their contractual obligations and they will not be taking industrial action," said Vivian after lengthy talks with senior players.

"They are going to go out and try and fix things for the fans."

Vivian said players had been shocked to read , accusing the players, among other things, of trying to "dictate the future of the coach and the club" and attempting "to undermine" Stubbins.

"I am surprised by the comments made by Nathan regarding the players, however ultimately we have liaised with the players and they are not in revolt and are committed to trying to turning things around," Vivian said.

Vivian confirmed that players are owed several months of unpaid superannuation by the club, with Tinkler to clear those and several other debts by 31 January, with the implicit threat of taking back the licence should the demands not be met.

"The expectations of the PFA ae that the club will fulfil their obligations to the players and that's been a key objective of ours for a while now," Vivian said.

"Unfortunately, it's a club where they have been some very public issues with and we would like to see all of that resolved."

Vivian said of the cancelled training session: "The players had every intention of training normally but then received a text saying it was off due to 'rain'."

He conceded there was a certain level of "frustration" felt by the players towards Stubbins, who has presided over a dire start to the season, culminating in the record thumping by Adelaide.

"That frustration is the culmination of all sorts of things – not least the results. Whenever a team is losing, especially the unfortunate way they lost at weekend, there is always going to be dissatisfaction," he said.

"There is the opportunity, though, for the players to now resolve and diffuse things and concentrate on the football side of things, rather than indulging in in-frighting – and they are committed to doing that.

"If they can get success on the pitch a lot of this external stuff will go away very quickly."

Vivian insisted that despite reports suggesting players would have ignored Stubbins had training gone ahead, they were prepared to follow his instructions and engage with him.

PFA, he added, had no problem with Tinkler, so long as he "fulfils his obligations under the terms of the CBA and makes the payments due to the players in a timely fashion".


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4 min read
Published 28 January 2015 10:43am
Updated 28 January 2015 12:09pm
By David Lewis

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