More pace? More creativity? How Papas is trying to fill his Penha hole

Countdown to 22-23: Arthur Papas set the wheels in motion last season to bring success back to the Jets. Now, his new-look Newcastle pack a different kind of threat, writes Sacha Pisani.

Arthur Papas set the bar high from day one last year.

“I want people to talk about the football and say, ‘there was that team that Newcastle had and we loved going to watch them play, it was exciting and they always had a go'”, was the benchmark the incoming Newcastle Jets coach established.

ISUZU UTE A-LEAGUE 2022-23: NEWCASTLE JETS GUIDE

In his first season with Newcastle Jets it was a bold statement: attempting to transform the football on show in the Hunter region, with an unrelenting belief in his philosophy and an emphasis on a high-octane style of play.

Ange Postecoglou’s former assistant was talking the talk, and even though they missed out on the Isuzu UTE A-League finals in 2021-22 having finished ninth, stylistically his team walked the walk. In a season disrupted by COVID-19, Papas’ Jets were undeniably entertaining, spearheaded by Brazilian star Daniel Penha and Georgian goalscorer Beka Mikeltadze.

“There’s no better team in the competition… maybe bar Melbourne City to watch,” Network 10 commentator Ben Homer said during April’s 6-1 rout of Perth Glory.

Only premiers Melbourne City (55) and fifth-placed Central Coast Mariners (49) scored more than the Jets (45) in 2021-22. But the Newcastle-based club still missed out on the finals by 10 points and the issue wasn’t hard to spot when only three teams conceded more goals.

In an industry that ultimately is governed by results, Papas has spent months grappling with one of football’s great philosophical questions: how you stay true to a certain set of beliefs, deal with the complexities of managing a squad, and still make progress towards those results.

Speaking to KEEPUP ahead of an F3 Derby season opener against rivals the Mariners on October 8, Papas said: “Some people would’ve appreciated the way we did it and others, it’s not something they resonate with and that’s perfectly fine.

The main thing is to be true to yourself and the way you coach your teams and build a way of playing. We were exciting at times but we were frustrating at times as well. (This year) it’s trying to maintain a lot of those elements, build on them and improve in areas we weren’t good.

“I think a stable playing fixture list will contribute to creating stability as well. Having to overcome that seven-week period where we didn’t play any games to playing then go play four games in 11 days. Never had a week to ourselves where we could prepare properly for a game. It was a challenge we navigated at times and didn’t at other times.

“We still want to play with a certain amount of flair, creativity and also we want to make sure we’re harder to beat and break down. Just keep improving our playing style – that’s the major aim here.”

The methodology behind recruitment

Papas set the wheels in motion last season for what he planned as a calculated process to restore the glory days to McDonald Jones Stadium, where the 2008 A-League Men champions have gone four consecutive seasons without a finals appearance.

The Jets bought into Papas’ philosophy, but still fell short. Now it’s is a new-look Jets line-up, seeking to evolve.

This season there will be no Penha – Newcastle were unable to retain their prized attacker in the face of cashed-up interest from Asia. The likes of Jordan O’Doherty, Mario Arques, Olivier Boumal, Dylan Murnane, Valentino Yuel and Savvas Siatravvanis have also moved on.

Source: Newcastle Jets

But Newcastle, on paper, have recruited wisely and strongly.

There is former Perth Glory captain and Sydney FC championship-winner Brandon O’Neill, Beka Dartsmelia, attackers Reno Piscopo and Jaushua Sotirio, ex-Arsenal and West Ham full-back Carl Jenkinson, Trent Buhagiar, Daniel Stynes, Callum Timmins and James McGarry.

This version of the Jets pose a different threat, Papas believes.

“A couple of different reasons behind various players coming in,” said Papas, who signed a contract extension in the off-season.

One, I just wanted to see if we could be a quicker team. In terms of pace in the front third, ability to get behind teams. We targeted that idea, to press more effectively.

“Where are we going to get our creativity from? Obviously we weren’t able to hold onto Daniel and he was a very good player for this club and the league last season. There is a gap in creativity that we’ve tried to fill. If you look at guys like Reno, Stynesy (Daniel Stynes), Dartsmelia who has come in. Really creative players as well. Different attributes there.

“Also, to become a stronger group collectively on the field in terms of leadership and coaching on the field. Looking at the type of experienced players we could bring in that area. Guys like Jenko, Brandon O’Neill. They’ve led their teams and played at high levels, national team level.

“A few different areas we felt we needed to address and in the end, there’s always the players we have here too. It’s not just about new players, it’s about becoming a collective and believing in something together and bringing success to the club.”

The process behind the signings

This year Papas has on the surface taken a more conservative approach with his visa signings. Last season there was Penha, Boumal, Savvas and Mikeltadze. This term it’s former Georgia youth international Dartsmelia to link up with Mikeltadze, while ex-England international Jenkinson spent the second half of last season on loan at Melbourne City. Similarly, Kiwi James McGarry arrives from Wellington.

There is extensive research undertaken by Papas when he signs internationals, using data analytics and a programme that creates profiles for the players the Jets coach is looking for.

“It always becomes a lot easier when you’re really clear on the kind of attributes you need to play the type of football you want to play,” the 42-year-old said.

“There’s certain players we bring in, they have different characteristics to the boys we had last season. I thought that was a terrific group to work with as well. Some of the football they played and the way they worked – a real hard-working group which was very united. The hope is we have that in a better place.

“A lot of the guys playing at this level are very talented, so we need to make sure we’ve brought in the right people. You spend a lot of time on that.

Especially when you’re dealing with foreign players. It’s not as easy to get that kind of intel, to find out about them as people as well. Their mentality to train, what their lifestyle life off the field and what they’re like in the change room.

“If you get those things right, then it’s up to you in terms of the way you train, the process to build them up to play the type of football they need to in this team.”

The second Beka

Dartsmelia was part of that recruitment process. On the back of Beka Mikeltadze’s success in the A-League Men – he finished second to City’s Jamie Maclaren in the Golden Boot race – Newcastle Jets lured fellow Georgian Dartsmelia to the Hunter Valley from Lokomotivi Tbilisi in his homeland, where he scored two goals in 21 league appearances in 2022.

Source: Newcastle Jets

The 22-year-old midfielder started his career at Mikeltadze’s former club Dinamo Tbilisi in Georgia. He’s a different player to Penha, but Dartsmelia brings “high level” quality to Newcastle, Papas believes.

“(He’s) different to Daniel in the sense that Daniel had that real wow factor to him, that was for sure,” Papas said. “Everyone saw that. A lot of coaching went into ensuring he could play within a certain structure as well.

Whereas as Dartsmelia, he is technically of such a high level. In terms of just the basics of passing and receiving the ball, he’s a really creative player who sees things two or three steps ahead.

“He’ll take a little bit of time probably to adapt because he is only been here for two weeks but that’s the challenge he has at the moment.

Source: Newcastle Jets.

“But in saying that, we aren’t reliant on one player. I know Daniel was very important for us last season, he was excellent, but one of our best performances last season was against Macarthur at the end of the season and he was absent.

“It showed as long as the team is playing with a certain idea, the players need to fit into that and bring it to life as much as possible.”

The unified vision in Newcastle

Papas is changing the Jets, on and off the pitch, as well as from top to bottom. The longh-term plan is Newcastle’s youth progressing all the way through to the ALM side.

This, after an historic month of the Jets at youth level. Not only did their Under-20 side win the Grand Final but the Youth Team – led by Riccardo Marchioli – were also crowned champs.

It’s all part of Papas and his unified approach, linking the Jets at all levels, with the goal of producing home-grown talent from the Hunter region.

“It’s fundamental because in the end I’m probably in the position with the least amount of stability so it’s not just about aiding my position but aiding the club and this community,” he said.

“It’s been eye-opening upon arrival for various reasons but we’re just not producing enough players through this region. The ideas how to develop them and promote players, it’s something very important to me. More should be coming from this region.

“Trying to play a part in setting up structures, that hopefully long after I’m gone possibly, so there are more players are coming from Newcastle and not having to come from interstate. That’s critical but to do that, you have to be able to identify them at a young age, put good programs in place, get quality coaching into them, and provide pathways as well. It can’t happen by chance, it has to happen by design.

“I think it’s a region that’s so engrossed in football yet hasn’t had a Socceroo come through Newcastle… the last Matilda was Emily van Egmond but the last Socceroo I don’t even remember when it was, it was so long ago. There is a reason for that.

“Unfortunately, to be honest, when you come into a job and everyone will look at you saying you’re not promoting kids straight away but it’s a lot deeper than that, a lot deeper. It goes back over a period of a decade to understand why it happened.

You need to start putting some steps in place and really make sure it’s about developing players for the first team. The by-product is it’s great to see the NPL team won the recent competition but the biggest success would be if five of those players played for the men’s A-League team.”