Phil Stubbins bounces back from Newcastle Jets crash
PHIL Stubbins’ soccer career is on the bounce after West Adelaide Hellas and Prince Alfred College sought the services of the fall guy for the Newcastle Jets’ snipers.
PHIL Stubbins’ soccer career is on the bounce after West Adelaide Hellas and Prince Alfred College sought the services of the fall guy for the Newcastle Jets’ snipers.
When Nathan Tinkler handed back his A-League licence to Football Federation Australia in April, Stubbins’ reputation took a battering.
The Walkerville-based former Adelaide United coach is still owed about 15 months’ pay on his contract after FFA moved the boss out of the chair.
Stubbins was made an outcast when he decided to release a plethora of Jets players last year before some players turned on the boss publicly.
Now Stubbins’ work on rejuvenating Newcastle’s defence and spending much of his own money when he chased a star striker in Europe has been vindicated.
Not one of the players Stubbins released has earned a new A-League contract and his scouting in France at the end of last season has ironically landed Sydney FC striker Milos Ninkovic.
Ninkovic would have been a Jet if Stubbins were still around.
“I spent three or four days with Ninkovic and he is a very, very good striker,’’ Stubbins said. “I literally changed the team (before I was moved on) there’s a new back four and I have never been afraid to speak my mind.
“We would have never made tracks forward if I never spoke my mind when I was working with Viddie (Aurelio Vidmar) at Adelaide United.”
Stubbins says he is now refreshed and ready to rise to the new challenges in soccer.
He has spent the past five months in Adelaide and after a forced hiatus was this week appointed West Adelaide’s new technical director just weeks after PAC named him as the school’s new head of football.
“I wanted to get back involved — I’m a better coach now,’’ he said.
“I had a bad year results-wise with Newcastle but I tried to set them up for this season and so far they have been more than competitive.
“West Adelaide has a vision on where they want to go and if I can help with their journey then bring it on.”