TIME TO PRAY: Alessandro Del Piero during Sydney FC's loss to the Wanderers. Picture: Gregg Porteous Source: The Daily Telegraph
THEY have gone from superstar clubs to midseason basket cases, and this weekend it will likely get worse for either Sydney FC or Newcastle.
In round two, they played a thrilling match in front of 35,000 fans with marquee signings Alessandro Del Piero and Emile Heskey shining as a buzz of anticipation swept through the league.
Yet just 10 weeks later Sydney are in strife at the bottom of the ladder, while the Jets' future is unclear as owner Nathan Tinkler faces action from the tax office and his once vast fortune is in question.
The two teams face off at Hunter Stadium this Saturday and defeat for either would mount extra pressure on already stifling environments.
Adding further spice to the contest is the revelation Jets coach Gary van Egmond rejected an approach from Sydney FC to take up their head coaching role after the resignation of Ian Crook last month.
Jets CEO Robbie Middleby made a point of expressing his disappointment with FC at the time, saying it was "disrespectful to approach a contracted coach to leave any club at this point in a season".
Even the marquees are struggling, with Del Piero and Heskey now scoreless in more than a month.
Del Piero has displayed his frustrations on the field and has been hampered by injury, making a short cameo in Saturday's loss to the Wanderers and picking up a yellow card.
The two sides have the worst defences and worst points differentials in the competition, with the Jets conceding 12 goals in their past five games.
After their 3-0 defeat to Perth last Friday, van Egmond denied the Tinkler drama had unsettled his players. "It has no bearing whatsoever," he said.
"We had a conversation very, very briefly and it was just about how we can't control anything outside of the football."
FC coach Frank Farina has own concerns, chiefly how to negotiate the crucial Christmas-New Year period when his side travels to Newcastle before playing the top two teams - Central Coast and Adelaide.
"It's a busy period and if you can pick up points it could stand you in good stead towards the end of the season," Farina said.
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