NEWCASTLE Jets fans might have noticed a sense of deja vu had they cast their eyes over a rival publication's A-League season preview last week.
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In a poll of 10 well-credentialled media pundits, nobody felt inclined to include Newcastle in their predicted play-off teams.
Not a single vote, in other words, out of 60.
At various times over the years, few would have been game to argue with such a bleak outlook.
For seven long seasons, the Jets were finals spectators, collecting two wooden spoons along the way. More often than not, they were a basket case during that era.
But since the arrival of the A-League's most experienced coach, Ernie Merrick, at the end of the 2016-17 season, most would agree the Jets have restored credibility.
In Merrick's first season, Newcastle hosted a grand final, which they lost 1-0 to Melbourne Victory after a now-infamous video-refereeing howler.
Last season they suffered a reality check, eventually finishing seventh, five points adrift of the top six.
Ruefully Merrick and his men looked back on a couple of wasted chances, a couple of goals unnecessarily conceded, and a couple of debatable refereeing decisions and were left convinced that they weren't too far off the pace.
This season they intend to prove it, starting with Saturday's F3 derby against the Mariners at Central Coast Stadium.
Many will have their doubts, if the aforementioned media experts are any indication.
Newcastle have off-loaded their foreign strike force from last season - Roy O'Donovan, Ronny Vargas and Jair.
In addition, one of their main acquisitions, former Ireland international and Norwich City playmaker Wes Hoolahan, suffered a pre-season ankle injury that required surgery and will force him to miss roughly half the season.
Likewise, back-up striker Kaine Sheppard is sidelined after surgery, while young speedster Joey Champness, rather than trying to nail down a spot in Newcastle's starting side, has instead taken indefinite leave of absence to pursue a musical career in America.
All of which could combine to leave the Novocastrian faithful concerned about their team's capacity to score goals, except for the glimmer of hope named Abdiel Arroyo. An incumbent Panamanian international striker, Arroyo is an unknown quantity in the A-League. But so was Besart Berisha when he first arrived at Brisbane Roar, and Bruno Fornaroli at Melbourne City.
Jets fans will need no reminding that South Americans have rarely justified their air fares after signing with Newcastle.
Yet Arroyo, if he can live up to expectations, can perhaps be an X-factor and the type of recruitment coup capable of transforming a team.
His teammates speak in reverential tones about the 25-year-old's performances on the training pitch.
They reckon he will be as fast as any player in the A-League, and possesses the size and strength to outmuscle defenders. Newcastle supporters can only hope that finishing ability comes as part of the package, in which case their club might have a genuine weapon up front.
Arroyo's combinations with Socceroo Dimi Petratos early in the season, and with Hoolahan, once he is cleared to make his A-League debut, shape as crucial to the Jets' prospects.
While there is a question mark alongside Newcastle's firepower up front, there should be no such concern at the other end of the pitch.
The spine of the team - goalkeeper Glen Moss (237 A-League games), central defenders Nikolai-Topor Stanley (292) and skipper Nigel Boogaard (241) and holding midfielder Ben Kantarovski (180) - boast almost 1000 appearances between them.
Thrown in Jason Hoffman (200 games), Petratos (177), new signing Nick Fitzgerald (169), and midfielders Matt Ridenton (93) and Steve Ugarkovic (92), and Newcastle have a core group of players who are proven A-League performers.
Then add Hoolahan, who spent a decade in the Premier League and Championship, and that's a vastly experienced line-up, supplemented by promising youngsters Johnny Koutroumbis and Angus Thurgate.
All in all, on paper it appears a good blend, and when Merrick told me recently he felt it was the strongest squad he had assembled in his time at Newcastle, I have no doubt that was his honest opinion.
Of course, as Merrick acknowledged this week, it is a constant battle for the Jets to compete against clubs with far bigger budgets, who are apparently capable of spending more on a handful of players than Newcastle do on their entire roster.
As Merrick said, the Jets "punch above their weight", and there is perhaps even more emphasis on that since club owner, Chinese businessman Martin Lee, started to encounter financial difficulties.
So the Jets, as has often been the case, will kick off their 2019-20 campaign as cash-strapped underdogs, given little hope against the glamour teams from the big smoke.
And that should suit the true believers just fine. Most of them wouldn't want it any other way.