ERNIE Merrick conceded hindsight was a "wonderful thing" after the Jets were unable to repeat the fairytale ride to the grand final from the previous season.
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"We should have been in the finals," Merrick lamented as the Jets limped to seventh place in 2018-19, five points adrift of the top-six.
"Would I change anything? Hindsight is a wonderful thing. We just needed a bit more luck and composure in front of goal. We lead the statistics for most shots on goals this season.
"I look at the players available and the number of weeks some of them were out ... Roy O'Donovan, Jason Hoffman, Joey Champness ... it all adds up as well."
A season that started with much promise ended with a whimper.
Flagged to be a serious championship contender after falling just short in the 2017-18 grand final, the Jets never recovered after a poor start that yielded three wins in the opening 14 games.
Injuries and Roy O'Donovan's nine-week suspension, a carry-over from his karate kick red card in the dying minutes of the 1-0 loss to Melbourne Victory in the 2018 decider, conspired to drive a stake into the club's hopes.
Mathematically, they managed to stay in finals contention up until the last three weeks, but realistically they were a spent force going into the final third of the competition.
It was tough for Merrick to take after the revolution the year before - his first in charge at the club.
The Jets won high praise for the exciting way they played on the way to netting 57 goals and 50 points - both club records.
"It is very disappointing not to be in the finals again because we had the team, no matter whether we had trouble fielding a side because of suspensions and injuries," Merrick said
But unlike 12 months earlier, the Jets failed to nail the big moments in games.
They gave up late goals to lose to Adelaide and Melbourne Victory and drop points against Adelaide, Brisbane and Victory.
"As disappointing as it was to miss the six, we weren't that far off," captain Nigel Boogaard said. "There were a few key games, where had we gotten across the line or not dropped points, it could have been a different scenario come the finals. Maybe we didn't have the same arrogance or confidence as we did the year we made the grand final. If you flip two or three of those results out of 27 rounds and all of a sudden you are in the six."
Until February, Merrick remained steadfast in his belief that the Jets would come good.
Even when his team were languishing 11 points beneath sixth position, had scored fewer goals than any team in the league and appeared to have Buckley's hope of reaching the play-offs, he continued to promise a minor miracle.
In a bold prediction just before Christmas, Merrick declared Newcastle would "definitely make the top six and play in the finals".
"I'm convinced that with the resilience of this team, with the fact we've really got just about everyone on board and the quality of players that we've got, even in these difficult times, I think we'll come good the second half of the season."
The Jets finished an underwhelming campaign on a high, with a 2-0 win over title contenders Sydney FC. On the same date the season before, the Jets, inspired by a scorpion-kick goal from Riley McGree, beat Melbourne City 2-1 to seal a home grand final.
The triumph over Sky Blues, the third in the final four games, moved the Jets to 35 points.
"It's frustrating knowing we can play like that," Boogaard said of the win over second-placed Sydney.
"But it's about being able to do that consistently. That is what we haven't been able to do over the course of the year.
"If you are just not up to it in terms of quality and standard, you probably just swallow it and say 'we are not good enough this year'. The fact we have shown we are capable of beating the better sides, it does hurt a little more."
Put simply, the Jets didn't score enough goals, especially in the early rounds.
Only McGree and Pato Rodriguez had departed from the grand final team, while Andrew Nabbout was released earlier in the campaign to Urawa Red Diamonds on a big-money deal.
Matthew Ridenton, Jair and Kaine Sheppard were among the fresh faces, but the Jets managed just 32 goals in 25 games before finishing with a burst of eight goals in two.
Asked about the impact of losing players, Merrick said: "Sometimes you sign a new player to replace someone and sometimes they are better than the previous one, and sometimes they are not as good.
"Usually there's an issue regarding him fitting into the team, or injury, or missing in pre-season - there's just so many factors involved," He said
"But the bottom line is, I think we were well funded by our owner Martin Lee. Lawrie [McKinna] and Joel [Griffiths] did really well in helping recruit the type of players that we had, but for one reason or another, it hasn't worked for us, but bottom line, it's something I've got to fix."
At the other end of the park, Nikolai Topor-Stanley was a standout and was deservedly named player of the year.
In a stellar campaign, Topor-Stanley led the league in all key defensive areas - interceptions (135), break-ups (134), duels won (156), and aerial contest wins (111). He again formed a solid partnership alongside fellow veteran Boogaard and deputised for the skipper in three games.
It took Newcastle a decade to get back into Asia, and just 180 minutes to exit again.
After a tense 3-1 win n extra-time over a plucky Persija Jakarta at home in the first Asian Champions League qualifier, the Jets had no answer to defending champions Kashima Antlers, going down 4-1 in Japan.
Merrick's frustration - and the club's - with the VAR boiled over after two controversial calls against the Jets in a 2-0 loss to Perth.
Merrick suggested in the post match press conference that the VAR "was having a cup of tea" and that he "didn't have a chance to look at it, he probably fell asleep."
He was fined $3000 but appealed and had the fine replaced with a suspended one-match ban.
O'Donovan, despite missing eight games, netted 11 goals, was let go after contract talks broke down.
The Jets withdrew their offer of a new contract O'Donovan signed a two-year deal with Brisbane.
Two week later Lawrie McKinna confirmed that the Jets would not be signing a marquee player for 2019-20 and would be undertaking other cost-cutting measures.
McKinna insisted that owner Martin Lee, although open to selling a percentage of the club, remained committed long-term, but was not prepared to lose millions of dollars each season.
"We need to respect that Martin has put in $15 million and saved the club," McKinna said.
"If we can break even, he is very comfortable to keep the club.
"It is like any business. If we can manage the budget, we are in a good space with being able to look after ourselves. Then we don't need to go cap in hand."
