news, local-news, Jets, a-league, Joel Griffiths, football

“CULTURE”. Every time I hear the word I scratch my head. It is the new buzz term. Everyone talks about it. Phil Stubbins and Nathan Tinkler always referred to culture – trying to embed the right culture, how players must possess the right culture. Let’s get one thing straight: You can’t coach culture, nor can it be manufactured. It comes from embracing the community, understanding their values and what is important to them. A team’s culture should be an extension of the community they represent. When I arrived at Newcastle United in 2001, there were players who would do anything for the shirt. Mark Wilson, Andy Roberts, Todd McManus, Robbie Middleby, Brad Swancott . . . being around those players you had to buy in. I had come from Sydney, the Big Smoke, and thought my s--- didn’t stink. But within minutes of entering that dressing room, I was put in my place. If I carried on like a pork chop, they jumped on it straight away. It didn’t happen overnight. People think you can flick a switch and have club culture. Eventually I understood what it meant to play for the club. The Newcastle boys would tell me about KB United and the Breakers, sitting on the hill and marvelling at the likes of Kenny Boden. How their dads took them to games, and what it meant to follow in the footsteps of the players they had idolised. You didn’t have to be a local, but you had to understand them, respect them and realise you were representing them. It took me a while to figure it out. That is why I cherish the place. It is why I moved here and my kids are growing up here. I look at the Jets teams of recent years. The players understand it is a beautiful place, but there is more to it than that. They need to get into the nitty-gritty of the city. Go to the pub, the local store, the coffee shop, talk to people, scratch the surface. Unfortunately, the Jets have been a revolving door. No sooner has a player learnt the difference between Maryville and Merewether and they are gone. The club can’t – or won’t – keep players long enough for them to form an attachment. There are encouraging signs in the current crop. Nigel Boogaard, Jason Hoffman, Ben Kantarovski, Ben Kennedy and Nick Cowburn are local boys. Boogs is a natural leader. His old man played for KB United. He gets it. But he can’t do it on his own. He needs support, people who command respect. Look at someone like Andrew Durante and what he has done at Wellington, before that the Jets. When we won the championship in 2008, we had Dura, Jade North, Ante Covic, my brother Adam and myself. We had the respect of the other players. When you have four or five players in that group, it makes for a very strong force. That is culture, not someone speaking from a script.

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