This is a similar scenario to the fate that befell North Queensland and Adelaide. If that was to occur, the team and staff would probably stay the same for season 2010-11, but may be restructured for the following year.

Note the FFA installed two foreign coaches at Adelaide and North Queensland this season, so no doubt there would be much discussion about direction and policy.

And as Dillon succinctly put it, "The final, unthinkable, alternative would be to allow the 2007-08 champions to fold."

Having lived through all of the ill-fated Newcastle franchises and been directly affected by a number, I shake my head and think, 'Here we go again'.

Whether you agree with Constantine's approach, business practices or infrequent diplomacy, you'd surely have to agree that football would suffer hugely in the town if its A-League flagship disappeared down a well-worn track.

There will always be a competition for our kids to play in, have their fun on the weekends and go merrily along.

There's a niche for players of every age and ability, so they'll all be looked after, and hell, even old farts like me can relive the glory days in various over-35 or 45 competitions.

All of which helps the development of elite players the grand total of zero, and if there are no Jets to aim for, they'll be doing shuttles up and down the freeway to Sydney like so many of us previously. Well, at least those with ambition will be.

It's the difference between a pastime and a professional pathway. How many great players have emerged from Canberra or Wollongong since they disappeared from the national competition radar?

And let's be brutally honest, what about our own backyard in a period where national league representation has been an on-again off-again conveyance?

If Troy Halpin at 37 years of age is still the benchmark in the Northern NSW State League, then what has happened between his peak years and, say, the emergence of Ben Kantarovski?

Now Kantarovski has a way to go before he becomes as influential a player as Halpin in his prime, but he has time on his side, and the almost two-decade difference in their ages provides me with an interesting timeline.

Between the emergence of Halpin, who was a star player in the NSL, and the present day, how many and what type of player have we produced?

With apologies to those I leave out, I'd say Shane Pryce and Scott Thomas, two solid pros from close to Halpin's era.

More recently, Ben Kennedy, Jobe Wheelhouse, Stu Musialik, Nigel Boogaard and Josh Mitchell have all forged solid CVs.

If you want to, you can poach James Holland, but he's originally from the Central Coast.

That's a goalkeeper, three defenders and four working or holding midfield players, over a 15- to 20-year period.

Do you think that's good enough? Make up your own mind. Do you think those figures would improve if there was no A-League team in Newcastle? I think that's a no-brainer.

Thankfully FFA has agreed to provide some assistance for the Jets to keep operating in the short term. But in the light of all the issues raised, surely we could take stock.

What would happen to football in this area if Constantine picked up his bag and walked?

Do we or the FFA have a contingency plan?

Do we as a community really give a rats?

Has anything really changed in the 30 years since KB United kicked off the Newcastle national competition journey?

As a friend of mine constantly reminds me, "Thirty years ago, Alan Vest walked into town and said, we'd have to import players because, bar a couple, the local players aren't up to the standard required."

That may or may not have been right, but the point is, three decades down the track, and in the Jets starting line-up on Sunday we had Ben Kennedy and Ben Kantarovksi as the only local products.

Jobe Wheelhouse was injured of course.

Any memories conjured up there? Hello to Johnny Sneddon, Neal Endacott, Ossie Bellamy and Slav Catalovski. Now before you say "Lowey, teams import players from everywhere, look at the EPL", I acknowledge that, but surely we could improve on our quota after three decades? Surely we can do things better, surely we care enough to want to do things better?

Can we work together, can we work smarter?

All over the world, the big clubs drive youth development. Surely it should run along those lines here, with co-operation from the various state bodies?

It can't be easy to cater for the masses and specialise with the elite all at once, can it?

For the time being the Jets have survived to fight on. They're a decent side and can do well this year.

Hopefully though, we can look at how we do things, find a way to co-operate in the game's interest and not be making the same mistakes when the Newcastle rockets are relaunched in 2025.