The last ten years is the only evidence we have to go on so I could not agree its irrelevant. It allows us to judge what a manager can expect under Ashley, and how that translates to the division. Our squad has been this poor for 10 years. We've only been relegated twice - its therefore quite clearly more likely we won't be relegated as we will operate the same exact plan. The cold hard reality is anyone outside the top 7 or 8 starts the season knowing full well relegation is a possibility. There are usually 2-4 teams that are that bit worse - thankfully this season we didn't fall into that category. Indeed, say it quietly as our fans struggle to admit this, we have very rarely fallen into that category. Even when relegated you could argue we had enough to stay up, it was the off field shenanigans first time round and handing the reins over to someone as inept as McClaren second time round. The latter could happen again of course but they'd do well to find someone as bad as McClaren. Even Kinnear was better than him. With Benitez what we get is the ability to take a squad which is probably about 14th best in the league, to be challenging for up to 9th or 10th. I don't want to go all Captain Chaos "I told you so" but I had this very same discussion on here last year and funnily enough our fans (with their ever insatiable appetite for drama), were saying the similar things then "if we don't spend 100m not even Rafa can keep us up" "Rafa will leave before the end of the season" blah blah blah. Rafa is here, we haven't underperformed or been relegated and Rafa has played a part in that. We had a **** squad under Pardew too though and he is an infinitely worse manager. The only difference was he spent a larger portion of his very similar budgets on a strong 1st XI, hence when we got a few injuries, our form fell off the cliff. We could get spanked such was the quality drop. Rafa prefers to spread thinner, target certain games and look for a more gradual approach and we never take a spanking. Long term Rafa's strategy is probably better for longevity in the division for obvious reasons. Perhaps we're not as bad as everyone thinks and Rafa's demi god status is somewhat overstated. I do want to keep him as manager mind, I just don't like this whole bigger than the club type love in.
Indeed. He just had some other issues... I'll forever have some respect for a bloke who utters the following: Joe Kinnear: Which one is Simon Bird? Simon Bird: Me. JK: You’re a c*nt. SB: Thank you. Straight to the point Joe
I think Rafa is a lovely bloke, but I absolutely fail to understand the narrative that has been created about him. He has spent about 150 million on his relegated from the Premier league squad, yet there is little evidence that he has 'an eye for a good signing'. It has been really, really hard work watching for the past three years. Many seem to have forgotten a lot of the dross that was served up during the promotion season. For those of you of the win ugly, or don't lose by many, persuasion, then he is indeed a superstar. For me, most of the problem with his better players is the way he sets them up to play. I agree with others here, many of the current managerial generation would have achieved at very least as much, most with a more attractive brand of football. One of the other teams I follow is Bournemouth, largely because they play such entertaining football. If only Newcastle could be like that again. Be careful, usual suspects, who do the spend comparison with Bournemouth bollocks, the facts might be a little unpalatable to you. For me, I hope he gets a job offer. I like him, I also like dinosaurs.
Brilliant piece. Journos in general are not what they used to be. Joe just felt they needed to know that. He was just trying to help them improve.
I think the next two years will tell us our owners intentions if still here. It’s difficult to judge finances when there is a relegation involved. We’ve had two stable years now so at normal PL clubs that would mean you start to be able to spend a bit more. Obviously we all expect nothing to change and just bobbing barely above the water.
Llorente isn't brave enough to attack the ball in a crowd, just waits for it to sit up for him. Get stuck in lad, your not going to get loads of chances tonight. Spurs have shown very little in the final third so far.
Could be could be not. Depends who comes in, how we spend, if we develop more Longstaffs etc etc. A manager is very important but too many moving parts in a football club to make them bigger than the club. The most successful clubs in the world operate on a philosophy rather than relying on managers to be crucial. That way even if not winning they still compete. Managers should be interchangeable. It’s why Rafa is such a good fit here. The owner is unpredictable. He doesn’t want to invest in philosophy because he is not in it for the football. He might get a quality manager (he did appoint Rafa). He might not. So we are better off with the status quo but him not being here does not guarantee doom and gloom. Our dependence on him is a sad reality of modern clubs. Many operate without a proper structured plan because of the managerial merry go round. It suits our owner because he doesn’t like investing so having the target of a Ajax, Barcelona, type situation where the club has identity is unrealistic. Even under Keegan and Robson you felt they tapped into a way of playing the fans related to. Basically wingers and powerful strikers. They never really stamped a system and structure in though to serve us in the future. Hell Keegan scrapped the reserves to protect the pitch and put a block in the conduit from the youth system as a result.
For the price we paid for them tons of his signings for us tbh. Diame, Hayden, Ritchie, Duravka, Lejeune, Schar and even (for their cost) Yedlin, Gayle, etc. Hell even Manquillo and Atsu are palatable for the cost and the role they've played for us. Duds? Joselu, Gamez, Lazaar, Murphy (for cost) and Muto (for cost)... Far more hit than miss for us.
This sums it up for me. There are very few managers (can someone name me any?!?) that don't make the occasional poor signing. Or as happens more often, signings that don't work out. All of the above either were positive signings (in terms of money spent, their importance to the team, and value now) - these include Lejeune, Schar, and Dubravka. Gamez and Lazaar were poor buys. Murphy and Muto haven't set the world alight but in the grand schemes of things (i.e how much players cost now), I'd say the jury is out for now. Rafa isn't immune to criticism - no manager should be. However, I can't see how any individual can't say that he hasn't improved our team. He makes players better and he keeps us solidly safe. The last 3 months have also shown that we can play attacking an positive football, if we have the correct players - Almiron especially but also Perez, and Schar. If we lose Rafa, I'd be surprised if we get someone better. Us football fans love to complain, and there is always something that isn't perfect (especially supporting Newcastle) but our manager is such an important cog to the Newcastle engine, and you can see the players adore him.
How much do you think each of these would be worth in the market now? Obviously Rondon isn't ours but I don't think it would be unreasonable to expect at least £15 million each for Dubravka, Lejeune and Schar in an open market.
Wouldn’t like to say/guess but I would guess that they are all significantly worth more now than how much we paid.
Quotes from Benitez today: Meanwhile, Benitez, who is out of contract at Newcastle this summer, has said he has held further talks about his future with the St James' Park outfit. "I was talking with (managing director) Lee Charnley this week and we will let you know as soon as we have more news," said the Spaniard. "At the moment, it's just we have had another talk and we'll continue talking." Asked further if the talks had been positive, the 59-year-old replied: "Yes."
