Don't think he will come to us but the fact that Paul Lambert isn't going to Celtic and has decided to leave Blackburn would suggest he'll probably go to a Championship club.
By 'cup run' I assume you mean reaching the 4th round? It'd just be our luck that Rafa would decide he wants to stay and rebuild us and Ashley goes and pulls the plug to save a few quid and employs a two-bit, has been yes man.
Steve Bruce would crawl naked over broken Newcastle Brown Ale bottles from Hull to Newcastle to get the job. He would then stand on one leg, fart 473 verses of "The Blaydon Races" whilst reciting from the book "How to get money out of Mike Ashley whilst crawling up his arse at the same time". At his first press conference he would then tell the Newcastle fans how lucky he is to have got this job, how lucky he is to have an owner like Mike Ashley, how lucky he is to Manage a Club with such devoted fans and (under his breath) how lucky Mike Ashley, the Players and the Fans are to have him He will then bring his son Alex over, make him Captain and proceed to take Newcastle United back to it's rightful position in the promised land of Premier League Football. (He's done it with other Clubs and he'll do it again - you heard it here first).
To be fair I agree with some of this. He did all the building of clubs earlier in his career. That is not the problem though. Its quite simple he is one of Europes best regarded managers, he has been at the top clubs in most major countries. Why would he manage a championship club at 56? Just because the fans give him love? I don't think football works like that, even for a passionate man like Rafa. He will end up at a PL club. Strangely I think Swansea will go for a more tippy tappy type manager. They have a pretty strong ethos regarding it. Everton is my bet. As I said on another thread, if I was Sunderland I'd dump Allardyce and go all out, they'd be guaranteed to be no where near relegation (which couldn't be assured under Allardyce and they would have to watch garbage). Everton and Swansea are not far from his family though
Even if by some miracle he decides to stay, I could see us fans having a nightmare summer and not having a clue what was going on. The club would probably decide that no announcement was necessary if he was staying in his job - seeing as you don't normally announce that you are staying in the job you currently have. Can you imagine what that would be like??
Still better than him leaving!! Rafa is savvy, mate, he'd demand the club announce it. Christ can you imagine the attendances if he stays on?!?!
I'm trying really hard not to imagine it so that I don't get too disappointed when he leaves. It's impossible not to dream though.
There will be lots of rumours until an announcement is made. The Everton job makes the most sense in lots of ways, except for the fact that a lot of Everton fans don't want him apparently.
If Rafa goes how about the 'Boro manager? Alternatively since you have so many French players, Thierry Henry or Didier Deschamps (he would certainly kick backsides). Is Bielsa employed by anyone? Someone like Bruce or Pearson may get you promotion but once back in the PL would take you no further than the lower reaches. If I was Ashley I would fly out to Madrid and offer Simeone a king's ransom. You guys have enormous potential to be one of the major clubs in the PL and eventually Europe. What has happened is absurd in the extreme and I am sure only temporary. It is what happens when back in the PL that is important. If you settle for mediocrity (Bruce, Pearson) that is what you will get. If you get a higher calibre manager, you will attain that status.
If we had the remotest chance of getting Bielsa, Simeone or Deschamps, keeping Benitez would be simple and what we'd take anyway!!!! Interestingly, latest Forbes club valuations are out - recently relegated, still the 20th most valuable club in the World. Insane.
