please log in to view this image Ever known a better window? Me neither. We should be rediculously grateful that we have a manager like Rafa. Was talking to a LFC fan over here In Belfast tonight and he said that Rafa is now feeling again the love from the terraces he once felt from the LFC fans. He called it Rafa's 'second perfect marriage' and I for one... Want it to be a long one. We've inproved the attitude and quality of our squad and made a ****ing profit... Tremendous effort.
It has been a tremendous transfer window. Or, at least it will have been if it results in our promotion at the end of the season. Spend a second season in the Championship and it will have been a disaster. There are a few question marks over some of the recruits: Lazaar, Gamez, Sels, Hanley, Clarke, Atsu, Yedlin. By that I mean a few of them have to prove themselves, but judging by the performances so far of the other signings like Gayle, Ritchie and Hayden I think it's fair to place our trust in Rafa and say that most of them should come good. Most importantly, we have a squad of players who want to be here and want to work. There hasn't been enough of that over the last few years. Overall, though, the club have been pretty shrewd in getting almost all of the deadwood off the books, getting a lot of the high earners out of the door, getting loans for our up and coming players, and getting a good mix of capable and hungry new recruits in. And in doing so turning a huge transfer surplus and ensuring the club can cope with the lost revenue following relegation and build should we go up this season.
Football wise I'll reserve my opinion until we know whether we are likely to be promoted, however if we do having made profit it's absolutely brilliant. The proof will be in the pudding
Delighted with the business - we've reorganised well for the championship. Can't hide the players we've got rid of delights me with exception of Gini and Townsend. Cisse, Riviere, Sissoko, Marveaux, Obertan, Colo, Saylor, Janmaat, De Jong, Thauvin all gone. That's a lot of players gone who were unwilling or unable. Now we can focus and it's about results. Time will tell but I reckon he has gone the right way about it
Yep! Gotta see how the new guys get along but on the face of it an absolutely brilliant window. It seems like Rafa has made a big difference.
Who puts the evidence in the food?!?!? It's not a 1960's episode of Batman and you're definitely not The Riddler.
More like All Hail King Chaos. Have we not finally fulfilled the prophecy "We will sell all our best players and get relegated" although not necessarily in that order.
There was a time when seeing the list of players we've just sold / released would have filled me with dread and despair. We've cleared out what would have been an entire first team. BUT this transfer window has been exactly what we need given where we are now. I don't know enough about some of our new players but Rafa certainly seems to have gone for players who seem hungry to do well for the team, rather than the over paid, overrated primadonas we seem to have accumulated in previous seasons. And to cash in on Sissoko with around £27m profit is superb business. It places huge pressure on Rafa now though as he can't say it isn't HIS team. And some of his signings were unheard of here before. But I think he'll get the best out of them. Whether these guys could cope in the Prem IF we get promoted is another conversation entirely. But I do have faith that Rafa has built the foundation of a team that could at least give us a real chance to get back up. And right now that is key. I'm looking forward to the rest of this season. HTL I hope all you guys are well.
Indeed. The Captain's prophecies have proven to be accurate. Hence why I have not been on much lately. It's not easy building a survival shelter that can withstand an alien invasion but I'm almost there if anyone wants help with construction tips.
Rafa Benitez today "We are not a stepping stone, we are Newcastle Utd. Every player should be honoured to wear the shirt of this club" Says it all - lovely to have a manager who actually seems to understand what the club means
Just going to stoke up the hype a little bit more for him, saw this by Vicente on Rafa's website: "From the minute Rafa accepted the difficult challenge of trying to save Newcastle from relegation, knowing him as I do it didn’t surprise me at all that he stayed with them in the Championship. I saw how the fans loved him, how they were asking him to stay. These are things that Rafa places a lot of value in. I understand that Rafa, who is a person with high values, felt in debt to all these people and accepted the task of taking them back to the Premier. Apart from being a top class coach, he is a man of commitment. I’ve got the best possible memories of Rafa, no doubt. With Rafa we achieved goals with Valencia which have never been repeated.“We won titles in Spain and Europe, we were highly competitive. It is very hard to battle for the league with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid and we won two titles in three years, we did the double by winning the UEFA Cup. They were the best years in the recent history of Valencia. He’s a top level coach. In many ways he has always been ahead of his time. When he arrived at Valencia and applied his methods, along with his coaching staff who were also top class, the results were incredible. He transmitted a winning mentality. He took care of all aspects of the game, the training sessions, the preparation of a footballer. He has an enormous capacity for work. And he has had success at Valencia, Liverpool, Chelsea, Inter, Napoli – there’s a reason for that. As a coach he could always get the best out of you, which is key for a player and for a team. He would demand the absolute maximum – but on the other side he was the sort who would help you during troubled times and just get the best he could from you. I like that. Having demands placed upon you is what helps you grow". The Argus. August 2016 http://www.rafabenitez.com/web/in/players/vicente/52/164/
