Blueview

Well.. In a way he is I guess

Agree 100% I actually think in this instance, relegation is probably the best thing we could have hoped for. A year to gain togetherness, focus and get used to Rafa and for him to put his stamp on the team. Enormously excited about the season ahead. I think he had already started to bring in a sense of togetherness in the last half dozen games of last season and that would have continued if we'd stayed up. We'd also have had the funds to completely reshape the squad if we'd stayed up, our budget will be very limited now and the money we'll lose will unfortunately still be holding us back a little bit when we come back up. The only positive in relegation IMO is if its forced Ashley's hand in agreeing to Benitez demands on full control. Surely that might in the long run be more important than an odd relegation.. ?

http://i.imgur.com/I1QlwV0.gif http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/the_spot/2014/06/23/herrera-4.gif.CROP.original-original.gif

I would think that would be taken care of by Benitez's lawyers. Otherwise he could walk away tomorrow. This is the thing that worries me most with this complex, watertight contract. There'll be myriad ways they can f*** this up and cause him to walk. Ok, but why?.. Why would they want him to walk if he takes NUFC up?

If they get a contract past the lawyers within two weeks I´m rather impressed.. In my experience they always contact you "next week" even if its a trivial change.

Surely what you and many others on here see in Rafa Benitez is not only a manager but a new direction for the club?.. When it takes a relegation just to show a modicum of ambition, however good the news it doesn't signal a change or new direction until that momentum is evident. I know that's unexciting but whilst Rafa is definitely the right man and has always sought perfection as we've known all along, I'm not trusting the club to have done the same. Well, they sought out Rafa in the first place.. Not a typical NUFC thing was it?

Surely what you and many others on here see in Rafa Benitez is not only a manager but a new direction for the club?..

Why does a club with a billionaire owner need a 50m or so overdraft??. Thats like me having 3000 in the bank and needing an overdraft to buy a packet of fags Mark Zuckerberg is worth $50bn... He took a $5m loan when he bought his new home It´s something people just do I guess.

Sounds rather positive.. The club are hoping to hold a press conference with Benitez in the middle of the week after a final round of talks between him and managing director Charnley. Benitez has had interest from clubs in Turkey and China, but still wants to give Newcastle a chance to deliver on what he has asked for before talking to any rival suitors.

Tbh I expected most of the summer, so I will take that Benitez himself said a MAXIMUM of two weeks as I recall it..?

30-40 at the top end..

Have you tried to update your drivers?

You have billionaires buying championship clubs when Prem clubs might have been available.. Sometimes it´s not really all about money but about having a club of your own to run. For a non-billionaire (like most of us) to be in a position to actually be told that you´ll be the captain of the ship must be tempting. Ashley is in my view a guy that would happily stay in the background raking in the commercial/financial benefits of having a successful club while someone else (Like Rafa) do the complicated bits.. like buying a defender or two. The budget talks might get interesting of course.. Managers want money to spend and owners want profits but then again Ashley is used to play with high stakes. I can see him making a bid for success with Rafa, might be naive of me of course but the financial windfall of success is something that might tempt anyone.

Given the "A maximum of two weeks" statement from Rafa.. Yes I imagine so

Unless he was serving coffee during the meeting I think you can disregard that.. It´s all up to two people now, Rafa and Ashley

Good news, well hopefully. Makes me really f***ing nervous tbh Reminds me of the night Keegan met with Ashley in London to try and resolve things. Ah, but this is Ashley coming to Benitez..

It´s all official now.. from GMP Update on suspicious device found at Old Trafford Published on 15/5/2016 22:22:10 A suspicious item found at Old Trafford football stadium, which required a controlled explosion to be carried out, has now been identified as a training device. Shortly before today’s planned football fixture (Sunday 15 May), which was due to kick off at 3pm, staff from the Manchester United ground alerted police to a suspicious item that had been found in the toilets within the North West Quadrant, between the Sir Alex Ferguson stand and the Stretford End. Police quickly attended and explosive experts were called in to assess the item, which has been described as an incredibly realistic-looking explosive device. Initially, a partial evacuation of the stadium was put in place but a decision was made between police and Manchester United club officials to abandon the game and a full controlled evacuation of the stadium was carried out. Assistant Chief Constable John O’Hare from Greater Manchester Police said: “I am grateful to the Manchester United and Bournemouth supporters for their support and assistance today. “Following today’s controlled explosion, we have since found out that the item was a training device which had accidentally been left by a private company following a training exercise involving explosive search dogs.

He got the worst poker face ever.. Just look at his eyes during interviews today. He definitely wants to stay I say, but of course as he mentioned.. He wants reassurances about things. Got a feeling that there will be a positive statement within a week or so. Ashley looking eager to tie it up etc.

on paper it makes a lot of sense, top level manager, lives in the area so much easier on him than commuting to newcastle, plenty of talented players to work with and possible investment from the new owner. Now the Everton fans aren't exactly fond of him but then again it can't be worse than how the chelsea fans acted while he was there On paper it also means that he´ll encounter a lot of Liverpool fans on a daily basis.. Not sure it would be accepted by them

Nothing odd with an owner seeing the manager after the last game of the season really.. Most do

Charnley wasn't MD when Shearer was here. I know the bloke is incompetent but I hope he's got enough about him to get this one right. He's an ex tea boy that's had a massive promotion in the last few years yet still being paid poorly for his job role, he's just thankful that he's still employed. He might very well understand that his survival at the club might best be served riding on Benitez tail here.. Ashley want promotion for a 100 million reasons I bet

Yes he lives in the north-west but somehow I can´t see him manage a direct rival to Liverpool.. As for "better" jobs I don´t really see any other decent clubs but Southampton looking for a manager. And the south coast is even worse for him to commute to anyway.

I´m sure you all have plenty of opinions on Mike Ashley, but given his ways I´m sure he knows that NUFC might one day be worth a fortune to him, but not in the championship so he´ll fork out whatever it costs to get promoted IMHO.

The £13m limit for the 2015/16 season is in line with the losses permitted under the new regulations which will permit a maximum loss of £39m over a rolling 3 season timeframe (compared to an equivalent figure of £105m in the Premier League). A club that moves between the Premier League and Championship will be assessed in accordance with the permitted loss in the relevant divisions played in during the three-year period in question. For example, a club that had played two seasons in the Championship and one in the Premier League would have a maximum permitted loss of £61m, consisting of one season at £35m and two at £13m. So it's no issue then. With the 80m we get despite relegation plus sales of players off currently out on loan plus any extra sales, we'll still probably break even The parachute is £38.7m next season, not £80m..

The £13m limit for the 2015/16 season is in line with the losses permitted under the new regulations which will permit a maximum loss of £39m over a rolling 3 season timeframe (compared to an equivalent figure of £105m in the Premier League). A club that moves between the Premier League and Championship will be assessed in accordance with the permitted loss in the relevant divisions played in during the three-year period in question. For example, a club that had played two seasons in the Championship and one in the Premier League would have a maximum permitted loss of £61m, consisting of one season at £35m and two at £13m.