last_monetarist

This will be my final post here, I lost interest in the club when Keegan left for the second time around. I had no interest to follow the club during the Pardew years and didn't even bother watching any matches, it was utter dispassionate apathy. I got lured back in when Rafa was appointed in March 2016, and he allowed me to dream again. He is certainly the best Newcastle manager in my lifetime from a tactical perspective, and my respect for him is on par with Keegan and Sir Bobby. I am utterly devastated and heart-broken that he has officially left, despite being mentally prepared for it since the end of the season. I will have nothing but contempt for the supporters who continue to attend matches as long as Ashley is in charge. All that remains is to say: 'Thank you Rafa, you will always be a true gent for acting with such dignity and compassion over the the past 3 years and it was an utter privilege to see you lead Newcastle United'

I'm done with football when Rafa leaves. It's been a slow painful demise, but part of me is glad that it's ending finally.

The forum will be infested with more and more shills once Rafa leaves. If I were a mod I'd ban these Ashley stooges.

What are they saying ? Any updates from the likes of Caulkin ?

Klopp. Don't think he'd move...yet He doesn't speak Spanish, he's been categorical in stating that he won't manage in a country where he doesn't speak the language. In any event, he's never going to manage clubs with structures such as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Juventus. Those cultures are an antithesis to his personality.

You can only argue that Guardiola, Pochettino, and Klopp are better managers in the league. If Ashley sells up, and we are managed properly (increase commercial revenues, reinvest what we earn into the team), he's good enough to break the Top 6 cabal. He's an absolute star and that can't be stated enough.

so I'd hope that this journo is blagging like the rest of them. Which isn't at all unlikely given that he works for Bein Sport, whose editorial policy towards Rafa Benitez has been ambivalent at best and downright mendacious at worst. They have been Ashley apologists, disgracefully so occasionally, over the past few years.

If this little snippet isn't a red flag for our supporters, then I should really weep in despair instead. The manager is the most valuable part of the club, and if they are not treating his position as being integral to the takeover then they're bigger idiots than I thought. Or you know, this is all a Keith Bishop stunt. Both those scenarios make me sick, so I'd hope that this journo is blagging like the rest of them.

There's no doubt that Sheikh Khaled is part of the Emirati elite, as several people have already stated he's a distant cousin to Mansoor. You can access all the relevant press releases related to the family on their official news portal: http://wam.ae/en It's just that he's considered relatively, for lack of a better word, insignificant in terms of actual wealth and influence in the region. This is underscored by the fact that he's consigned to dogsbody roles such as the head of the 'Board of Directors of Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs', basically the kind of dead-end positions that the family would throw to a pitiful hanger-on out of benevolence. I posted yesterday to be wary, it's because the guy hasn't been very successful growing his businesses in the UAE, he owns a middling insurance firm and some property assets. However, he has a flair for publicity as evidenced by this partnership (https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/press-releases/story/GCOX_signs_MOU_with_His_Highness_Sheikh_Khaled_Bin_Zayed_Al_Nahyan_to_expand_global_celebrity_token_footprint_to_the_Middle_East-ZAWYA20180502104648/) with a celebrity Blockchain company (which counts Michael Owen among its advisors ) last year. My biggest doubt relates to him having access to sufficient funds to clinch this deal. I hope I am wrong and this goes through, as even if the guy isn't very rich, he'd definitely be more motivated and interested than Ashley to run the club properly so that it's self-sustaining.

This is the holding company over which he presides: http://www.binzayed.com/history.htm They have achieved fuck all in the grand scheme of things in the UAE.

All I wish is that the fans are more vigilant in this day and age. Ashley is a disgraceful owner, yes, but this experience should really teach us all to be prudent and do a bit more research when it comes to potential owners. I personally seriously doubt the legitimacy of this story. The timing is a bit too convenient seeing that Ashley is locked in takeover talks with two other interested parties, to speak nothing of contractual negotiations with the manager. Even if it were true, providing the provenance of funds could be tricky for this fella.

Yup, the guy is considered a bit of a laughing stock in the Emirates. The folks at Liverpool were scrambling to disassociate themselves from the story when his side leaked it to the press. I'd consider Mike Ashley a certifiable genius compared to this fella. I'd advise caution, this isn't a sovereign entity purporting to buy the club. We have harrowing case studies of White Knight owners from the Middle East trying to rebuild two proud English clubs (Forest & Pompey) over the past decade.

Yeah the prospect of Newcastle supporters abandoning ship is pretty bleak. You already have some people on here posing the question around which manager we would prefer to take over if Rafa leaves, I mean it's pretty staggering. I had given up on the club once Keegan left for the second time, and it was only Rafa's appointment that drew me back in. I'm pretty certain that when Rafa leaves, I will lose all interest again.

I was naively hoping he would stay but after these interviews it seems very unlikely. Struggling to think of a suitable club for him in England, oddly enough I think Manchester United could do a lot worse than appoint him (such as Solskjaer), but of course that's never going to happen for obvious reasons. I see him moving back to Italy. Clubs such as Milan or Roma should really be moving heaven and earth to appoint him.

I mean maybe gets away with it with sarcasm but I don't think he has it in him Minor correction although I doubt it makes much difference, but that quote was in relation to when his Swansea side went to Sunderland and lost 2-0. I don't mind Brendan or his awkward interviews. I much prefer to focus on the fact that he is a good coach on the training ground and pushes his teams to play attacking football. Much rather that than any of the old-school LMA crowd like Pardew, Pulis, Allardyce, Moyes, Hodgson et al.

Yes, I agree. I don't think Levy will appoint him if Pochettino leaves for Real in the summer. The West Ham ship has sailed (probably), they tried appointing him on multiple occcasions previously and he declined for one reason or the other. If he leaves, it will be to a club abroad.

It's a bit delusional to think he won't accept the Spurs job if Levy offered it. They have shown they are good enough to compete in the Champions League, and I am sure Levy will give him guarantees that no players will be sold. There will be more money available than at Newcastle as well. The only thing that makes me doubt Levy offering him the job is most Spurs fans, and arguably the board too, will consider themselves too good for him. But I am sure if he is appointed, he'll keep them challenging at the right end of the table. Nonetheless, it's pretty clear Rafa loves managing Newcastle, I just don't see him giving that up for the pleasure of finishing 7th with West Ham or Leicester.

I'd be staggered if Rafa quits Newcastle for a club such as Leicester. Not his style. By all accounts, the two Daves at West Ham promised him the world to become their boss last summer, but he preferred working for Ashley just to stay here. The way I see it, Rafa realizes how difficult it is to break into the Champions League and neither West Ham nor Leicester have the resources or the pedigree to finish top 4. Sure if the Chelsea, Arsenal, or Spurs jobs were available, he wouldn't think twice about it. However, right now if the best options are the also-ran clubs that aim to finish seventh, he'd be better off building something at Newcastle. Also part of him, the masochistic and delusional part, probably relishes the battle against Ashley. I think he thrives on that conflict, much like Mourinho. I think the Leicester job is a better fit for someone like Rodgers anyway, and it's certainly looking probable that they have already tapped him up. The green half of Glasgow would be devastated, I reckon.

True, Ashley hasn't spent a lot of money, but it has not been pitiable either: 2007/08 - 33.7 million 2008/09 - 31.3 million 2009/10 - 5 million (Championship season) 2010/11 - 12.4 million 2011/12 - 21.4 million 2012/13 - 28.4 million 2013/14 - 3.3 million 2014/15 - 40.1 million 2015/16 - 96.4 million 2016/17 - 56.8 million 2017/18 - 39.5 million 2018/19 - 53.8 million Unfortunately since the Neymar transfer in the summer of 2017, transfer prices have exploded so the last two windows have been relatively poor in comparison with other clubs in the league. Before the Almiron transfer, our spending this season certainly looked horrific. I don't think Ashley will significantly loosen the purse strings if Rafa doesn't renew his contract, but I am sure he will give the new man more money to spend, if only to troll the supporters. I think Dyche is someone who plays to the worst instincts of the PFM crowd, I can certainly see him leaving Burnley for Newcastle if Ashley wanted him. If not, David Moyes and Mark Hughes are certainly up for hire.

Ashley's sole objective as Newcastle owner is to get sufficient publicity for his retail arm while investing as little as possible. He struck gold when Rafa applied for the job in March 2016 because Rafa is a manager who can help this club survive in the top-flight with minimal investment, contrary to what clowns like Rio Ferdinand or Richard Keys believe. If Rafa were to walk, I am fairly confident Ashley would hire a middling manager (probably someone like Sean Dyche) and hand him significant transfer funds because he knows that anyone replacing Rafa won't be able to work miracles with the current squad. This idea of burning things to the ground has taken root in society recently, it's a visceral, base emotion and thus totally understandable when the situation seems bleak and hopeless. However, it is almost always guaranteed to make things worse. So we need to stop hoping that Rafa walks because then there will be no one left to fight for the club. Ashley is going nowhere unless there are mass boycotts, which let's face it is never going to happen. From Rafa's point of view, it is pretty apparent that he loves the idea of being Newcastle United manager and don't underestimate the fact that the man is a football romantic. He was in a much less toxic situation at Inter Milan and he chose to walk away after 6 months (he gave an ultimatum to Moratti which was the equivalent of a resignation letter), and he could have quit at any point since the January transfer window in 2017. No way is he going to give up against Ashley without a fight. Those characteristics are exactly what make him a fascinating person. It is indeed a privilege to see him manage Newcastle.

Underlines the difference between having a middling manager like Hodgson and a world class one like Rafa. Imagine the impact on our season if we had a similar budget to Palace or West Ham, I reckon we'd be pushing for Europa League places at least.

Keeping Newcastle up this year will be a bigger achievement than winning the Champions League final after being 3-0 down at half-time against AC Milan. Shocking state of affairs and the start of the fixture list hasn't helped either. I'm still reeling from Kennedy's penalty miss against Cardiff.

Fair to say that I am worried. This team seems nailed on for relegation, even with Benítez at the helm. It will be Rafa's greatest achievement in his career if we somehow survive this season.

Rafa won't lose at Anfield.

The bottom half of the table is scary. We'll need at least 15 more points to guarantee safety here. I don't think 40 points would be enough this year.