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Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)


Greg

Would you have Rafa back?   

463 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you have Rafa back?

    • Yes, as manager, immediately
    • Yes, as manager, but at some point in the future (eg if relegated)
    • Yes, in an advisory or DoF role
    • No, not in any meaningful capacity

This poll is closed to new votes


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Shame it’s being done in the threads about the Fairs Cup win like. Anything other posts they put out though that’s a fantastic response.

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It’s crazy that I find my default Newcastle setting is expect the worst, just so I’m not disappointed.

 

At the moment I fully expect the takeover to be completely fake, Rafa to leave and nobody of any note to join.

 

So basically if anything of any positive aspect at all happens (Rafa stays, we sign a player with two legs, Ashley fecks off) I’ll be over the moon. As they say sometimes it’s the hope that kills you.

 

This club.

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I can’t imagine he has gone. If he’d really quit yesterday there’d be a lot more rumours and leaks about it I’m sure.

 

Or maybe I’m just being a thick cunt.

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Feels like the club is in stasis. And it's hardly a beacon of activity at the best of times. Would love to know what is going day to day because from the outside it looks like absolutely fuck all.

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Leave is the default option, and no deal would be catastrophic.

 

This has a familiar feel to it, no idea why... ;)

 

Christ, don’t bring that shitstorm in here too :lol:

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God forbid anyone has to read a link on the Chronicle. Also that article is absolute fluff.

 

Rafa Benitez has rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in football, but he will never forget the day he shared a lift with seven excited youngsters in a trailer at the Barnstondale Centre. Make no mistake about that.

 

Attached to a Jeep, which pulled them along, the group oohed and aahed as they snaked their way over the hill, across the bridge, into the woods and up the steep banks to the top of the dale last week. This is the promised land on the 15-acre site which houses the inclusive adventure and activity centre.

 

The journey is one of the many highlights for the thousands of children who use the facility on the Wirral every year - and Benitez helped make it possible.

 

Eager to give back to the community that welcomed them with open arms, the Newcastle United manager and his wife, Montse, funded the customised trailer in 2013 so that every child had the chance to experience the trip - regardless of whether they had a disability.

 

All these years later, Barnstondale remains close to the family's hearts and daughters Agata and Claudia have even volunteered there.

 

Time may be of the essence for Benitez this summer - in so many ways as his contract runs down - but he did not have to think twice about helping out again. Whether it was the visit, itself, or signing nearly 100 items of Liverpool memorabilia to raise an additional £1,850 for the centre.

 

As a former PE teacher, the Spaniard got stuck in - even picking up a rifle for some shooting practice at the new target hub - but, inevitably, talk soon turned to football, his future and the latest takeover saga on Tyneside as the centre's manager, George Jones, recalled.

 

"Obviously, he can't tell me what's going on but he's very optimistic that something will happen and the team will be able to deliver," he told ChronicleLive. "I think the fans trust him and they know he's got the best intentions for the team and he wants to do great things with the team.

 

"I think his ability as a top manager is not in question at all given what he's done with Liverpool and now with Newcastle. He's just looking for the opportunity to take them right up there and do it with them. He said to me, 'The potential is there. It's a great club. A great place, great fans.' He would be very happy to continue there.

 

"Every time he mentioned Newcastle, he was very optimistic about the possibilities but it's still got to happen for them with the developments in the club and everything. He didn't say what was happening or what wasn't happening; he just mentioned something may come up and he hopes it will for the better of the club.

 

"If he got the resources to carry on, I think he will be delighted to stay. That's the impression he gave me - that he is still committed to it all. He didn't give me any indication at all about moving away from the club. All he talked about was, 'We could do so well.' Everything was positive for the club. He was unbelievably positive about the club.

 

"I think he would like to take them to greater things. That's the way he came across. He was quite relaxed in what he was saying. He loves being there and he loves the club."

 

Having spent much of his life committed to getting the best out of his players, Benitez recognises that same quality at Barnstondale. How children's lives have been enriched by outdoor activities and learning from their peers.

 

Unsurprisingly, then, the 59-year-old spent more than an hour at the centre on his latest visit and he was certainly not keeping an eye on his watch.

 

"Rafa was really engaged with the different activities around the centre," Jones added. "He could see how it worked as far as the team building goes and I made a bit of a joke as the guys were doing some team building. 'You know a little about that, don't you?' He just laughed. But that's what it is. It's to help the children to broaden their minds but also work together as a group and reach their own full potential.

 

"He gave his time up and I know he is a busy man and has a lot of commitments. As he was going around, obviously, people recognised him and he gave them the time to have photographs with them and have a chat with them. Up here, he's still extremely well regarded - unbelievably so - with his ties with Liverpool.

 

"He's done so well at Newcastle. I said to him, 'You've got a fantastic support up there' and he just praised the fans so much. He said, 'They're very like the Liverpool fans. Down to earth and know their football. They really are committed to the team.'"

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