Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)

[Tiresias]

I can see the cold logic of that but to be frank I am way too emotionally invested and want to see Rafa return and have a swing at Europe with us. I don't think his knowledge of the club and attachment to fans counts for nothing either

[Thumbheed]

If the club were really going for it, aiming to be the most successful club in world football as quickly as possible, wouldn't anyone else be a bit...underwhelmed by Rafa? He did a really good job and he was far far better than Mike Ashleys Newcastle, but is he elite level these days? I cant think of many better but Nangelsmann, Pochettino or Allegri would probably be better fits for a club with potentially unlimited resources. Whether they'd come though, is another matter, perhaps not.

 

Am I the only one who would want to build any success gradually?

 

I just think theres something really empty with the way Man City and Chelsea's achieved success. Chelsea barely even care about success now they've had it all. I'd hate for that to happen to our club after waiting so long, I'd be more than happy to wait a little longer, just as long as I could see us getting there.

[TheGuv]

If the club were really going for it, aiming to be the most successful club in world football as quickly as possible, wouldn't anyone else be a bit...underwhelmed by Rafa? He did a really good job and he was far far better than Mike Ashleys Newcastle, but is he elite level these days? I cant think of many better but Nangelsmann, Pochettino or Allegri would probably be better fits for a club with potentially unlimited resources. Whether they'd come though, is another matter, perhaps not.

 

Am I the only one who would want to build any success gradually?

 

I just think theres something really empty with the way Man City and Chelsea's achieved success. Chelsea barely even care about success now they've had it all. I'd hate for that to happen to our club after waiting so long, I'd be more than happy to wait a little longer as long as I could see us getting there.

 

This please

[gbandit]

Rafa please, or Poch but he ain’t coming

[nufcjmc]

I don't see how even with all the money in the world you could instantly build a title trophy winning team anyway. The league has changed so much from when say Chelsea "bought" success. Even newly promoted teams can spunk 30/40 million on a player. You need a boss who can manage and gel together a pampered lot into a unit. We aren't needing 1 or 2 additions. Years of under investment has seen clubs pass us by. With every window they too strength widening that gap. We need a long term plan to get a core team together and then add those quality players in window by window  cycling out failed and aged acquisitions you know like a good/normal club should.

[Armchair Pundit]

I think we need someone sensible, with a good idea of how a football club should be set up, someone more studious and at the same time, ultimately professional, with the club's long term interests at heart. For that, I can't see past Rafa for being the very best option. I don't want some gung-ho, mercenary, top billing manager coming in, I want someone who can plan for the long term, build around upgrades to every part of the club. Rafa showed what he's about and he's exactly what we need imo.

[GWN]

I don't see how even with all the money in the world you could instantly build a title trophy winning team anyway. The league has changed so much from when say Chelsea "bought" success. Even newly promoted teams can spunk 30/40 million on a player. You need a boss who can manage and gel together a pampered lot into a unit. We aren't needing 1 or 2 additions. Years of under investment has seen clubs pass us by. With every window they too strength widening that gap. We need a long term plan to get a core team together and then add those quality players in window by window  cycling out failed and aged acquisitions you know like a good/normal club should.

 

Simple answer , you can’t and we won’t .

 

It’s not what we want , FCB gone then a club that tries, job done.

[toon25]

Get the man back as soon as possible. Fuck Bruce and any idea that he should last the rest of the season. He’s tin fucking pot.

[D. Yimentov]

I don't see how even with all the money in the world you could instantly build a title trophy winning team anyway. The league has changed so much from when say Chelsea "bought" success. Even newly promoted teams can spunk 30/40 million on a player. You need a boss who can manage and gel together a pampered lot into a unit. We aren't needing 1 or 2 additions. Years of under investment has seen clubs pass us by. With every window they too strength widening that gap. We need a long term plan to get a core team together and then add those quality players in window by window  cycling out failed and aged acquisitions you know like a good/normal club should.

 

Simple answer , you can’t and we won’t .

 

It’s not what we want , FCB gone then a club that tries, job done.

 

I think you absolutely can. Football's rotten. If these blokes want to come and throw silly money around, I can't see anyone stopping them. They might have to pay fines or take some hits, or they might just bribe someone off and do whatever the fuck they want, but if they're in it for a dick measuring contest, they shan't be stopped.

 

Time will tell.

[ATF]

I know I have said I wouldn't mind getting a more attacking manager in next, but I do have another theory about this now. Rafa is one of the most intelligent football managers I have ever come across, and if football has moved on to a  more pressing, front foot style, and the likes of Klopp are succeeding with it, I have a feeling that Rafa has already probably adapted mentally, and would just need the funds to buy the right players to implement it.

 

We tend to forget he was out of British football for some time, we don't really know what his style would be now with a quality squad.

Rafa for most of his career has preferred a pressing style anyway. I know that's not his reputation but he did at Valencia, he did at Liverpool, he was trying to instill that at Inter. Arrigo Sacchi is his idol because of the compactness and pressing of his Milan. That's Rafa's ideal. He's just not an ideologue; if, as has been clearly seen at Newcastle, he thinks his team has to drop off and cut off the space behind, he'll do it.

 

When he can though, the basics of his teams are obvious - an 'elastic' defensive line that moves up and down with the ball, holds the offside line if they can. No space in midfield or between the lines, quick in transition but always organised and balanced. It's definitely not as attacking or aggressive as Klopp or Guardiola - he's more overtly keen on shape and balance, sometimes to a fault. But listen to him talk about coaches like Sacchi or Francisco Maturana; it's all about compactness in midfield, high defensive line when possible, zonal defence and pressing in midfield.

[Kanj]

There is a fantastic interview on the Athletic podcast with Rafa where he discusses all of this.

[Paully]

From the Athletic piece I’ve posted in the Ashley thread;

 

At Sports Direct headquarters, Rafa Benitez was in full flow. In typical style, this most meticulous of managers had studied Newcastle’s last published accounts, their commercial and match-day income, and had married them with his first-hand knowledge of the club. He was now making a presentation to Ashley. The gist: this is how we can succeed as a football team and this is how you can turn a profit.

 

Benitez was trying. He is not a naturally clubbable man, but he is pretty decent at his job. A year on from relegation, Newcastle had been promoted to the Premier League as champions for the 2017-18 season. There had been some tension in January when Benitez’s attempts to strengthen his squad hit a buffer, but he remained convinced that progress — namely, the top eight — was possible “if we do things right”. Those five words became an anguished mantra.

 

This was early summer, 2017. “Rafa had all the details,” one person familiar with the conversation tells The Athletic. “He talked at length about the balance between making money and competing as a team, about how you make a difference in the transfer market. He said you can’t have a chief scout in Graham Carr who was 72 and supposedly didn’t use a computer when you pay all these companies to furnish you with sophisticated statistics about players.

 

“He talked about creating a structure, a proper scouting department that follows players, collates all the information. He talked about how difficult it was in the Premier League, so you have to work quicker, work smarter, but you can still be profitable. You could tell Ashley was impressed because he turned to Lee Charnley, Newcastle’s managing director, and told him: ‘He’s right — the numbers are right’.”

 

They got down to the nitty-gritty of budgets. Benitez would be furnished with £70 million over two years, plus whatever he could generate himself. They spoke about details. If Benitez wanted to use that budget to buy one player for £50 million, did he need to consult with Ashley? Yeah, for a transfer that big. But if it’s five players for £10 million each, “then you and Lee can do it,” he was told.

 

That June, Carr left Newcastle by “mutual consent”. As well as identifying signings like Yohan Cabaye and Moussa Sissoko, the Geordie was close to Ashley, but the power base was shifting. Newcastle’s model — young players of value but often “rascals,” according to one ex-manager — had contributed to their demotion and Benitez was now in charge. His first target: Willy Caballero, the goalkeeper, available on a free from Manchester City.

 

Newcastle already had four senior keepers on their books. The club did nothing. Benitez, who didn’t just want another body but someone who would change the way his side played, waited and fumed. Caballero joined Chelsea. Trust was cracked and that crack became a schism, the starting point for the manager’s departure at the end of his contract last summer, when he complained in a column for The Athletic of “three years of unfulfilled promises”.

 

The meeting at Shirebrook is a small anecdote, but in many ways it characterises Ashley’s 13 years at St James’ Park. His ownership has not taken Newcastle to the brink of financial oblivion. They are in the Premier League, which leads some observers to point out that things could be worse, yet his tenure has been peppered with sliding-door moments and toxic outcomes. Benitez was a Champions League winner, a garlanded coach and a genuine chance for the club to kick on. When it mattered most, he was ignored.

 

 

[TRon]

I know I have said I wouldn't mind getting a more attacking manager in next, but I do have another theory about this now. Rafa is one of the most intelligent football managers I have ever come across, and if football has moved on to a  more pressing, front foot style, and the likes of Klopp are succeeding with it, I have a feeling that Rafa has already probably adapted mentally, and would just need the funds to buy the right players to implement it.

 

We tend to forget he was out of British football for some time, we don't really know what his style would be now with a quality squad.

Rafa for most of his career has preferred a pressing style anyway. I know that's not his reputation but he did at Valencia, he did at Liverpool, he was trying to instill that at Inter. Arrigo Sacchi is his idol because of the compactness and pressing of his Milan. That's Rafa's ideal. He's just not an ideologue; if, as has been clearly seen at Newcastle, he thinks his team has to drop off and cut off the space behind, he'll do it.

 

When he can though, the basics of his teams are obvious - an 'elastic' defensive line that moves up and down with the ball, holds the offside line if they can. No space in midfield or between the lines, quick in transition but always organised and balanced. It's definitely not as attacking or aggressive as Klopp or Guardiola - he's more overtly keen on shape and balance, sometimes to a fault. But listen to him talk about coaches like Sacchi or Francisco Maturana; it's all about compactness in midfield, high defensive line when possible, zonal defence and pressing in midfield.

 

Agree, he cuts his coat according to his cloth. My abiding memory of his Liverpool side was of a very compact side which used Torres as a fast raiding striker on the break, and he did seem to prefer that here as well, more out of necessity than ideal. I just think it's probably doing him a disservice to  think that's all he can do though. The game has moved on a lot since his Liverpool days, and he's probably absorbed a lot of the newer methods and what is effective since then.

 

The bloke is one of the cleverest managers out there, why would he be stuck in a time warp? We'll never really know until we see him being backed properly and then see what he comes up with. Something most of us were really looking forward to before he was hamstrung by Ashley.

 

 

[huss9]

i think there'll be plenty of opposition amongst the masses to the return of Rafa.

Loads of buggers out there saying Bruce has us playing better football. Not saying they wouldnt want Bruce gone, but many wont want Rafa back.

[TRon]

i think there'll be plenty of opposition amongst the masses to the return of Rafa.

Loads of buggers out there saying Bruce has us playing better football. Not saying they wouldnt want Bruce gone, but many wont want Rafa back.

 

That's why the Daily Star is still in circulation.

[manorpark]

i think there'll be plenty of opposition amongst the masses to the return of Rafa.

Loads of buggers out there saying Bruce has us playing better football. Not saying they wouldnt want Bruce gone, but many wont want Rafa back.

 

That's why the Daily Star is still in circulation.

 

True, so true.

[Disco]

i think there'll be plenty of opposition amongst the masses to the return of Rafa.

Loads of buggers out there saying Bruce has us playing better football. Not saying they wouldnt want Bruce gone, but many wont want Rafa back.

 

I’m very much not in that camp but I wouldn’t bring him back. I loathe Bruce as much as Pardew, Carver and Ashley and largely despise the matchgoers but I think a fresh start is called for as much as I enjoyed the reign of Rafa and the professionalism and authority he brought.

[HaydnNUFC]

i think there'll be plenty of opposition amongst the masses to the return of Rafa.

Loads of buggers out there saying Bruce has us playing better football. Not saying they wouldnt want Bruce gone, but many wont want Rafa back.

 

I’m very much not in that camp but I wouldn’t bring him back. I loathe Bruce as much as Pardew, Carver and Ashley and largely despise the matchgoers but I think a fresh start is called for as much as I enjoyed the reign of Rafa and the professionalism and authority he brought.

 

I kinda agree with you here. Who'd you gan for then Disco? Allegri, Pochettino or someone else?

[Disco]

i think there'll be plenty of opposition amongst the masses to the return of Rafa.

Loads of buggers out there saying Bruce has us playing better football. Not saying they wouldnt want Bruce gone, but many wont want Rafa back.

 

I’m very much not in that camp but I wouldn’t bring him back. I loathe Bruce as much as Pardew, Carver and Ashley and largely despise the matchgoers but I think a fresh start is called for as much as I enjoyed the reign of Rafa and the professionalism and authority he brought.

 

I kinda agree with you here. Who'd you gan for then Disco? Allegri, Pochettino or someone else?

 

Absolutely no idea tbh. It’s hard to say or guesstimate as there’s so many variables involved. How ambitious are they going to be from the off? What model do they want (manager v coach/DoF)? Is potential legacy or their status/name more important? How big a name will genuinely be interested?

 

Off the top of my head maybe someone like Marco Rose would seem realistic and attainable, regardless of budgetary concerns.

 

Don’t get me wrong, if Rafa was reappointed I’d be behind it 100% and can see all the logic for it.

[St1pe]

From the Athletic piece I’ve posted in the Ashley thread;

 

At Sports Direct headquarters, Rafa Benitez was in full flow. In typical style, this most meticulous of managers had studied Newcastle’s last published accounts, their commercial and match-day income, and had married them with his first-hand knowledge of the club. He was now making a presentation to Ashley. The gist: this is how we can succeed as a football team and this is how you can turn a profit.

 

Benitez was trying. He is not a naturally clubbable man, but he is pretty decent at his job. A year on from relegation, Newcastle had been promoted to the Premier League as champions for the 2017-18 season. There had been some tension in January when Benitez’s attempts to strengthen his squad hit a buffer, but he remained convinced that progress — namely, the top eight — was possible “if we do things right”. Those five words became an anguished mantra.

 

This was early summer, 2017. “Rafa had all the details,” one person familiar with the conversation tells The Athletic. “He talked at length about the balance between making money and competing as a team, about how you make a difference in the transfer market. He said you can’t have a chief scout in Graham Carr who was 72 and supposedly didn’t use a computer when you pay all these companies to furnish you with sophisticated statistics about players.

 

“He talked about creating a structure, a proper scouting department that follows players, collates all the information. He talked about how difficult it was in the Premier League, so you have to work quicker, work smarter, but you can still be profitable. You could tell Ashley was impressed because he turned to Lee Charnley, Newcastle’s managing director, and told him: ‘He’s right — the numbers are right’.”

 

They got down to the nitty-gritty of budgets. Benitez would be furnished with £70 million over two years, plus whatever he could generate himself. They spoke about details. If Benitez wanted to use that budget to buy one player for £50 million, did he need to consult with Ashley? Yeah, for a transfer that big. But if it’s five players for £10 million each, “then you and Lee can do it,” he was told.

 

That June, Carr left Newcastle by “mutual consent”. As well as identifying signings like Yohan Cabaye and Moussa Sissoko, the Geordie was close to Ashley, but the power base was shifting. Newcastle’s model — young players of value but often “rascals,” according to one ex-manager — had contributed to their demotion and Benitez was now in charge. His first target: Willy Caballero, the goalkeeper, available on a free from Manchester City.

 

Newcastle already had four senior keepers on their books. The club did nothing. Benitez, who didn’t just want another body but someone who would change the way his side played, waited and fumed. Caballero joined Chelsea. Trust was cracked and that crack became a schism, the starting point for the manager’s departure at the end of his contract last summer, when he complained in a column for The Athletic of “three years of unfulfilled promises”.

 

The meeting at Shirebrook is a small anecdote, but in many ways it characterises Ashley’s 13 years at St James’ Park. His ownership has not taken Newcastle to the brink of financial oblivion. They are in the Premier League, which leads some observers to point out that things could be worse, yet his tenure has been peppered with sliding-door moments and toxic outcomes. Benitez was a Champions League winner, a garlanded coach and a genuine chance for the club to kick on. When it mattered most, he was ignored.

 

Not surprised at any of that but it’s yet another example of why this deal needs to happen.

[Cronky]

From the Athletic piece I’ve posted in the Ashley thread;

 

At Sports Direct headquarters, Rafa Benitez was in full flow. In typical style, this most meticulous of managers had studied Newcastle’s last published accounts, their commercial and match-day income, and had married them with his first-hand knowledge of the club. He was now making a presentation to Ashley. The gist: this is how we can succeed as a football team and this is how you can turn a profit.

 

Benitez was trying. He is not a naturally clubbable man, but he is pretty decent at his job. A year on from relegation, Newcastle had been promoted to the Premier League as champions for the 2017-18 season. There had been some tension in January when Benitez’s attempts to strengthen his squad hit a buffer, but he remained convinced that progress — namely, the top eight — was possible “if we do things right”. Those five words became an anguished mantra.

 

This was early summer, 2017. “Rafa had all the details,” one person familiar with the conversation tells The Athletic. “He talked at length about the balance between making money and competing as a team, about how you make a difference in the transfer market. He said you can’t have a chief scout in Graham Carr who was 72 and supposedly didn’t use a computer when you pay all these companies to furnish you with sophisticated statistics about players.

 

“He talked about creating a structure, a proper scouting department that follows players, collates all the information. He talked about how difficult it was in the Premier League, so you have to work quicker, work smarter, but you can still be profitable. You could tell Ashley was impressed because he turned to Lee Charnley, Newcastle’s managing director, and told him: ‘He’s right — the numbers are right’.”

 

They got down to the nitty-gritty of budgets. Benitez would be furnished with £70 million over two years, plus whatever he could generate himself. They spoke about details. If Benitez wanted to use that budget to buy one player for £50 million, did he need to consult with Ashley? Yeah, for a transfer that big. But if it’s five players for £10 million each, “then you and Lee can do it,” he was told.

 

That June, Carr left Newcastle by “mutual consent”. As well as identifying signings like Yohan Cabaye and Moussa Sissoko, the Geordie was close to Ashley, but the power base was shifting. Newcastle’s model — young players of value but often “rascals,” according to one ex-manager — had contributed to their demotion and Benitez was now in charge. His first target: Willy Caballero, the goalkeeper, available on a free from Manchester City.

 

Newcastle already had four senior keepers on their books. The club did nothing. Benitez, who didn’t just want another body but someone who would change the way his side played, waited and fumed. Caballero joined Chelsea. Trust was cracked and that crack became a schism, the starting point for the manager’s departure at the end of his contract last summer, when he complained in a column for The Athletic of “three years of unfulfilled promises”.

 

The meeting at Shirebrook is a small anecdote, but in many ways it characterises Ashley’s 13 years at St James’ Park. His ownership has not taken Newcastle to the brink of financial oblivion. They are in the Premier League, which leads some observers to point out that things could be worse, yet his tenure has been peppered with sliding-door moments and toxic outcomes. Benitez was a Champions League winner, a garlanded coach and a genuine chance for the club to kick on. When it mattered most, he was ignored.

 

Not surprised at any of that but it’s yet another example of why this deal needs to happen.

 

Tin hat on, but if Chelsea are in for a player, it's difficult for us to compete.

[gazza ladra]

From the Athletic piece I’ve posted in the Ashley thread;

 

At Sports Direct headquarters, Rafa Benitez was in full flow. In typical style, this most meticulous of managers had studied Newcastle’s last published accounts, their commercial and match-day income, and had married them with his first-hand knowledge of the club. He was now making a presentation to Ashley. The gist: this is how we can succeed as a football team and this is how you can turn a profit.

 

Benitez was trying. He is not a naturally clubbable man, but he is pretty decent at his job. A year on from relegation, Newcastle had been promoted to the Premier League as champions for the 2017-18 season. There had been some tension in January when Benitez’s attempts to strengthen his squad hit a buffer, but he remained convinced that progress — namely, the top eight — was possible “if we do things right”. Those five words became an anguished mantra.

 

This was early summer, 2017. “Rafa had all the details,” one person familiar with the conversation tells The Athletic. “He talked at length about the balance between making money and competing as a team, about how you make a difference in the transfer market. He said you can’t have a chief scout in Graham Carr who was 72 and supposedly didn’t use a computer when you pay all these companies to furnish you with sophisticated statistics about players.

 

“He talked about creating a structure, a proper scouting department that follows players, collates all the information. He talked about how difficult it was in the Premier League, so you have to work quicker, work smarter, but you can still be profitable. You could tell Ashley was impressed because he turned to Lee Charnley, Newcastle’s managing director, and told him: ‘He’s right — the numbers are right’.”

 

They got down to the nitty-gritty of budgets. Benitez would be furnished with £70 million over two years, plus whatever he could generate himself. They spoke about details. If Benitez wanted to use that budget to buy one player for £50 million, did he need to consult with Ashley? Yeah, for a transfer that big. But if it’s five players for £10 million each, “then you and Lee can do it,” he was told.

 

That June, Carr left Newcastle by “mutual consent”. As well as identifying signings like Yohan Cabaye and Moussa Sissoko, the Geordie was close to Ashley, but the power base was shifting. Newcastle’s model — young players of value but often “rascals,” according to one ex-manager — had contributed to their demotion and Benitez was now in charge. His first target: Willy Caballero, the goalkeeper, available on a free from Manchester City.

 

Newcastle already had four senior keepers on their books. The club did nothing. Benitez, who didn’t just want another body but someone who would change the way his side played, waited and fumed. Caballero joined Chelsea. Trust was cracked and that crack became a schism, the starting point for the manager’s departure at the end of his contract last summer, when he complained in a column for The Athletic of “three years of unfulfilled promises”.

 

The meeting at Shirebrook is a small anecdote, but in many ways it characterises Ashley’s 13 years at St James’ Park. His ownership has not taken Newcastle to the brink of financial oblivion. They are in the Premier League, which leads some observers to point out that things could be worse, yet his tenure has been peppered with sliding-door moments and toxic outcomes. Benitez was a Champions League winner, a garlanded coach and a genuine chance for the club to kick on. When it mattered most, he was ignored.

 

Not surprised at any of that but it’s yet another example of why this deal needs to happen.

 

Tin hat on, but if Chelsea are in for a player, it's difficult for us to compete.

 

Initially, sure. But if they want Champions League football...

[Pandamninator]

From the Athletic piece I’ve posted in the Ashley thread;

 

At Sports Direct headquarters, Rafa Benitez was in full flow. In typical style, this most meticulous of managers had studied Newcastle’s last published accounts, their commercial and match-day income, and had married them with his first-hand knowledge of the club. He was now making a presentation to Ashley. The gist: this is how we can succeed as a football team and this is how you can turn a profit.

 

Benitez was trying. He is not a naturally clubbable man, but he is pretty decent at his job. A year on from relegation, Newcastle had been promoted to the Premier League as champions for the 2017-18 season. There had been some tension in January when Benitez’s attempts to strengthen his squad hit a buffer, but he remained convinced that progress — namely, the top eight — was possible “if we do things right”. Those five words became an anguished mantra.

 

This was early summer, 2017. “Rafa had all the details,” one person familiar with the conversation tells The Athletic. “He talked at length about the balance between making money and competing as a team, about how you make a difference in the transfer market. He said you can’t have a chief scout in Graham Carr who was 72 and supposedly didn’t use a computer when you pay all these companies to furnish you with sophisticated statistics about players.

 

“He talked about creating a structure, a proper scouting department that follows players, collates all the information. He talked about how difficult it was in the Premier League, so you have to work quicker, work smarter, but you can still be profitable. You could tell Ashley was impressed because he turned to Lee Charnley, Newcastle’s managing director, and told him: ‘He’s right — the numbers are right’.”

 

They got down to the nitty-gritty of budgets. Benitez would be furnished with £70 million over two years, plus whatever he could generate himself. They spoke about details. If Benitez wanted to use that budget to buy one player for £50 million, did he need to consult with Ashley? Yeah, for a transfer that big. But if it’s five players for £10 million each, “then you and Lee can do it,” he was told.

 

That June, Carr left Newcastle by “mutual consent”. As well as identifying signings like Yohan Cabaye and Moussa Sissoko, the Geordie was close to Ashley, but the power base was shifting. Newcastle’s model — young players of value but often “rascals,” according to one ex-manager — had contributed to their demotion and Benitez was now in charge. His first target: Willy Caballero, the goalkeeper, available on a free from Manchester City.

 

Newcastle already had four senior keepers on their books. The club did nothing. Benitez, who didn’t just want another body but someone who would change the way his side played, waited and fumed. Caballero joined Chelsea. Trust was cracked and that crack became a schism, the starting point for the manager’s departure at the end of his contract last summer, when he complained in a column for The Athletic of “three years of unfulfilled promises”.

 

The meeting at Shirebrook is a small anecdote, but in many ways it characterises Ashley’s 13 years at St James’ Park. His ownership has not taken Newcastle to the brink of financial oblivion. They are in the Premier League, which leads some observers to point out that things could be worse, yet his tenure has been peppered with sliding-door moments and toxic outcomes. Benitez was a Champions League winner, a garlanded coach and a genuine chance for the club to kick on. When it mattered most, he was ignored.

 

Not surprised at any of that but it’s yet another example of why this deal needs to happen.

 

Tin hat on, but if Chelsea are in for a player, it's difficult for us to compete.

 

Not when it is starting in the Premier League vs sitting on the bench behind Courtois when you're fighting for your spot in the Argentinan National Team.

 

But I'm glad to see not even Coronavirus can get in the way of you valiantly defend wor Mike.

 

 

[Greg]

From the Athletic piece I’ve posted in the Ashley thread;

 

At Sports Direct headquarters, Rafa Benitez was in full flow. In typical style, this most meticulous of managers had studied Newcastle’s last published accounts, their commercial and match-day income, and had married them with his first-hand knowledge of the club. He was now making a presentation to Ashley. The gist: this is how we can succeed as a football team and this is how you can turn a profit.

 

Benitez was trying. He is not a naturally clubbable man, but he is pretty decent at his job. A year on from relegation, Newcastle had been promoted to the Premier League as champions for the 2017-18 season. There had been some tension in January when Benitez’s attempts to strengthen his squad hit a buffer, but he remained convinced that progress — namely, the top eight — was possible “if we do things right”. Those five words became an anguished mantra.

 

This was early summer, 2017. “Rafa had all the details,” one person familiar with the conversation tells The Athletic. “He talked at length about the balance between making money and competing as a team, about how you make a difference in the transfer market. He said you can’t have a chief scout in Graham Carr who was 72 and supposedly didn’t use a computer when you pay all these companies to furnish you with sophisticated statistics about players.

 

“He talked about creating a structure, a proper scouting department that follows players, collates all the information. He talked about how difficult it was in the Premier League, so you have to work quicker, work smarter, but you can still be profitable. You could tell Ashley was impressed because he turned to Lee Charnley, Newcastle’s managing director, and told him: ‘He’s right — the numbers are right’.”

 

They got down to the nitty-gritty of budgets. Benitez would be furnished with £70 million over two years, plus whatever he could generate himself. They spoke about details. If Benitez wanted to use that budget to buy one player for £50 million, did he need to consult with Ashley? Yeah, for a transfer that big. But if it’s five players for £10 million each, “then you and Lee can do it,” he was told.

 

That June, Carr left Newcastle by “mutual consent”. As well as identifying signings like Yohan Cabaye and Moussa Sissoko, the Geordie was close to Ashley, but the power base was shifting. Newcastle’s model — young players of value but often “rascals,” according to one ex-manager — had contributed to their demotion and Benitez was now in charge. His first target: Willy Caballero, the goalkeeper, available on a free from Manchester City.

 

Newcastle already had four senior keepers on their books. The club did nothing. Benitez, who didn’t just want another body but someone who would change the way his side played, waited and fumed. Caballero joined Chelsea. Trust was cracked and that crack became a schism, the starting point for the manager’s departure at the end of his contract last summer, when he complained in a column for The Athletic of “three years of unfulfilled promises”.

 

The meeting at Shirebrook is a small anecdote, but in many ways it characterises Ashley’s 13 years at St James’ Park. His ownership has not taken Newcastle to the brink of financial oblivion. They are in the Premier League, which leads some observers to point out that things could be worse, yet his tenure has been peppered with sliding-door moments and toxic outcomes. Benitez was a Champions League winner, a garlanded coach and a genuine chance for the club to kick on. When it mattered most, he was ignored.

 

Not surprised at any of that but it’s yet another example of why this deal needs to happen.

 

Tin hat on, but if Chelsea are in for a player, it's difficult for us to compete.

 

But you miss the point entirely. Chelsea weren't even in for him. Rafa and his team had agreed pretty much everything with him, handed it over to Lee Charnley to get it done and he did nothing. Literally did nothing. A number of weeks later he signed for Chelsea to sit on their bench and play a few cup games.

 

It's not about him picking Chelsea over us, it didn't come to that. It was as good as done. It's about the broken promises - the same shit Keegan had to deal with. Promise one thing, do another.

[xLiaaamx]

Even if Rafa won't leave his contract and the likes of Allegri and Poch don't see it as a big enough job yet we should still make a change. Even someone like Martinez or Marco Silva would be a big step up.