OF CARDS Given: Rafa’s the glue that is holding everything together
ONLY ONE DIRECTION: Rafa Benitez
SHAY GIVEN fears Mike Ashley’s Scrooge-like transfer policy will lead to Rafa Benitez walking away from St James’ Park.
And the Newcastle legend reckons that would spell disaster for the Magpies.
The Irishman – who made 462 appearances in a 12-year stint on Tyneside – believes Newcastle have the potential to Manchester United as England’s biggest club.
But if that dream is to become a reality he feels two things must happen first. One, Ashley must
the club and, two, Benitez must be allowed to new players.
Given, 41, said: “All summer, at almost every press conference, Rafa Benitez kept saying, ‘We need to sign players’. And I did feel he was going to pull a couple of rabbits out of the hat.
“But in the end I am not even sure if Sky Sports News sent a reporter to the city on transfer deadline day because everyone knew no players were due to arrive.
“Looking at it from the outside, that was a concern, that maybe Rafa was not being given the full backing he was asking for.
“The fact is that Newcastle have the perfect guy in charge. He has got a superb CV behind him, having managed Real Madrid and Liverpool.
“He is one of the best managers in world football and the right guy to back.
“I don’t know what goes on behind the scenes but I do feel they needed to sign a couple of players in the summer.”
Yet while Ashley remains in charge, it is clear Newcastle’s spending policy will be prudent rather than wild – more Tesco than Waitrose.
Given knows the club’s potential though. Having played in front of full houses through the good, the bad and the Joe Kinnear era – he can envisage the day when they could become Premier League kingpins. But for this to happen, they need massive investment, which ultimately means Ashley selling up.
Given said: “I don’t see why Newcastle couldn’t be challenging for the Premier League and Champions League spots again some day.
“The place was rocking when they were in the Championship so can you imagine what it would be like if they were challenging for the biggest prizes in football?
“For that to happen, a takeover is needed and it has always surprised me when these consortiums come in from abroad to buy smaller Premier League clubs.
“It is no secret Mike Ashley wants to one day sell the club. I don’t know if he is asking for too much money but if someone got in there with hundreds of millions to spend then that club could be contenders.
“I am not sure of the precise figures but in the 10 years Ashley has been there he has spent very little each season and when you think of Newcastle, the following they have, the support, the stadium, that is madness.
“The Newcastle fans want success. They are crying out for more to be spent on players and know they should be aiming for the Premier League title and Champions League football.
“There are concerns that if they don’t get the backing that Rafa might walk. Now hopefully that won’t be the case. But from listening from the outside, it sounds as if Rafa says one thing and Ashley says the other. They do not seem to be on the same page.
“Rafa, in interviews, refers to ‘them upstairs’. That sums things up. It is ‘them’ not ‘we’. It does not look like it will end well but with my Newcastle hat on – having played there for so long – I think he is the right guy to be in charge. They just need to give him that support.”