Whatever happens with Rafa’s future, Newcastle must spend in January
IT’S been a year since I wrote in these columns that I was surprised Rafa Benitez hadn’t walked out on Newcastle.
That was putting it mildly back then, so now, more than 12 months later, I’m gobsmacked he’s still there.
I can’t pretend I know what he’s thinking – or suggest I’m speaking for him in any way. I’m not.
But I look at the basket case the club has become, and for the life of me, I can’t see any reason for him sticking around.
A few years ago, when he went back to Real Madrid for a short spell as manager, I was playing in a legends game there, so texted him with the message: “I’m at your new training ground, just having a medical before I sign, gaffer!” His reply was deadpan. “It’s not a medical you need, but a miracle.”
Well, Dr Fowler has been examining the Newcastle under the current regime, and I think I can safely say the same applies to them.
You’ve got a manager with six months left on his contract, who – rightly – won’t commit beyond the summer with the club without some guarantees over the sort of spending required in January to actually keep them in the Premier League.
Then you’ve got an owner trying to sell the club, who suggests he won’t invest unless the manager commits.
Crazy. And, of course, all the time it’s going on, Newcastle are in serious danger of going down. They’ve won their last two and played pretty well recently
– they should have beaten Manchester United – but that can’t mask what’s going on. I said, a year ago, I thought it must only have been the contract situation which kept Rafa at St James’. I still think that, but I also think there’s a stubbornness in him too. I’ve seen it many times when I played under him. He’ll want to prove a point about his managerial ability... if only to ensure the experience doesn’t kill his chances of getting the next job.
I say that because I can’t see how he’ll sign another contract, not unless there is a change of ownership, so he’ll be looking to move on in the summer.
You can’t blame him for that. He’s had his frustrations at St James’ and he’s pretty good at communicating that to the fans. Every manager wants a bigger, better squad, and one equipped for the job in hand. Rafa is clever in making that demand.
For Newcastle, the job should mean more than survival. Yet I’m not going to condemn Ashley as many others have.
He wants to sell the club, that is clear, and you can understand not wanting to invest too much in that situation.
Yet the old saying that you need to speculate to accumulate still holds true – and never more than in Newcastle’s situation. If they go down, it could be a helluva
rebuilding job... and also could mean they’re unsellable. So maybe he does needs to provide some money in January. I don’t think they will go down. Rafa’s one of those managers for whom things always seem to just work out. He can be negative and too cautious, but his organisational skills always get results. We’ve seen that in the last few games and there are teams with more problems in the Premier League. And there is still the potential for the ongoing political problems being played out in front of the fans to explode into total warfare, which could easily kill their Premier League hopes. And neither side will come out of it well if that happens. I can only see it ending in one way – which is Benitez leaving in the summer. If he does – with Newcastle in the Premier League – it will be a result for him and Ashley. So spending in January to make that happen seems like the wise course to me – no matter what the politics.