BR EXIT: TOON MUST CONSIDER OPTIONS IF NO DEAL WITH RAFA
BRENDAN Rodgers is heading back to the Premier League after being appointed Leicester City manager following the departure of Claude Puel, who was sacked on Sunday after 16 months in charge.
It’s a move that does two things in one fell swoop as far as Newcastle United are concerned.
Firstly, and most importantly, it shuts down talk of Rafa Benitez going to Leicester any time soon.
Benitez had hinted strongly that he was never interested in quitting Newcastle during the season when he told The Chronicle: “We have to concentrate on our games and carry on until the end.”
The Spaniard could have easily kept the possibility of a move to the Foxes active before Rodgers’ appointment, but the truth is he had made up his mind about staying at Newcastle before the speculation about Leicester had any real substance. Only Benitez and Leicester chiefs will know if the feelers were put out for Rafa quitting United this month.
Secondly, Rodgers’ decision to leave Celtic now increases the pressure on Newcastle to ensure Benitez stays and gets the project he is asking for.
There’s no doubt Rodgers would have been a feasible candidate for
the Toon job had it become available in the summer. United have to do more than just fill a vacancy if the current manager goes in May.
The difference now is that the club is currently sitting on foundations of fan unrest.
When Keegan quit it felt like the world was coming to an end in 1997 but, at the time, a board that was still prepared to pay big bucks for players pulled out the stops to bring in Premier League winner Kenny Dalglish – and fans were satisfied with the appointment at the time.
But following Keegan was too much of an ask even for Dalglish as the club plummeted from second place to 13th in the top-flight in the space of a year and the Scot couldn’t match the expectation level in terms of position and style of football.
With supporters already unhappy and Benitez effectively the glue that is holding the place together, it is difficult to see who could come in and replicate his work at the minute.
Rodgers never shut the door on the Premier League, and Newcastle would have been an attraction to him. If the scenario had been Benitez going and Rodgers arriving on Tyneside you do wonder how long he would have been able to ensure results won the headlines over the ongoing unrest.
As season ticket renewal letters landed through the doors of fans this week, those who have opted to stay next season are doing so out of loyalty to the black and white cause and not knowing who will be in the dug-out for the next campaign.
If it is Rafa, things will be a lot calmer around the club. If it’s not Rafa, whoever comes in will have to be either top class or start taking lessons in miracle working pretty quickly.