Managing step too far for Al and Rafa
DUO FAIL TO KEEP TOON UP AFTER ASHLEY’S SACKINGS
NEWCASTLE head coach Steve Bruce remains safe in his post despite the club’s alarming slide into the fight for Premier League safety.
Toon owner Mike Ashley is giving the 60-year-old time to drag the club out of a tailspin which has left them sitting just three points clear of the bottom three with 13 games to play.
He will do so having twice dispensed with the services of a manager in similar circumstances during his reign and seen the club relegated on both occasions.
Here, we take a look how Alan Shearer and Rafa Benitez – the men brought in to save United’s season – fared as they battled in vain to avoid the drop.
ALAN SHEARER THE BACKGROUND
Record goalscorer Shearer made a high-profile return to Tyneside in April 2009 with a chaotic season, which had started with Kevin Keegan at the helm before Joe Kinnear took over with Chris Hughton twice in caretaker charge, unravelling at breakneck speed.
They sat in 18th place in the table with 29 points, having won just one of their last 12 games and with only eight more to play.
THE GAMES CHELSEA (H) ............................... Stoke (a) ........................................... D 1-1 Tottenham (a) ................................. PORTSMOUTH (H) ..................... D 0-0
Shearer’s brief reign yielded just one win and two draws and a finalday defeat at Aston Villa, courtesy of Damien Duff’s own goal, took them down on 34 points when one more would have kept them up on goal difference at Hull’s expense.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
Shearer drew up a blueprint for a promotion drive and Ashley made all the right noises as he considered the way forward.
However, the former Newcastle skipper never received an answer and the new Sky Bet Championship campaign started with Hughton reluctantly in the hot-seat again.
The Irishman made rather a good fist of it, guiding the club back into the top flight as runway champions at the first attempt - only to be sacked in December 2010.
RAFA BENITEZ THE BACKGROUND
Ashley turned to Champions League winner Benitez on March 11, 2016 after dispensing with the
services of former England boss Steve McClaren with 10 games remaining.
The side the Spaniard inherited, which had been boosted by January signings Jonjo Shelvey and Andros Townsend, was languishing in 19th place and had collected only eight of the last 36 points they had contested.
A return of 13 points boosted the Magpies’ tally to 37 but they were relegated before a rousing final-day demolition of Tottenham when derby rivals Sunderland, led by survival specialist Sam Allardyce, beat Everton 3-0 in midweek to ease themselves two points clear of the drop zone.
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?
Against the odds – and in the absence of a better offer – Benitez opted to remain at St James’ Park to spearhead the quest for an immediate return.
He achieved his initial mission, which was completed in style when a 3-0 victory over Barnsley – coupled with Brighton’s 1-1 draw at Villa – saw Newcastle pip the Seagulls to the title on the final day of the season. Benitez went on to engineer 10th and 13thplaced Premier League finishes before deciding, in the face of a fractious relationship with the owner, his future lay in China.