Boo-boys turn on Benitez after Leicester add to their suffering

sparked by his decision to replace the hard-working Matt Ritchie with Jacob Murphy. Even he no longer escapes blame and no matter how persuasive the mitigating circumstances are for the team’s travails, the lack of investment, the injuries, the unrest will only get worse the longer this winless run goes on.

“The supporters want to win and we want to win,” said Benitez. “And it is OK if we have some disagreements.”

Leicester were sharp and accurate. They looked menacing whenever they strode into the Newcastle half, even though both their goals came from set-pieces.

The first was a penalty from Jamie Vardy, conceded when DeAndre Yedlin leapt in front of a Harry Maguire shot with both hands above his head. Peter Kenyon, the former chief executive of Manchester United and Chelsea, is trying to raise funds to take over Newcastle United.

The club has been up for sale for more than a year, but owner Mike Ashley has been unable to find a buyer at around £350 million.

He will not proceed with talks until he has seen proof of funds from Vardy put his fingers to his lips to hush the home crowd, although he need not have bothered. The only Newcastle chants, both immediately before and after the goal, were aimed at Ashley.

Leicester’s second goal, midway through the second half, killed the game, Maguire (below) arriving unmarked at a corner to head powerfully home. “I’m very pleased with the performance. We played some good football and we took our chances,” said Leicester manager Claude Puel.

Ashley wants to see money

Kenyon. Any bidder would be required to deposit millions of pounds into a bank account that Ashley’s lawyers are able to view.

It is claimed that Kenyon, who is a director of a sports consultancy business called Opto Advisers, is working on a bid with New York-based Rockefeller Capital Management.