JOHN GIBSON Rafa’s game for tough showdown with Ashley
BENITEZ WON’T ACCEPT MORE EMPTY PROMISES
IF there is a better politician than Rafa Benitez in football then I have yet to meet him.
Everybody who has watched United’s boss at close quarters will tell you the same.
Rafa knows how to work players, fans, and the Press alike and is a shrewd dealer of cards when it comes to handling directors. He has put out more fires in his time than Red Adair!
Which is just as well, as he has to go up against Mike Ashley these days which is quite a battle, tougher than Anthony Joshua vs Joseph Parker.
Ashley can be ruthless, blunt, full of empty promises, and simply unavailable. All at the same time.
However Benitez picks his moments to strike publicly and he did it again this week taking advantage of a lack of Premier League action and a comprehensive victory over Southampton which sent a feelgood factor pouring over Tyneside.
Rafa told us – and most significantly Ashley – what it will take to keep him in Newcastle permanently.
What he really meant, of course, was hurry up and sell because Ashley isn’t suddenly going to become a gracious and generous owner especially now he has lost all interest.
And if we’re all waiting for Floyd Mayweather to follow up his jive talk and actually make a serious bid for United then we must be expecting to see a pink pig in a paper hat flying past the window any moment soon.
The chances of Money Mayweather buying the Mags and then signing Cristiano Ronaldo because this is “a fun party city” are frankly laughable. Honestly, if you can stop guffawing for a moment to actually listen to the one serious thing Mayweather said then you may not be too disappointed at his lack of follow-up. Boxing’s biggest superstar admits openly that he only invests money to make money. He doesn’t do it with emotion. Does that sound vaguely like an owner we already know? It is well documented what Rafa requires to remain among us. An even chance, a plan with financial backing, a positive feeling. He wants to manage just as his job description suggests. To organise the footballing side of the club, the signings, and the big player decisions which is hardly surprising considering he knows more than anyone else among the SJP hierarchy.
Benitez will no longer by conned by empty promises aimed at keeping him here as window dressing while Ashley tries to sell at top dollar.
This is a game of poker between Rafa and Ashley, but it will still take a lot for the Spaniard to break his contract.
Of course there has to be a resisting arm to control any possible wild over spending. That’s natural and understandable.
Even the great managers make transfer market mistakes. What isn’t acceptable is a stranglehold on hope which has blighted Geordies for countless years outside of a brief flirtation with dreams during the Entertainers.
Oh for those days back – or something like them.
Ashley can be ruthless, blunt, full of empty promises, and simply unavailable. All at the same time