They should've absolutely blitzed the league with the amount he spent.
Rafa Benitez | Sacked (Fachts)
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Fair play to them but that squad is nowhere near good enough for the Prem. He needs to do some good business in the summer and try and shift some of the shite he signed in the summer.
All I know about Newcastle's season comes from the True Geordie 
But from what he says, he's not at all confident in the squad and that it's being carried by the likes of Gayle and Shelvey. Is this the general sentiment among Newcastle fans?
But from what he says, he's not at all confident in the squad and that it's being carried by the likes of Gayle and Shelvey. Is this the general sentiment among Newcastle fans?
Brighton have been building towards this for a few years now. I think that's what gave them the edge. Like Bayern missing out on a treble in 2012, only to to storm to it the following season. Knockaert and Richie were outstanding all season for both teams.
Hopefully they don't bottle the title. 3 points from 2 games will seal it.
Another CL winning manager in PL. Makes it 3 of them now. Elite.
Well now all Jose's enemies are against him in one league now: Beneitz, Wenger and Pep .. May even add Conte after this season. 
Just think gents, only 9 short months until Rafa resigns over a lack of transfer funds, True Geordie goes into meltdown and Alan Shearer makes public his admiration for Charlie Austin and his desire to see him in a Newcastle shirt.
Shelvey back in PL, splendid.
Their squad isn't really good enough, they'll need some decent investment in the summer. His style seems to be a tad more open these days, would like to see him make that side a bit more resolute.
I think they will finish around 12th.
Another defender or two and they will be fine.
Newcastle to finish above Liverpool next season would be absolutely splendid!
Benitez replaces Klopp at Liverpool for the 2018/19 season.
I expect they'll do ok and stay up if they add a couple of decent signings. Can see Perez being snaffled up in the summer though.
Congratulations, but they have been absolutely crap in the last months. They have just done the minimum.
They need a proper back four. Anita and Dummett won't cut it and Lascelles is a ticking time bomb. Clark has been their best defender, but he was exactly that while at Villa and they still got relegated.
Shelvey and Hayden are good players, and the likes of Ritchie, Diame and Gayle are solid enough, but they still lack an awful lot of quality around the pitch. This is fine when you're Burnley and play at Turf Moor, with eleven grafters that play tough, rough and direct. But Newcastle are never going to be that team.
Shelvey and Hayden are good players, and the likes of Ritchie, Diame and Gayle are solid enough, but they still lack an awful lot of quality around the pitch. This is fine when you're Burnley and play at Turf Moor, with eleven grafters that play tough, rough and direct. But Newcastle are never going to be that team.
This is pretty much it. I would add Clark (CB) to the 'solid' list. as well, tbf.
But the likes of Dummett, Colback, Darlow, Selz - yes, that's both keepers listed, they've been guilty of some absolute howlers this season - Ameobi, Gouffran, Perez, Gamez, Mitrovic, Murphy, Hanley ... That's a lot of the squad. I'd have trouble saying most of them are Championship quality with a straight face.
I think Rafa was left with a lot to do once Schteve got the can. He inherited a horrible squad that had been circling the bowl for years before finally being flushed. Shattered club, top to bottom tbh.
My biggest fear was never getting promotion - didn't think we'd walk it undefeated or anything but expected a little better - but that Ashley is going to feck him over in the summer and he'll be off and we'll be back at square one. Heavily rumoured that almost happened in January anyway. I hope the daft twat has learned his lesson after mis-owning the club into two relegations in a 10 year term. We'll see.
Mitrović
Aarons------Shelvey-----Ritchie
Hayden Diamé
LB-----Clark Lascelles-----RB
Krul
Erm, no, there's a lot wrong with that.
- Shelvey is never in his life a #10. Not in a Rafa system. No.
- Mitrovic couldn't finish a meal. His confidence is shattered and he's a disaster waiting to happen with his temper. Gayle ahead of him forever.
- Atsu ahead of Aarons, all day every day and twice on Sundays.
Regarding the French lads, Saviet and Riviere are never PL quality. Marveaux was released and Thauvin's loan was made permanent earlier so I doubt we're seeing value out of them. Colback is only a "good option" if your plane has crashed landed on a snowy mountainside and you need to decide who to kill first for food. Ayoze has been wasteful and largely disappointing after a fairly good year last year. Anita is a solid backup.
As for the squad being better than I think, that's fairly condescending of you [edit: I get that it's coming from a good place, but still] - I've watched our games all season and last year, did you? I know what the squad is made of. There's not a lot of quality there, trust me.
I'm over the moon that we're up but I think it's dangerous of any toon fan to underestimate the now even larger task of rebuilding for the premier league.
Last edited:
Rafa for England.
Rafa Benitez will be not happy to be just in the Premier League or to fight relegation.. He will want to compete at least for Top 10. So if the owner do not back him in the summer for some transfers he will be off by Sept/Oct..
Wouldn't be too shocked. Surprised but not outright shock. Gerrard as his number 2.
Or he might replace Jose at Utd. Or Wenger at Arsenal. Definitely one more big role (no not roll
) in his future I reckon.Rafa is a good coach.The fact newcastle fans sang his name rather than for a player is testamount to his credentials (10 or more trophies.) but as mentioned above can he get along well with mike ashley ? I dont see him staying long if ashley doesnot comptomise with him.
Yeah I don't think he will stay long, Ashley is a penny pincher, I bet he'd love Wenger at Newcastle.
Credit to Rafa mixing it in the Championship, but they have a serious amount of work to do if they're aiming for a solid Premier League campaign.
They need quality additions, their squad is bang average.
They need quality additions, their squad is bang average.
He's a very, very good manager. If he gets the money this summer to reinforce the team they will be nowhere near relegation next season.
Let's face it, he's a damn good manager. He'll get them ready for the Prem next season.
He's a fat cnut, that's who he is.
The two things aren't mutually exclusive, you know.
He should've done better with the money they've spent. Not sure why Benitez makes it so likely they'll stay up. I think they'll have a tough year next season, especially if they don't considerably improve their squad.
Real Madrid to relegated New Castle. Looking forward the the fat waiter back in the PL.
Shelvey in a midfield two won’t cut it in most PL games. He is talented enough to play a number of positions and roles, in my opinion. I’ve been watching him since his Charlton days and saw him lots for Swansea due to my ties to the club. It will be more of a 4-5-1 most weeks anyway, unless Benítez brings in some further attackers to warrant the risk/reward that comes with a more fluid system, such as 4-2-3-1.
Mitrović hasn’t scored as many goals as I would have thought. He hasn’t been 1st choice, though. Some players aren’t cut out for Championship football. It’s a long, gruelling schedule. You play 3 games every 10 days most of the time, which is requires high levels of fitness and certain amount of steel. He certainly doesn’t lack grit. But let’s not forget that he is still only 22. He showed enough of his ability last season in The PL. So what if he’s fiery, so are Costa, Suárez, Agüero and other strikers. It’s who he is. And anyway, he’s only been booked 4 times all season. Not a bad record for a bad boy. Gayle, for me, is one of those players who excels in the lower leagues. He can finish, though. He could make an impact from the bench like he did for Palace, but I don’t see him as a 10-15 goals a season PL striker. Mitrović has the potential to score 12 goals next season.
I wasn’t aware that you had signed Atsu yet. Fair enough. I’d agree. Aarons is young and has potential. Hopefully he gets more exposure next season if he isn’t loaded out.
Saivet is not a bad player. He joined Newcastle at a bad time. He was quite good against United in the 1st leg a few weeks back. He has the required athleticism to make it in England. Whether he wants to have another crack at it or not that remains to be seen. I agree that Riviére has been very poor since leaving Monaco. I would bring back Saivet for pre-season and take it from there. We’ll see. Siem de Jong would be like signing a new player if he can stay fit. Tragic what happened to him.
As for Colback, you do him a disservice. He’s not going to get you up off your seat, but he’s a very steady 6/10 player most weeks. He is decent to good at most aspects of the game. He works hard and covers large amounts of ground, which is vital for any newly promoted team. He’s got a lot of PL experience and knowhow when it comes to relegation scraps, so I wouldn’t write him off as easily as you. He can provide similar qualities to those of Sam Clucas at Hull.
Ayoze would be a star in La Liga. He is exactly the type of player who is not suited to Championship football. But then again, 11 goals is a more than decent return from him this season. He has shown his class in The PL and will be an important player should he remain at the club. There are a lot of clubs out there who would take him.
You can watch as many games as you like. I know my football and am confident that this current Newcastle side is not as tragic as the picture you paint. If you’re comparing it to Keegan’s Newcastle or Sir Bobby Robson’s early 00’s sides, then obviously they come up short. The goal is survival next season. Anywhere from 15th upwards would be a good start. Benítez will be aiming for mid-table should he receives further backing. Any team that comes through a Championship season and finished with automatic promotion has something within them. I think you will be fine next season. Signings will be made. Allardyce, Pulis, Hughes and Dyche would survive no problem with a squad like this. Benítez will too.
Agreed, midtable safety beckons.
Remember when he managed to piss off Alonso by trying to replace him with Gareth Barry,, losing Alonso and not getting Barry?
Remember when they were fighting for a CL spot and at 1-1 against Birmingham and he subbed Torres for N'gog with a half hour left?
Remember when he derailed Liverpool's chances of a title with a bizarre, paranoid rant?
I'm not exactly a fan of his but the points above don't turn him into a poor manager for all that they were poor decisions particularly the Alonso situation. He's a good manager or at least was one, trophy haul confirms that.
Fergie sold Stam and played Park ahead of Pogba. Everyone makes mistakes. Rafa is a decent enough manager, better than Newcastle deserve that's for sure.
You could cherry pick enough mistakes to make anyone from Sir Alex to Vince Lombardi to Gregg Popavich look like simpletons. Anyone who coaches for a substantial period of time will eventually make bad errors.
It doesn't, however, make them bad coaches.
Benitez hounours as a manager
1 x Laliga title
1 x FA Cup
2 x Europa League
1 x Champions league
1 x Community shield
1 x UEFA super cup
2 x Supercoppa Italiana
1 x Coppa Italia
1 x FIFA club World Cup
2 x UEFA manager of the year.
That would make him the 3rd most successful manager in the premier league next season. All the waters get muddied if you want too throw him in with the top 6 managers conversation but after that he is comfortably better than anyone else operating in the premier league. If Newcastle spend well with Benitez as manager then there is no reason why they can't finish 7th.
Also there's no reason why he can't deliver a league cup or even an FA cup in the next couple of seasons and for a club as starved of success for so long as Newcastle that would make him a deity.
1 x Laliga title
1 x FA Cup
2 x Europa League
1 x Champions league
1 x Community shield
1 x UEFA super cup
2 x Supercoppa Italiana
1 x Coppa Italia
1 x FIFA club World Cup
2 x UEFA manager of the year.
That would make him the 3rd most successful manager in the premier league next season. All the waters get muddied if you want too throw him in with the top 6 managers conversation but after that he is comfortably better than anyone else operating in the premier league. If Newcastle spend well with Benitez as manager then there is no reason why they can't finish 7th.
Also there's no reason why he can't deliver a league cup or even an FA cup in the next couple of seasons and for a club as starved of success for so long as Newcastle that would make him a deity.
They will build him a statue if he wins them a trophy or two. That's why he chose to stay at Newcastle. The environment is very important. Benitez needs to be liked by fans, media and the bosses to be succesfull. The last part is as is reported a bit troublesome now..
A shame if that's the case. Too give him is due he did step into the hotseat at Chelsea when universally hated by the fans. He probably does like working with a loving fan base, I know what I'd prefer.
Obviously opinion is devided on here but I wish him well and another top coach in the premiership is not a bad thing.