ZolaWasMagic
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- Jul 14, 2018
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- Chelsea
Absolutely detest that true geordie fecking numpty. proper fecking melt and wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire
Wish people would stop going on about net fecking spend. He's spent nearly 100m in his three years at Newcastle, hardly a small amount.He had a -11m net spend. Crystal Palace and Bournemouth have spent much more on transfers and probably more on wages too (definitely Palace have with Zaha on good money and players like Sakho in the side). Both Howe and Hodgson have been backed to a certain extent, key players retained, a few good ones added like Batshuayi, Lerma, Brooks etc .. the Newcastle squad isn't better than theirs and Rafa has been scraping the barrel whilst manager there.
The squad is alright but definitely any manager keeping them up (which he has done, comfortably) is doing a good job, you can't expect more without more spending. They've got a few decent players in Almiron, Schar, Dubravka, Lascelles etc but the other lower mid table clubs all have that as well. I don't think he's been a miracle worker at Newcastle like some make out, but he's done well and if anything I'm surprised he's lasted this long under those circumstances, must be a miserable club to manage with that twat Ashley at the helm.
Wish people would stop going on about net fecking spend. He's spent nearly 100m in his three years at Newcastle, hardly a small amount.
Palace I don't think, and without checking it I can't confirm, have spent much more than Newcastle in that time,
The football Benitez has Newcastle playing was awful, feeble and quite frankly a step below what they are capable of.
It's no surprise that when they opened up somewhat and started to play more expansive football (at behest of the fans I might add) towards the end of the season results improved.
Get a manager that's willing to do that every week and they'll be higher next season.
This hot take on spending 33m/yr brought to you from 2006.Wish people would stop going on about net fecking spend. He's spent nearly 100m in his three years at Newcastle, hardly a small amount.
He did win the EL with you in 2013, right?at the people saying Rafa to Chelsea on twitter,
Good manager yes, but err.. no. Not happening
£100m is nothing in this time and place (as odd as "£100m is nothing" sounds). It also felt like Rafa would usually have to sell before he could buy... he basically ran a PL club and kept them up on a shoestring.Wish people would stop going on about net fecking spend. He's spent nearly 100m in his three years at Newcastle, hardly a small amount.
Palace I don't think, and without checking it I can't confirm, have spent much more than Newcastle in that time,
The football Benitez has Newcastle playing was awful, feeble and quite frankly a step below what they are capable of.
It's no surprise that when they opened up somewhat and started to play more expansive football (at behest of the fans I might add) towards the end of the season results improved.
Get a manager that's willing to do that every week and they'll be higher next season.
he sure did, and we actually played quite well under him at times. But it was never a good fit.He did win the EL with you in 2013, right?
Rafa inherited a team that had spent £100m near enough in one transfer window! He also spent as much as crystal palace in his seasons as manager all together just about, to say he over achieved is nonsensical, he's got Newcastle at their level.Fulham spent 100m in a single window. Crystal Palace spent getting on for 50m in 17/18 on the likes of Sakho/Riedewald/Sorloth, and in 16/17 spent an absolute fortune - over 30 on Benteke, 15 on Townsend, 15 on Milivojevic etc, with double figure sums also spent on the likes of Schlupp, Tomkins and Van Aanholt. In 18/19 they didn't spend much but they did secure big loans for the likes of Batshuayi (likely paying a lot of the wages) and gave a bumper contract to star man Zaha.
'Nearly 100m' in 3 seasons for a team with one of (if not the lowest of the surviving sides?) the lowest wage budgets in the league is not a lot, like at all. Bournemouth spent 80 million this window alone, with premier league money pretty much all bottom half sides have serious cash and are happy to splash it, Newcastle have an incredibly restrictive wage/transfer budget and on that basis Rafa has done a good job staying up. All your 'they'll be higher with an attacking manager!' stuff is pure speculation, nothing more or less.
Rafa inherited a team that had spent £100m near enough in one transfer window! He also spent as much as crystal palace in his seasons as manager all together just about, to say he over achieved is nonsensical, he's got Newcastle at their level.
And yes it is speculation to say that about an attacking manager but as I've mentioned previously, Newcastle got more points and won more games towards the latter end of the season because they started to play more expansive football, instead of the negative dross he served up before hand. So their is 'facts' behind my speculation...see what I did there?
I'm sensible enough to know he's a decent manager, I just feel that he has definitely not over achieved at Newcastle, he's merely got them where they should be.
Better odds than Wenger at 25/1. Can't for the life of me see why he would go there at all. Moyes would be a bad idea, but anyone they can get in is bound to be one relative to keeping Benitez. Only way is down for them.25/1 for Moyes........David Moyes..........former Sunderland manager DAVID MOYES?!?!?!
It was like 67m but yeah .. near enough 100m if you like. It was also a complete reworking of the squad having been relegated, so you're talking about spending 67m whilst selling 100m worth of players. A lot of the players brought in were just to fill squad spots and you're acting like they were big money transfers. Their key players like Wijnaldum, Sissoko, Janmaat, Krul and Townsend went out the door and had to be replaced, which is pretty hard when you're in the championship and only certain players will join you.
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Obviously going to agree to disagree on this.It was like 67m but yeah .. near enough 100m if you like. It was also a complete reworking of the squad having been relegated, so you're talking about spending 67m whilst selling 100m worth of players. A lot of the players brought in were just to fill squad spots and you're acting like they were big money transfers. Their key players like Wijnaldum, Sissoko, Janmaat, Krul and Townsend went out the door and had to be replaced, which is pretty hard when you're in the championship and only certain players will join you.
Crystal palace have spent more on transfers, have a significantly higher net spend (which yes does matter, if you're having to sell your key players to bring ones in, that's an issue .. Palace have retained their key players) and spend over a million more a week on wages. They finished a single place higher than Newcastle and you're acting like that's not a good finish and they should be expected to significantly improve. There's no basis for that at all. They don't have a better squad than the likes of Palace or Bournemouth.
He's got one of the lowest wage budgets in the league, a negative net spend (and an overall spend lower than most), and a cnut of an owner who makes things an absolute bitch in the transfer market, but he's managed to stay comfortably in the Premier League. Last season he had them 10th which was a very good finish, this season 13th when their target as usual under Ashley will simply be to tread water. He's done a good job there and Newcastle will badly struggle to find any manager who can improve on it. Just because they played more attacking football doesn't equate to any old manager with an attacking philosophy causing them to improve, Newcastle are a very structured and compact side who concede far less goals than others around them. They will lose that under a different coach who lacks the ability to set up a defence.
He's not achieved miracles at Newcastle, I'll say that. He's done what I would call a good job, exceeded the expectation of avoiding relegation two seasons in a row by instead staying up rather comfortably. There's a reason he's adored by the fans and they consider him the only reason they're still in the league, the squad really isn't very good barring a handful of decent players, and under a different manager could easily be relegated.
Chinese forums already referring to him as yi ge pang de xibayan ren de fuwuyuan.
So this was the reason he left rather than owners not sharing his vision?
I think Rafa has played a blinder and has been able to do so because Mike Ashley is viewed so negatively. He has managed to walk away from a club he claims he had grown attached to for a huge pay day in China and has been able to steer the narrative in his favour. Compare the reaction to the usual almost villifying of players that go to China painted as cold blooded mercenaries.
Rafa is smart and I don't think his affinity with fans at his clubs is ever 100% genuine. I think it's in part at least a ploy to simply get them firmly onside as it gives him more power in the politics games he loves to play with his employers.
He's (or was) an elite level manager and done a great job as interim with us and I actually thought fan behaviour towards him at the time was fairly pathetic and at times embarrassing.
His liking for engaging in club politics and PR battles is probably what has led to him heading to china a few years earlier than ideal. For modern day owners I think he would definitely be viewed as high maintenance.