da winzada777： Rafael Benitez is a decent manager, but at Newcastle he has bitten off more than he can chew.
da aviator aposta： Newcastle’s displays have been called abject, while some pundits think that this is their worst team ever to play in the Premier League. This isn’t exactly complimentary at any time, but especially when the very worst team in the league is one place beneath you and have also been described in the same way.
Whoever is the worst is subject to debate, but what is not based on opinion is the fact that there will be nothing that Rafa can do to stop the Geordies from slipping away to the Championship on what’s been seen so far.
If this was a medical situation, Newcastle would be in the resuscitation unit, but not responding.
Six points adrift of fourth from bottom Norwich City, and with a game in hand plus four home matches remaining, this isn’t over mathematically, yet nobody outside of St James’ Park can see a way back, though.
Benitez, with one point from his three matches in the hot-seat, needs a miracle, because the damage to the costly squad was done long before he arrived. Steve McClaren brought in expensive, well thought of players, but just couldn’t get them to gel together. They are dispirited, downhearted and the displays appear to be getting worse. Abysmal defending at Southampton last weekend and a dismal goal return leave the Magpies with a goal difference of -29, which is only bettered (well, you know what I mean) by Aston Villa.
The current crop of players lack character and, while some supporters would be relieved to see the back of the majority of the squad, they would be left with a major rebuilding job to prepare a team capable of challenging for promotion.
Newcastle will need to win at least three of their remaining games to stand any chance of survival it seems, and that is assuming both Norwich and Sunderland embark on losing runs.
Benitez signed a three-year deal last month, but inserted into the contract was a break clause in the event of relegation. If the Spaniard and the club part ways should he fail to keep them in the top flight, the search for a fifth manager in 18 months would begin, but with a severely depleted budget.
In the first season following relegation income is likely to drop by £40m on the previous year. However, the loss of potential earnings is far greater given the new TV deal, for even the bottom club in next season’s top flight will take home £100m. In the Championship, by comparison, the TV deal is worth just £2.5m.
Newcastle as a club find themselves in trouble in every conceivable way, but Rafa is fast finding out that this job is bigger than he anticipated and he must be patting himself on the back for getting an escape clause in his contract.
Sadly for the Newcastle faithful, no such escape clause is available to them. They’ve loved their club through thick and thin and watched helplessly as various board members, managers and players have somewhat destroyed a popular sleeping giant.
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