Rafa Benitez coup could indicate shift in Mike Ashley’s philosophy
Incredibly, it’s true. Something we refused to believe
because of the continual state of disappointment that goes hand-in-hand with
supporting Newcastle United. After a 10-year string of awful, lower-league
calibre managers on a pittance, we’ve finally been treated to the other extreme
– Rafa Benitez. The deal is reportedly for three years with an option to walk
away if the club still get relegated to the Championship. What a coup. There’s
a buzz around the city, a flashback to the good times.
Of course, it would be typical Newcastle United to grab this
opportunity and go down anyway. Steve McClaren has left Benitez with a very
tough job, as the Magpies sit 19th in the league with just ten games
left. Those ten include trips to table-topping Leicester, as well as
Southampton and Liverpool. Throw in home games with Man City and Tottenham too.
What’s left are five games against relegation rivals, needing a minimum of
three wins.
If anyone can do it, Rafa can. He’s absolutely insane to
come here, going from managing Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale
to Jack Colback and Paul Dummett in just two months. Maybe he sees Newcastle
for what they truly are – a once great club that’s morphed into a hopeless,
soulless branch of Sports Direct. Maybe he likes the challenge of putting the
club back where it used to be. Regardless, such an extraordinary appointment
shows that the club must still have a huge pull.
What’s really interesting about events on Tyneside is that
appointing Benitez is a departure from anything else owner Mike Ashley has ever
done. A man who has spent eight years running his football club like his
discount sports stores, Ashley has redefined frugality and corner-cutting at
Newcastle. Hated by many and a national laughing stock, he stubbornly surrounds
himself with non-footballing men and tries to prove that his way is the right
way. It hasn’t worked. Relegated in 2009, the Magpies came close to repeating
this in both 2013 and 2015. They’re even closer right now.
Perhaps that’s why the penny has eventually dropped. Look
around at other clubs – you speculate to accumulate, good managers finish
higher up the table and Premier League experience is valuable in transfer
targets. Without wanting to give Ashley too much credit, he allowed the club to
spend £80 million on players since last summer – one of Europe’s largest net
spends. Furthermore, this time he avoided bulk buying from French, Dutch and
Belgian clubs. For excessive fees, in came Jonjo Shelvey and Andros Townsend
with their Premier League experience, as Ashley panicked about missing out on
next season’s TV deal that will make the club eye-wateringly rich.
Spending £80m is uncharacteristic, as is appointing a
manager who isn’t a ‘yes man’ simply grateful to have a Premier League job. But
hiring Benitez has come from the same mind-set as splashing the cash – fear of
relegation. He’s so scared, he’s ceding control to a manager (note, Benitez
won’t be classed as ‘head coach’) and giving him final say on transfers. Could
Ashley finally be realising that his philosophy is wrong? Or is it a false
dawn?
It’s time to get mildly excited about this potential
attitude change. Newcastle are used to expensive squads with bargain-basement
managers. I’d have thought the opposite would be the ideal Ashley blueprint –
spending big on one good manager who can get more from a poorer squad. Surely
it’d save him millions and keep the club safely away from relegation battles.
Perhaps the hierarchy underrated a manager’s role until now, when looking at
Leicester City shows just how important they are.
With the new TV deal, a good manager will earn a club an
extra £10-15m in prize money, which dwarves his salary. Without doubt, it’s
worth investing in a good manager. It could be a new era for the Ashley regime.
First of all the club has to stay up, with the players finally deciding to try.
After that, Benitez allegedly sees Newcastle as an enticing project to add to
his Champions League-winning CV. He has managed Liverpool, Valencia, Napoli,
Real Madrid, Chelsea and Inter Milan but thinks Newcastle has phenomenal
potential. When someone eventually gets it right and brings glory to Newcastle,
they’ll be a god.
However, there are still signs that it could go wrong at St
James’ Park, as always. It’s been a torturous few days since losing at home to
Bournemouth – a new low for a club that strives to create new ones. Most clubs
would’ve had plans in place or done things quicker, whereas Newcastle have
dragged this out for days. The 18-day break that followed a 5-1 humiliation at
Chelsea was the perfect time to replace McClaren but they waited until two
defeats in four days to start the process.
As for McClaren, it’s hard not to feel sorry for him on a
personal level. As bad a manager as he is, he’s been treated shockingly since
Saturday. With speculation over his job reaching fever pitch, he apparently
hadn’t heard a word from the board between then and Wednesday. Persona non
grata. He carried on taking training while the club were publicly finding his
replacement, completely oblivious to what was going on. The way managing
director Lee Charnley has handled this week is a reminder of who he and Ashley
really are.
It could foreshadow a grisly, premature end to the Benitez
era. But first of all, let’s win some games.
