The new Premier League season isn’t a million miles away, yet Newcastle United don’t even have a manager in place.
Teams around us are signing players, getting deals done, while we’ve just got rid of the best thing to happen to the club since Sir Bobby Robson.
Rafa Benitez won’t be extending his Newcastle contract, and rightly so. The reported terms weren’t enough for a world class manager. He needs to be competing for trophies, merely surviving isn’t enough.
As things stand, Rafa Benitez is too big for Newcastle United. That’s Mike Ashley’s Newcastle United though. Under a different regime, Benitez would be perfect. He understands the potential of the club, and could’ve taken it to new heights. But he wasn’t given the tools to do so, and rightfully walked away.
So if Benitez isn’t going to get the funding to take Newcastle further, why would any other manager? Why would anyone out there want to become manager of the Magpies?
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The Newcastle job is no longer appealing to managers
It wasn’t hard for Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley to see what they had with Rafa. Yet somehow they were happy enough to let him go. Despite the fury from fans they knew would be coming their way, they happily let Rafa Benitez leave.
While the club’s statement claimed that they tried very hard to keep him at St James’ Park, that simply isn’t true. If they tried hard, he would’ve stayed.
Unless you’re desperate for a job, why would you want to replace Benitez? You’ve seen exactly what he’s been subject to over the past three years. Despite his reputation, Ashley and Charnley wouldn’t budge.
If they aren’t going to budge for a man like Rafa, they’re not going to do it for anyone else.
And any manager that comes in will immediately be under scrutiny from fans. Imagine having to replace a manager that fans adored with all their hearts, yet was forced out of the club by the owner they despise.
The Newcastle job is a thankless task right now.