Henri Saivet has given an interview in France Football today and he was not very happy during the eight months he had at Newcastle United.
It’s not nice, but if you really want to read what he said about Newcastle here it is – he was very frustrated on Tyneside.
That should come as no surprise to Newcastle fans, since Henri hardly ever played for Newcastle after his £5M move from Bordeaux.
Henri Saivet in pre-season
And after venting about his time at Newcastle he did talk a little about Rafa Benitez and he thinks Rafa is a great coach.
This is what he has said about the Newcastle manager:
“Benitez is a great coach. He talks a lot of tactics – a little too much at times, but he is a great coach.”
“When he was appointed the group (team) was lost, not confident and there remained ten matches to play.”
“It was complicated for him. The leaders had asked him to play the English way. It’s like that there.”
The suggestion there was that Rafa had been asked to play British players in the team because they knew what it was like to fight against relegation.
What Rafa actually did was to use the experienced players at Newcastle as much as he could and the youngsters didn’t get much playing time.
The new players – particularly like Henri who were not used to the English way of playing football, were also not used by Rafa.
But you get casualties when Newcastle got themselves into a complete and utter mess by early March …. and Henri was one of those casualties.
But so too were thousands and thousands of Newcastle fans who were basically screwed and let down completely by those running the club last season – and we are now a second division club.
But things have changed and they are now already a million miles better than last season – and that’s after Rafa has been here for only a short six months.
Things are improving quickly and we are very confident in the future of Newcastle United with Rafa Benitez in complete control of all football matters.
That’s the good news.
Comments welcome.
70 comments so far
Jail for Ashley
Sep 6, 2016 at 10:32 AM
Comment #1McCardew is dead!
Long live the Rafalution!
Jib
Sep 6, 2016 at 10:34 AM
Comment #2I don’t think we are getting the full story from Henri there.
He says “when I came back from vacation” yet we signed him in January and Willy Sagnol his boss at Bordeaux seemed very keen to get shot.
His agency is the ubiquitous Mondial Sport.There is more than meets the eye I’m guessing.
Jail for Ashley
Sep 6, 2016 at 10:38 AM
Comment #3Just Google it Jibberish, I’m sure you’ll come up with some shite or other!
Mister Tuff
Sep 6, 2016 at 10:39 AM
Comment #4“………………There is more than meets the eye I’m guessing.”
No change there then!
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 10:57 AM
Comment #5Thanks gift the hair loss clinic Jib but I didn’t get it. Maybe you’re considering fkbstjnv from your nose? I dunno…moving on…
Well I might have said that with McLaren and the ebullient JC he might have got the sticky end of the sticky…thing… but when Rafa gives you the once-over and you’re on the plane to the Motherland, that’s your answer, Henri. Bon Voyage et merci beaucoup pour tout. Or words to that effect.
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:00 AM
Comment #6OK I get “gift” instead of “for the link” only just but “fkbstjnv” instead of “donating”? Who writes this auto correct program?
Our Toon
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:01 AM
Comment #7Jib
In Europe they have a mid season break, Saivet was signed in January, could he have been on holiday for the mid season break?
Our Toon
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:02 AM
Comment #8Interesting and disturbing insight that British players should be preferred and they have more fight…..speaks volumes for our recruitment this season as well. Let’s hope it’s not so next season.
Wasn’t given a fair crack of the whip but he’s gone now so time to move on
YouCouldn'tMakeItUp
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:04 AM
Comment #9But Tsunki…. we can build a well to serve a whole african village if we fkbst 2 poinds a month.
YouCouldn'tMakeItUp
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:05 AM
Comment #10Pounds
martoon
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:07 AM
Comment #11He might have not played much but I’m sure it was a nice little earner for him. I don’t think he’ll be offering to pay back his wages as he didn’t play much so it wasn’t all bad was it?
YouCouldn'tMakeItUp
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:07 AM
Comment #12Our Toon
I am not sure things are quite the way Henri has been quoted as saying. Plenty gets lost in translation in many of these interviews.
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:08 AM
Comment #13Well here’s some translation for Henri.
You were too cack to play in our first team. ‘Bye.
Jib
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:10 AM
Comment #14Our Toon
France abondoned the mid season break last season as did Serie A I think.
The pressures of TV methinks – and anyway in Germany the mid season break generally means warm weather training camp not vacation.
The overrated Frenchman
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:11 AM
Comment #15Jib@2 – are you suggesting that there was some sort of impropiety with our Chief Scout Graham Carr and our CEO Lee Charnley in terms of signing Mondial players?
YouCouldn'tMakeItUp
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:13 AM
Comment #16Tsunki
As long as your Autocorrect doesnt translate it, it will be fine.
Jib
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:18 AM
Comment #17Tsunki
I don’t think he was too cack.
I think McClaren was making a pitiful attempt at some sort of statement about HIS team.
Rafa saw no point in picking him as he was a gone goose .
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:19 AM
Comment #18Nope Mark I’ll leave it up to the expert.
Jib
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:21 AM
Comment #19Frenchy
Within the game I don’t think it’s regarded as impropriety – just a lot of back scratching and favours returned.
There’s so much money in the EPL trough that every pig can get his snout in.
YouCouldn'tMakeItUp
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:22 AM
Comment #20Avee vu borrow some milk, mon Aimeeee. Merseee mosewer Henrik Saveloy.
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:22 AM
Comment #21On what do you pin your assessment of Saivets’ dearth of general cackiness then Jib? If he was cheap and here, why would Rafa dismiss him? Best credit I’ll give the lad is he was a foreign player too far in Rafas vision of a team with a local fighting core of championship-savvy players. But that still means he was one of the worst foreign players. Surplus to requirements.
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:24 AM
Comment #22Well that’s better than my gfuyggyn and the fvjkohggn as well not to mention ffhjjiggt!!! Who’d have thought fsswqbb? Dear oh dear whatever next, eh?
beermonkey
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:26 AM
Comment #23jib
given the amount of mondial flops we have bought
when will we get one of these so called favours returned
Blofal
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:33 AM
Comment #24“Jail for Ashley // Sep 6, 2016 at 10:18 AM
Blofal,
Sometimes there’s a very good reason why certain players aren’t given chances.”
Jail I agree entirely. At every other club. At ours anything goes!
Jib
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:37 AM
Comment #25beermonkey
Cabaye BenArfa Sissoko Thauvin Cabella Debuchy Saivet Riviere
In France that would be considered the basis of a fair team
We may well see the favour returned in the next couple of windows – they have some cracking players on their books
I also understand how we lost out on Dmitri Payet – they have Slaven Bilic as a client as well !
Shadow_Shearer
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:37 AM
Comment #26I still believe saviet cuuld have been a useful addition to the team. I dint understand why either manager gave him a chance, & understand his fustration.
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:39 AM
Comment #27Let’s see him pull up some trees back home I suppose eh?
Our Toon
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:48 AM
Comment #28Damned if you are honest and Damned if you are not, that seems to be the rule on here about former players or players that have moved on.
Was he given a chance here? No he wasn’t, good luck to him for the future
Belfast
Sep 6, 2016 at 11:56 AM
Comment #29It all went down hill for him when Munster tipped him to be a great signing.
Belfast
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:00 PM
Comment #30He was another one of those signings that didn’t really make any sense at the time. There’s been a few of them alright.
Average_Contents
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:02 PM
Comment #31Ahhhh it’s jesper lol.
Jail for Ashley
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:02 PM
Comment #32Trouble was though Belfits it made perfect sense to Mashers, Churners and Carrsy and that’s why we got relegated.
Jib
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:12 PM
Comment #33Do you think these 2 could be connected ?
http://news.sky.com/story/sports-direct-acts-on-pay-after-critical-warehouse-report-10566898
Sports Direct International plc will be hosting an Open Day on Wednesday, 7 September 2016, at its premises in Shirebrook. The purpose of the Open Day is to enable the Board to engage with as many people as possible in an open discussion about the business.
The Open Day will commence with the Annual General Meeting, which is being held at 11.00am in the Auditorium, Unit D, Brook Park East, Shirebrook, NG20 8RY. The Board would also like to extend an invitation to the Annual General Meeting to those who are not shareholders of the Company, but who may wish to attend as observers.
Belfast
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:13 PM
Comment #34Yes it works !
Fyi: Jespers mug shot will be accompanying my inspirational comments from here onwards.
Belfast
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:17 PM
Comment #35That was probably about the tenth time I’ve tried to do it but sure. 🙂
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:18 PM
Comment #36Hang on, what’s the basis for “wasn’t given a chance?” the hours of training sessions under several coaches, the last one to run his rule over him was Benitez. I’m sure one of the first things Benitez would do is consider what if any selection mistakes were made by the previous fumbling incumbents, and not dismiss any players out of hand until he had fully assessed them. The guy had more than one chance in that case, and he was still deemed recyclable. He wasn’t good enough to keep. End.
Laurent Robert The Legend
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:24 PM
Comment #37If Saviet was not given chance..what about doumbia?
Belfast
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:32 PM
Comment #38Aye if he’d have showed any potential he probably would have been kept in our current predicament.
It’s another one of those deals where we’re heavily subsidising the wages. So desperate to move on we’re paying for someone to take them.
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:34 PM
Comment #39What about Chucky Ferreyra?
Tsunki
Sep 6, 2016 at 12:38 PM
Comment #40I like that line “he talks tactics – a little too much at times” aaahh I see where you’re coming from Henri. 7th grade.