Rafa Benitez is a pragmatic coach, and he was even upbeat after our 6th defeat on Saturday in our 12 league games, but we remain in 11th place in the league table with some games coming up we can win.
We have to get some points on the board at home to Watford who won 2-0 at home to West Ham yesterday and are now 4 points above us.
They are a well-coached side this season by new manager Marco Silva.
We are at 4th bottom West Brom on the following Tuesday (28 November) before we have yet another tough game at Chelsea the Saturday after that.
Newcastle have lost a lot of games already (half of our 12 Premier League games), but wins can get us the points this season.
If Mike Ashley is the owner in January, there will be some money available, but it may not be much if it’s like the last two transfer windows.
Rafa Benitez – will improve the side – one way or another
There are different reports about how much money will actually be available under Ashley, but Mike would be foolish not to support Rafa in the transfer window.
After all, Ashley is trying to sell Newcastle and if we are relegated the price of the club will plummet.
Rafa seems fully prepared if he doesn’t get much money to spend in January.
This is what the manager had this to say after the 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday:
“I don’t know what will happen in January.”
“I’ll keep working until January as hard as I can to improve my players, and if we can do something, we will.”
“If not, I’ll try to improve the players that are available to me.”
Rafa made it very clear to everybody after the game at Old Trafford that job one this season was to stay in the Premier League.
And Rafa seems to be more and more committed to the club as time goes on.
But when you get away fans singing away after a 4-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday night he cannot help but want to do well at Newcastle.
The fans and Rafa have a special bond, and the manager knows just how important the fans are to the club.
Rafa’s ambitions for the club also mirror those of the fans – put the best team possible together as soon as possible.
Comments welcome.
16 comments so far
jayphoto
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:32 AM
Comment #1@Jail – my guess is funds will come from whoever they sell for most, Gayle or Mitrovic… my guess is Gayle for 15m to whichever club is in and around the championship playoffs? A leeds or a Villa will see Sheff Utd/Cardiff/Bristol don’t have the squads to keep up their form and might gamble on catching them..perhaps Fulham? (6 pts off playoffs). Wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them take Colback too…
Be very surprised if Mbemba sticks around, hes facing a prospect of playing a handful of games in 2 years if he does so theres probably another 8m and if Rafa gets the keeper he wants that’ll be Darlow leaving, done enough to be a number 1 somewhere you’d imagine..or at least be a number 2 at a top level club, the fact that he’s English and counts to homegrown maybe key..
hibbit
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:33 AM
Comment #2expat
no longer a case of if its now a case of when !!
keep the faith the good times are coming
Jail for Ashley
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:36 AM
Comment #3Jay,
Aye it was an absolute madmens decision to appoint Moyes. Probably one of the most uninspiring managers out there who’s star has fallen every bit as much as a Phill Brown or John Gregory. To hire him in the first place was daft but to hire him for six months was just plain stupid. The players know for a fact that he’s become a first class loser and won’t be there next season no matter what happens. If they’d wanted a caretaker for a six month bounce then auld rubber lips and wearer of silly glasses would have been the man for the job.
martoon
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:37 AM
Comment #4jayphoto – Surely if Gayle is getting picked to play then Mitro must be favourite to be sold in January?
jayphoto
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:42 AM
Comment #5Id personally look at Baba Rahman at Chelsea… not even given a squad number this year by conte..
Hes so underrated by Conte that even Kenedy is ahead of him..
In a world cup year, with so few minutes you’d have to imagine Luke Shaw, Jack Wilshire, Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge will be all agitating to get out and get minutes on loan if not permanently..
Mindshaft
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:42 AM
Comment #6Thought Gayle worked quite well with joselu in the first half – joselu won a lot of headers and made the ball stick
Mitro didn’t win a header when he came on , although most of the team were designed to defeat by then
beermonkey
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:44 AM
Comment #7Jay
So we need to fill up the physios room with them
jayphoto
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:44 AM
Comment #8@Martoon – got a feeling the offers won’t be there for Mitro though, cant see anyone topping 8m for him whereas Gayles goal record per minutes in the league below will probably see some desperate chairman take a punt
jayphoto
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:46 AM
Comment #9@beermonkey – Michael Owen syndrome my friend, these players always seem to be fit and firing from February – May come a championship year.. wouldn’t wanna sign them beyond that but on loan…
Jail for Ashley
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:48 AM
Comment #10The two lads hosting the talk sport show on Saturday afternoon gave a good analysis on why there’s nothing good at all about having Pulis as manager. The fans get sick to death of the football and the players get fed up with the rigid coaching, makes everyone associated lose the will to live. He’d have been perfect for the mackems.
jayphoto
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:50 AM
Comment #11@Jail – yeah hate to say it but I thought Pardew would have been the man for them for 6 months…
People forget it actually took Moyes a few seasons to get it right at Everton, they nearly went down a couple times in his first few seasons, he wasn’t a quick fix man hes more a build it over time manager for me and I this age hes never going to get the time he needs
jayphoto
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:53 AM
Comment #12saw someone say isn’t It funny how Pulis looks set to be sacked for the first time and get a payoff right around the time hes due to repay 3m to Crystal Palace.. that guys as dodgy as they come.. One of my clients is tight in at Stoke and some of the dodgy deals he pulled there that seem to have gone unreported are unreal levels of greed…Coates put up with it because hes an inhouse man that didn’t want stoke to get bad press and at the time time, with the playing squad they had, a change of manager would have been suicide. The guys a crook
Jail for Ashley
Nov 20, 2017 at 8:57 AM
Comment #13Jay,
He’d have gone there with something to prove and no matter what we think of him he does seem to get results at first. It’s only when his methods and arrogance kick in that his team’s go on the slide, also the players he buys as well mind. I wonder if that’s why he never managed to relegate us because players were bought for him?
Rotonda heights
Nov 20, 2017 at 9:14 AM
Comment #14Posada.
If I’ve only read one book in my life, I’m guessing that’s still probably one more than you. However, you could always write a book and call it something like ” the descending dark”, kind of like an autobiography of a miserable depressive. I imagine you are the opposite of someone who walks in and lights up a room with their charisma.
Jail
Pulis should be done for crimes against football. As for Moyes, such an arrogant man who in true pardew fashion blames everyone else for an increasingly poor CV. 3 failures in a row and well on course now for a 4th with the porn kings. I know some WHU fans who like Posada.
Rotonda heights
Nov 20, 2017 at 9:21 AM
Comment #15look like
Moonraker15
Nov 20, 2017 at 1:51 PM
Comment #16100% Ashley will spend enough to keep us safe in January! He’s got to protect his asset and if it’s in the second division it’s worth about £50 million. If he doesn’t spend and we go down we are doomed and he is lumbered for years! He will spend; they did say in the statement that if not sold by January they would make funds available. This would be to assure the buyers it is worth pursuing the deal!