Newcastle’s 3-0 defeat to Watford at St James’ Park was our fourth consecutive defeat and we have dropped form 6th position in the league to 14th place.
WE have 14 points form our 13 games and if we can get a win at the Hawthorns tomorrow night then that will be an excellent result for us.
Rafa Benitez is hardly panicking about the situation and our team is often the youngest in the Premier League so Rafa is hoping they will learn form the mistakes they have been making recently and become better players.
That will also help the team to improve.
Rafa Benitez – we have a lack of experience
Newcastle are currently 4 points above the drop zone but wins can see us pull away and climb the league table before the end of this year.
This is what Rafa has said about the situation to the local press:
“If my target for the first half of the season is 20 points and we have 14, we have to be sure we use these next six games to get those points,”
”We then have to try to improve in the second half of the season. We have to learn in the Premier League what happens if you make one mistake.”
“It will be tough, but I still think we are in a good position.”
“I was telling them that we have to realize where we are and what we have to do for the future.”
“We still have a few points to go to get 20 points in the first half of the season.”
“Confidence is important in any team, especially a young team,” “When you’re winning, it gets easier.”
“They’re working really hard, but there is a lack of experience sometimes.”
“The only way is to stick together.”
In fact we have only five games before we reach the half way point of 19 games played so we need 6 points from those games at the very least.
But looking at it that way could keep us in the lower half of the season and we are hoping we can do better than that.
It’s surprising what a win can do for confidence, so we are hoping for all 3 points tomorrow night.
Comments welcome.
29 comments so far
Jib
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:13 AM
Comment #1Loch – I’m not a bullying Teacher
booboo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:15 AM
Comment #2boys and girls let me chip in for a sec.
if rafa was as good as some bloggers write he would have managing a big
champions league the reason he’s here is simply because he wont find a
better club. maybe some mid table clubs would be interested nothin more.
he’s been fired time and again for playing sh…football check the facts .
we’ve been scarred so deeply from previous managers that some blame
the squad,players etc etc when they should blame non other than rafa.
i’ve lost all faith in him !! i’ve had enough of him oh my what a stubbornness
from the man new owner or not no one will accept his playing style.
there are many good managers outside the english football who would be
much better for our club in terms of playing style new owners or not we deserve
better. my ideal choice would be nolberto solano he gets the club since he was a
player here.
G
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:17 AM
Comment #3booboo, is that a wind up mate? Nobby over Rafa? I will stick with Rafa if it’s all the same.
Jib
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:20 AM
Comment #4These two comments by respected sports journos
Show why it’s crucial Rafa is retained
Everton showing that having a rich backer isn’t always the answer. Moshiri has taken charge of hunt for a new manager and made a complete hash of it. – Simon Austin
Everton looked for backing for ages, got it and have invested yet can’t attract or seemingly know who to appoint as manager. How are these people successful in business. Who’s taking the lead at the top? It’s amazing incompetence really.- Paul O Keefe
booboo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:21 AM
Comment #5G
you wanna see the like of joselu and etc running around the pitch
like headless chickens ??
you wanna win 1-0 in every home match IF we win ??
you wanna defend when we should be attacking ??
Rotonda heights
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:22 AM
Comment #6booboo
I think you’ll find Rafa’s last club was Real Madrid. Don’t think it gets any bigger than that buddy.
http://www.rafabenitez.com/web/in/honours/12/
Please engage brain before making daft comments……oh wait
Optimistic Panda
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:23 AM
Comment #7Booboo
Ye that’s definitely the problem, Rafa doesn’t understand the club, lol
Jail for Ashley
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:26 AM
Comment #8Boo boo,
Well as there’s been a long list of top managers lining up to work under Mike Ashley and his moronic way of running a football club you might be on to something.
It would be good to that if we did hire Nobby and he turned out to be a FDB or a Remi Garde, Christian Gross type then you could disappear back in to that dark smelly hole you emerged from.
booboo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:26 AM
Comment #9i can go on ….i say let everton have him they’ll be tired of him sooner or later
and btw solano been doing a good job in managment.
booboo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:27 AM
Comment #10Rotonda heights
he was fired same with inter
ask those fans what they think of him ??
martoon
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:28 AM
Comment #11Well I’ve seen some comments on this Blog but I think that one takes the award for stupidest – replace Rafa with Nobby Solano – Yeah right >:(
jesperfuglsang - capt'n awesome of the lemon crew
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:28 AM
Comment #12magscar from earlier…hopefully you’re not being called mascara deliberately 🙂
…and yes! Let them all get a kick this Monday morning…it’s probably good for them…feel the blood rush through their veins…
Rotonda heights
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:30 AM
Comment #13booboo
did you miss the bit where rafa says he is having to work with players he didn’t really want, courtesy of you know who. Do you really think rafa wants a 5M joselu as his main striker.
I am frustrated and wish rafa would try 3 at the back for example, but i will never have the footballing brain of a Rafa. I don’t understand mbemba being behind manquilo or diame ahead of anyone, but Merino could not have played 90 mins and rafa went 442 which a lot of people were calling for.
Just calling someone out randomly in a really reactionary pitch fork mentality achieves what exactly?
booboo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:31 AM
Comment #14i got my opinion which i am entitled too stop the name calling
or i will do the same to.
Optimistic Panda
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:31 AM
Comment #15Even though it’s been doom and gloom on here for last several threads there’s been some hilarious posts, nearly choked a few times.
Ashley maybe a Parasite and atyrant but I’d rather have him making decisions than a few on here.
Jail for Ashley
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:33 AM
Comment #16booboo,
Inter won the treble not that long ago with the now Manchester United manager, the richest or second richest club in the world. Real Madrid win the league every year and have won the CL eleven times, expectations are somewhat higher at these clubs.
Jail for Ashley
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:33 AM
Comment #17Every other year.
Optimistic Panda
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:33 AM
Comment #18Booboo
Who’s name calling
G
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:35 AM
Comment #19Unbelievable Jeff?
booboo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:36 AM
Comment #20Rotonda heights
i can respect that….. but it doesn’t make sense the choices
etc etc all in all we agree but i had enough i dont see him
changing even with new players.
booboo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:39 AM
Comment #21jail
yeah same with napoli, inter, madrid even chelsea….they all fired him period. facts
Rotonda heights
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:39 AM
Comment #22booboo
Yeah liverpool fans really hate him after they won the CL
Valencia fans won’t give him house room after his back to back la liga wins and UEFA cup.
I think you’ll finnd even Chelski fans melted after he won the europa league and got them 3rd in the league.
Napoli he won trophies there too.
Inter and RM were mitigating circumstances.
All in all I think it knocks Pardew’s single Johnson painter trophy win in to a cocked hat.
Things aren’t right at the moment, we all know that and maybe Nobby in a few years when he has some kind of CV in Europe then fair enough.
Jib
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:43 AM
Comment #23You see
booboo
is not untypical of some of the younger
support of the Toon
Sometimes after a game I drink in the
Bigg Mkt (well the Dook of Welly) with
sons and their mates – some are real goons
like booboo
The thing is footy to them is all about heros
a lot have picked on Mitro as their ideal and
woe betide anyone who gets in his way.
Charlie in the Gallowgate
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:44 AM
Comment #24Jail
RAFA in caps why not – someone rattled your cage this morning!!
As fror RAFA, Rafa I am going to be controversial.
He has sorted the club out from behind the scenes, training, management, PR, players attitude on the pitch, wanting to play for the TOON but I would not call him a great manager but a very good manager and the best we can hope for under Ashley.
Is there a ‘Great Manager’ anyway ???
A Great Manager if such a thing can manage the best to win things given a open cheque book and win something and compete above your expectations with no money or not the best players
My reason is he is to stubborn (bit like Wenger) to change the team when things are going wrong.
Take Saturday Yedlin and Ritchie were having a absolute nightmare on our right yet still played the same way until the 65th minute when he brought on the subs.
Also the Brighton and Huddersfield games we went 1-0 down he made like for like substitutions.
And you should not have your favourites and pick the team to do the job
Ferguson, Mourhino don’t like the bloke and Klopp would of hauled Yedlin off – brought on Dummett or Mbemba in the first half. Also they are pro-active in adapting their teams/tactics/games to combat/beat the opposition
booboo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:44 AM
Comment #25trust me people i gave him a chance.
even in championship i had my issues with him but i stuck with him
now i had enough.
Jib
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:45 AM
Comment #26By the way
Swansea are interviewing Rafa’s
distant Welsh cousin
Taffy Benitez
😀
magscar
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:50 AM
Comment #27I wish posters wouldn’t be unecessarily aggressive to those who have an opposing view no matter how left field as long as it is posted in good faith and not a wind up. Not sure if BooBoo is a WUM but either ignore if you think he is or try to straighten him out conmstructively if you think he is way off.
We don’t know ages of those who post and as anyone who goes to matches can see we have a very mixed age and gender following in that big crowd.
Its a strange on line world where posters wanting a mother to drown baby at birth can get 3 hearts – scary!
kimbo
Nov 27, 2017 at 9:56 AM
Comment #28If Rafa starts Joselu tomorrow night then my statement of clueless or stubborn is right. Let`s look at his signings apart from Merino tell me which player has improved our squad.
magscar
Nov 27, 2017 at 10:01 AM
Comment #29Charlie
I am with you however controversial your take.
We couldn’t have hoped for better when we got Rafa ( after he chased us) nor at present especially given the state the club was/is in but as fans we are entitled to express our frustration ( stop short of disatisfaction) without it being treated as – well who do you want instead!
Whatever the imbalances in the squad and why there are there we did have options from the bench as you point out and they were ignored for reasons clearer to Rafa and his coaches than most in the crowd. May be he was thinking of tomorrows game and Saturday’s with players back from injury and as match had slipped too far away didn’t want to risk certain players – who knows?
Rafa gets more right than wrong but he isn’t infallible. Trying to work out his tactics etc with other fans by posting on a blog is not heresy or the start of a revolution and is healthy.
Still expect club to grow under his tenure more than anyone else out there.