We were hoping we could have beaten Crystal Palace yesterday and taken the pressure off Newcastle a little in the relegation stakes.
But we ended up losing to Palace by a goal in the 81st minute through a penalty given away sloppily by DeAndre Yedlin.
We had hoped we could turn our full attention to having Rafa Benitez sign up for at least the next three years, but that will need to wait although discussions have started up again.
Yesterday Rafa told local reporters the two parties were not close to coming to an agreement.
Former Newcastle star Chris Waddle thinks that Rafa will stay at Newcastle as long as Mike Ashley gives him the transfer funds.
Rafa Benitez – needs funds to build Newcastle into a top team
Rafa needs money to be able to fight in the top half of the table and not against relegation every season – as he’s done over the last couple of years.
Waddle worked on the commentary of the Newcastle game yesterday for BBC Radio 5Live, and this is what he said about Rafa:
“I honestly think he wants to stay here.”
“But I think he now thinks, ‘I don’t want to be in a relegation fight'”
” I think he has ambitions to make this club a top-six club if he gets the right budget, the right backing and the right players in.”
“I’m sure he can get a crack at what Watford, Everton, and teams around that top-six or seven are doing.”
“He believes he can do that with the support he has set up. It’s all about money and who he can bring in.”
“At the end of the season, he’ll sit down and think ‘where are we going’ – if they are going to back him, I’m sure he’ll be happy to stay.”
This is all up to Mike Ashley – Newcastle have the money to give to Rafa – it’s now a question of whether the owner is willing to actually give it to him to bring players in.
Does he want to support Rafa to build a top Newcastle team in the future?
The club will be worth a lot more than £300M if Rafa is successful in doing that.
Why wouldn’t Mike Ashley support Rafa fully for two or three years and then sell the club at a lot more than the £300M he’s asking for it at the moment.
If Newcastle are a top-eight or a top-six club in three years it could be worth more than £600M.
That’s a good return on investment (ROI) in three years.
What do you think?
Comments welcome.
215 comments so far
Jib
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:30 AM
Comment #201Jail
So is Chesham in Buckinghamshire
big deal
Jail for Ashley
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:40 AM
Comment #202I was fairly adamant that Ashley had no intention of keeping Rafa on, then obviously as time went on with Rafa making it obvious he was open to staying I thought there might be a chance of working something out. Those comments on Friday don’t give me any cause for optimism, Luke Edward’s has obviously been told from someone within the club that a deal is almost done, the horses mouth says something very different. No word from Ashley or Churnley except for mistruths in the press that may or may not have come directly from them. I think what will happen is that a war of words will come out in the press while Rafa quietly slips away in front of 2K fans at Fulham. A new manager will be announced with about 90M worth of predetermined transfers U25 years of age with a potential resale, this will be tarted up as a new five year plan and the natives will unfortunately accept it. I wont. If Rafa goes, I go.
Jail for Ashley
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:42 AM
Comment #203Chesham aren’t in the Premier League Jib. Doh!!
Jib
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:44 AM
Comment #204Jail
If Rafa goes you can return to your first love
on Wearyside
DubaiMicky
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:47 AM
Comment #205I used to live in Chesham.
Old Amersham was a lot nicer mind you.
Jail for Ashley
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:48 AM
Comment #206No Jib, not my first love at all. I will just stop putting any money in to Mashleys coffers.
Jib
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:51 AM
Comment #207Neither are Charlton or Brentford
but they are London clubs doh
By the way there’s an underground station
called Temple
c-dog
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:53 AM
Comment #208Jail
Agreed…
Your prediction is the only logical outcome we can infer based on how we know Mike Ashley has behaved up until now.
Jib
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:54 AM
Comment #209Did you sign things
“Micky Bucks”
Jib
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:54 AM
Comment #210😛
Jail for Ashley
Apr 8, 2019 at 8:57 AM
Comment #211So Jiblets is now going to spend the day studying the map of the London underground so that he can pass himself off as a true pearly queen by tomorrow.
Jail for Ashley
Apr 8, 2019 at 9:09 AM
Comment #212Jiblets,
Speaking of London, I’m going to be in the West end next Friday night, can you just pluck a random boozer that won’t be showing the football as I fancy sitting in a pub paying £6 a pint while the match is on a hundred yards down the road. Or is it just Hackney pubs you have an intimate knowledge of?
Pain in the Blog
Apr 8, 2019 at 9:10 AM
Comment #213Jail,
Following on from last night, I’ve had a closer look at your avatar. Hats off to you, it’s good. How did you create it?
Jail for Ashley
Apr 8, 2019 at 9:14 AM
Comment #214PitB,
I used my then newly gained ECDL computer skills to cut and paste Ashley’s napper on to another image, skills obviously not good enough to get the skin tones the same.
DubaiMicky
Apr 8, 2019 at 9:20 AM
Comment #215No Jibs, “Micky’sham”