There’s an excellent piece in the Chronicle today on how Rafa spent time at the Barnstondale Centre near his home in the Wirral last week.
He does a lot of charity with his wife Montse in Liverpool and especially with children.
He was at the Center last week and was with seven children, and they took a ride around the facility in a trailer, as shown in the photograph.
Rafa Benitez taking a ride with seven delighted children last week in Liverpool
It looks like Ronaldo was also there?
How could that be?
The Chronicle interviewed the Center manager George Jones, who talks about what Rafa told him about Newcastle in this tense period of waiting for the boos to sign a new deal:
“Obviously, he can’t tell me what’s going on, but he’s very optimistic that something will happen and the team will be able to deliver”
“I think the fans trust him and they know he’s got the best intentions for the team and he wants to do great things with the team.”
“I think his ability as a top manager is not in question at all given what he’s done with Liverpool and now with Newcastle.”
“He’s just looking for the opportunity to take them right up there and do it with them.”
“He said to me, ‘The potential is there. It’s a great club. A great place, great fans.'”
“He would be very happy to continue there.”
“Every time he mentioned Newcastle, he was very optimistic about the possibilities, but it’s still got to happen for them with the developments in the club and everything.”
“He didn’t say what was happening or what wasn’t happening; he just mentioned something may come up and he hopes it will for the better of the club.”
“If he got the resources to carry on, I think he will be delighted to stay. That’s the impression he gave me – that he is still committed to it all.”
“He didn’t give me any indication at all about moving away from the club. All he talked about was, ‘We could do so well.’ Everything was positive for the club. He was unbelievably positive about the club.”
“I think he would like to take them to greater things. That’s the way he came across. He was quite relaxed in what he was saying. He loves being there, and he loves the club.”
“He gave his time up, and I know he is a busy man and has a lot of commitments. As he was going around, obviously, people recognized him, and he gave them the time to have photographs with them and have a chat with them.”
” Up here, he’s still extremely well regarded – unbelievably so – with his ties with Liverpool.”
“He’s done so well at Newcastle. I said to him, ‘You’ve got fantastic support up there,’ and he just praised the fans so much.”
“He said, ‘They’re very like the Liverpool fans. Down to earth and know their football. They really are committed to the team.'”
We wonder just how long this deadlock is going to continue at Newcastle?
It will take some leadership from Ashley to get things going – so that’s not good news.
Comments welcome.
81 comments so far
Munster Mag
Jun 11, 2019 at 6:40 PM
Comment #81Good on you rafa