It did not take too much time after Alan Shearer published his Sunday night article imploring Newcastle United to act like a football club, or members of a species that have language, and communicate; for them to release a statement that absolutely gutted every single person associated with the club – Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley excluded.
Alan Shearer has written another article, again in the Sun about the repercussions of Mike Ashley’s decision to cut loose the heart of Newcastle United.
This is what Alan has written in last night’s new column:
It is a shambles and a travesty. It doesn’t make any sense.
No truer words have ever been written. This is a shambles and a travesty. And it does not make sense.
Alan continues:
He has been brilliant but he has completely lost trust in those he is working for, which is not the first time that has happened at Newcastle under owner Mike Ashley.
Alan is again correct here as Mike Ashley is a wretch. And a man like Rafa Benitez, a genuine and noble being, can spot a wretch and certainly will be wary of the wretch.
However, being a genuine and noble being, Rafa Benitez had affection for Newcastle and its suffering fans. In true heroic fashion, Rafa sought to relieve the suffering of the fans. And the wretch has made everybody suffer for it.
Alan continues:
You will see the propaganda come out from Newcastle in the next few days — we offered him this and that, we said he could have so many millions to spend.
See the previous comment about Mike Ashley being a wretch.
Alan again continues, and if anyone can speak for the fans it is Alan Shearer:
Rafa united the fans and gave them belief, which they had not had for a long time.
He passionately cared for the club and the supporters, but above all, he knew the potential Newcastle carried.
Genuine and noble Rafa Benitez. We had this man as our face for three years. Not many clubs have been so smiled upon. At least we had that.
And hammer meets nail:
Most managers have issues with whoever they have to answer to, but you have to have some sort of rapport with someone at the club that shares your ambition.
All Mike Ashley wants is for Newcastle to survive – that is ultimately what it comes down to.
Rafa is bigger and better than that.
He doesn’t want to be fighting a relegation battle every year, he wants to take a team forward.
This is the crux of the position we are in. The man who owns this club also restricts this club.
Alan finishes his article revealing the emotion that burns the strongest while lurking just beneath the anger it provokes – fear:
Now, you have to fear the worst.
132 comments so far
Captain AmeriMag
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:08 AM
Comment #81Ashlie was never going to recognise the potential of our great club or have any respect for the fans or a world class manager and seemingly top all round bloke in Benitez that much has always been abundantly clear.
Disgusting slug of a human being he may be but one undeniable point is Fat Mike is good at making money.
Maybe he HAS recognised the money making potential of being amicable with the Arabs who have confirmed to him they want their own man in place (probably Jose) so he’s said “let me take the flack for getting rid of Rafa lads, the fans already hate me anyway no biggy” – while thinking (also I will really enjoy messing with their heads one last time!!)
Now in a day or two BZG can come in like heroes and save the Toon with no backlash from appointing Jose
hibbit
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:09 AM
Comment #82right on Q another email reminder my season tickets are due for renewal…………. I think some one within the club is taking the pi$$
Sir Braveheart
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:09 AM
Comment #83I think what happens next will be the most telling.
Manager recruited from within, or outside manager on a one year contract – sale still on
Manager from outside on a long term contract – not being sold
Then we as fans have a choice what to do…
Jib
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:10 AM
Comment #84According to George Caulkin the club gave Rafa no notice
of their announcement
hibbit
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:13 AM
Comment #85Jib
if that is the case it had to be Ashley who gave the news to the press just before the statement was released
spb
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:17 AM
Comment #86So when can we expect a statement from Rafa, surely that must be inevitable. If so it will be an interesting read.
The overrated Frenchman
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:18 AM
Comment #87Benitez may have outsmarted himself and lost his job.
Sir Braveheart
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:19 AM
Comment #88First game back is a televised fixture against Arsenal. What if no one turned up?
Just one game.
Could people do it? Put aside the whole “support the team not the regime” rehtoric and unite to send a message. Just boycott one game, the opener that is going out live on Sky.
There will always be some fans turn up, but imagine 40,000 empty seats. Imagine those 40,000 people doing a sit down protest outside the ground. The publicity, the negative coverage, the £1million in lost match day income (season tickets will still mean he’s been paid for some of the seats already, but he still loses a load in on the day sales and food/drink sales.
Nothing is going to change unless we change. That’s going to mean sacrifices, things we’d rather not do. Everything else has been tried. We need to at least try this don’t we?
hibbit
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:19 AM
Comment #89Ian Wright gets right to the point with this article
https://www.themag.co.uk/2019/06/ian-wright-slaughters-mike-ashley-on-rafa-benitez-leaving-newcastle-united-a-must-read/
Jib
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:24 AM
Comment #90According to Caulkin it was after the Leicester game
(when survival was assured) on Good Friday that Rafa
told family and friends that he didn’t think he would renew
after losing all faith in Ashley
Jail for Ashley
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:25 AM
Comment #91hibbit,
Are you renewing, I’m not setting foot in the place till he has gone, anyone thinking that a new manager will change his ways as he had a problem with Rafa are kidding them selves, I’m not going to even bother trying to persuade anyone to give it up, I know one of my best mates won’t. but I personally won’t be going back.
The overrated Frenchman
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:28 AM
Comment #92If that’s true Jib, that’s a terribly callous way to treat the supporters, stringing them along. Why not resign after the last game.?
Jail for Ashley
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:31 AM
Comment #93ToF,
Maybe he was hopeful of a takeover that was apparently started in April, we’ll soon find out about that.
Jib
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:31 AM
Comment #94Frenchman
The key word is “think”
His representative the Liverpool lawyer Richard Green
was talking to the club until last week
one fine day
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:32 AM
Comment #95Dubai Micky
You mentioned Jose has history with BZG ?
Any idea what it was ?
The overrated Frenchman
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:34 AM
Comment #96Fair enough Jib. I guess I just picked up on “after losing all faith in Ashley”
TomaKaThor
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:34 AM
Comment #97Ranieri interested according to Sky Sports, there is absolutely no point anyone taking over while Ashley remains, unless all they want is a pay day
DubaiMicky
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:34 AM
Comment #98ofg, there’s a pic of Jose having breakfast or similar with Shk Khaled from a few years back.
Reilly
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:35 AM
Comment #99Justin Allen
@justinallen1976
Newcastle takeover process is still in motion. I can’t report anything more than that I am afraid. I know how frustrating this must be for all #NUFC fans.
kev1664
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:42 AM
Comment #100Reilly,
Good news in a bad news week. Potential takeover is all I have left.
If Ashley stays I’m done, I’m sick of no hope in our club. I stayed for Rafa as he fully immersed himself in the club and the community.
I can’t bring myself to go again under Ashley. I’ve already paid from Feb and willing to lose that cash.
Does anyone know if you can claim direct debit back if you are yet to receive goods or services?
Goofy
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:43 AM
Comment #101How did Ashley pass the proper person test ?
Ashley must be a sociapath, absolutely no empathy towards anyone/anything, still praying this takeover is happening
one fine day
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:44 AM
Comment #102Mickey
Cheers
Yes I do recall that pic coming out in the press just after the takeover was breaking …think I dismissed it as it was the daily star ,but could be wrong .
DubaiMicky
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:47 AM
Comment #103Decent and fair write up in The Telegraph, c/p for those who don’t have premium membership
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2019/06/25/rafa-benitezs-newcastle-exit-sad-outcome-two-parties-could-have/
Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle exit a sad outcome between two parties who could have been an ideal fit
JASON BURT
Rafael Benitez will no longer be “seeking assurances” from Newcastle United which, given his association with the phrase had become something of a running joke, probably means it really was finally time for him to go.
Not that the beleaguered Newcastle fans will see it that way. They are, once again, being driven through an emotional rollercoaster. Four weeks to the day that they woke up to the headline “Toon £350m Sheikh Up” – and dreamt of a Mike Ashley-free future with fabulously wealthy Middle Eastern backing and Benitez their manager – the manager has gone and the takeover has yet to happen. They can only hope it is the darkness before the dawn.
The Bin Zayed Group are one of at least three bidders for Newcastle. But no exclusivity agreement has been signed, no-one knows whether it will go through or is truly genuine and this story drags on and on – a bit like the one that Benitez had grown frustrated, that he wanted Newcastle to match his ambition and that he was getting nowhere with Ashley. It became a hardy perennial on the Sky Sports ticker.
Maybe the Newcastle owner believed that Benitez would continue to cry wolf. But even if those close to him still wonder whether a move to China, however lucrative, is really what the 59-year-old wants he has at least decided what he does not want. And that is Ashley’s Newcastle right now.
On his watch Ashley has either dispensed with or lost four managers who were extremely popular with the club’s fans – Kevin Keegan, Alan Shearer, Chris Hughton and now Benitez. And whatever the merits of those first three there is no doubt that Benitez is the most accomplished to have either been sacked or walked out.
The real sadness is that it felt like such a good fit. It is no secret that Benitez hankered after a return to Liverpool and there are similarities in the profile of the two clubs and that was something that he was able to tap into. He was also the first manager since Keegan to give Newcastle’s fans genuine hope. How envious he must be of the ownership structure Jurgen Klopp has at Anfield.
Of course Benitez is also a deeply political operator and was able to play on the fact that Ashley was so desperately unpopular. That may appear cynical or simply canny but it did eventually become something of a tiresome sideshow while also masking the fact that, at times, the football played by Newcastle was underwhelming.
Supporters of Benitez will come straight back – and with justification – by arguing that he was dealing with limited resources and limited ambition from those in the boardroom and it is true that over the three years he was in charge Newcastle recorded a negative net spend.
The club will point to the fact that with a salary of £6million-a-year – £1million more than Maurizio Sarri was paid at Chelsea – that Benitez was well-remunerated but in fairness to him he never denied that. His argument was over the lack of investment in the squad and the lack of what he felt was a genuine desire to push the club forward and force their way into the top eight and maybe further.
The truth is that it was naïve of Benitez to expect this from Ashley or, maybe, he knew that all along. Even though the Sports Direct billionaire bought Newcastle, on something of a whim, for £135million back in 2007, he has never given the impression that he has either loved or cherished owning it after the initial flourish.
Newcastle has been up for sale since October 2017 and rather like a house with a “For Sale” sign outside for month after month it has been in danger of being forgotten about, overlooked, unwanted. That may change with the takeover but until it does there will always be a state of statis, a sense of drift.
What Benitez was being asked to do was sign up to this once more. At the end of last season talks had taken place over a 12-month contract extension, when his current deal runs out next Sunday, and initially that felt like an acceptable compromise given the uncertainty over the future of the club and whether he really wanted to still be there.
Benitez also demanded changes to the way Newcastle are run but those changes were not made and while the club has claimed there is a £50million transfer pot to dip into no player has been signed this summer. Maybe Benitez has delayed that himself but it adds yet more strength to to the inertia that so infuriates the Newcastle fans.
So what next? For Benitez it may well be China and Dalian Yifang and for all his undoubted ability it is interesting that the Spaniard has not received offers from big European clubs. For Newcastle? The club says it has been inundated with applications to become its next manager – but every club says that. It is hard to see another Champions League winning coach going there under its current ownership.
That ultimately, as is obvious, is what has to change. Otherwise there will be no tangible shift at Newcastle which today is an unhappier club than when Benitez was in charge.
It all feels like a shame, like an unnecessary outcome. Benitez may be richer where he goes and may be relieved to be out of Newcastle but there has to be more than a tinge of regret. It felt like such a good match. Benitez has ego, like all leading managers, and is stubborn and proud. He will feel he had little choice but to quit given what he was being asked to sign up to. So it probably was time for him to go. But it still also feels like a waste.
one fine day
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:48 AM
Comment #104Goofy
Can’t be that much of a test to be honest .
You wonder about how ethical it is when you look at west ham for example owned by the dildo brothers ffs .
DubaiMicky
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:48 AM
Comment #105ofg, it was taken a few years back – way before BZG started talking to NUFC – can’t recall the circumstances around it at the time.
The mighty wyn
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:49 AM
Comment #106keV. You will lose the cash mate. I gave mine up when he screwed Rafa over with funds last year but I’d already paid one month(not on the deal so it was July’s payment) £100 or so and couldn’t get it back
Ron Knee
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:52 AM
Comment #107“Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle exit a sad outcome between two parties who could have been an ideal fit”
What utter excrement!
Mattroge
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:54 AM
Comment #108From above:
“The Bin Zayed Group are one of at least three bidders for Newcastle. But no exclusivity agreement has been signed”
Stated as fact, but how would he even know?!
kev1664
Jun 25, 2019 at 9:58 AM
Comment #109Mighty wyn,
Bit of a bummer already paid half of the cost of the season ticket. The thought of him getting 1 and a half times the cash for my seat is horrifying. I suppose this was the real reason for 10 year plans that start mid season, not to reward loyalty, but to force it. More fool us eh?
toon22
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:00 AM
Comment #110Wonder what MAs doing to sort the chaos ?
His usual holiday lol
😉
£££££££££££
JP...from The Rock
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:02 AM
Comment #111Morning all. Gutted as I woke up thinking yesterdays news was just a nightmare I had.
Still (foolishly?) believe we have a chance of ridding ourselves from this monster if the takeover somehow happens this summer.
Apparently the F&P Directors Test has now started? So why then did BZG jump the gun way back with that statement? Such confusion these days it’s ridiculous. Anyway if that’s true that it’s still in motion we have a glimmer of hope yet.
Mund – sorry I didn’t reply yesterday as I was in my brothers Birthday party all evening. My PS4 account is poggi903. If you have Fifa 19 and I am intrigued to see your Ultimate team and see who wind it lol oh and Battlefield V is great and getting better with more maps and stuff, well worth the buy.
DubaiMicky
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:03 AM
Comment #112Ron Knee – “Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle exit a sad outcome between two parties who could have been an ideal fit”
I think it’s very true, the club is the town, the supporters etc. The club isn’t the owner!
JP...from The Rock
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:03 AM
Comment #113*and see who would win it
Shoulders knees
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:07 AM
Comment #114How long before a new muppet is unveiled? And links to a marque signing bet it won’t be before 4th July 😉
The mighty wyn
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:08 AM
Comment #115Yeh absolutely keV. In a way he ensured he could whatever he wanted with the summer transfer funding because he already had a lot of people tied. Not having a go at anybody but the Fatman here but got to admit it’s clever marketing. People thought they were getting a bargain only for MA to screw everybody over every time. Thought hard about my ticket a couple of times and finally had enough last summer. It’s hard to give up though so I understand everybody on here who still go
Ron Knee
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:09 AM
Comment #116@112
The owner of the club *is* Mike Ashley – until further notice.
G
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:10 AM
Comment #117https://www.football365.com/news/the-top-ten-worst-decisions-mike-ashley-has-made-at-newcastle
DubaiMicky
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:13 AM
Comment #118Ron, he’s not, the Club will still be there after he’s gone, The Club is not bricks and turf, The Club is the fans.
You only have to look at AFC Wimbledon to realise that, when they were set up a letter was sent (a little tongue in cheeks) to MK Dons to get the trophies Wimbledon FC had won returned. Guess what, they were returned.
Shoulders knees
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:13 AM
Comment #119JP
I have said before that the 2nd statement fromBZG could be read as they are readying papers and proof for fit and proper test, it doesn’t say they have started it, perhaps I am reading it wrongly 😉
Munster Mag
Jun 25, 2019 at 10:14 AM
Comment #120No it seems that BZG are nowhere in negotiations and havent even been given exclusivity . Hopefully thats not a big deal. For me its tragic because on a personal level I wanted a decent manager and a decent owner so that my young fella would keep supporting the Toon whilst surrounded by Liverpool fans over here. Already he feels a bit crushed . But even for die hard fans like me, the interest levels I’d have in watching NUFC decline under a pig like Fat Sam is minimal. As for Bobby and Co, I would ask that you leave aside your own love of the shirt to join a protest outside the ground if one is organised for Arsenal. To do anything less is not in the interests of the club. The other big problem is that if BZG cant shift Ashley, who can ?