When Newcastle United’s relegation was confirmed at the end of the 2015/16 season; Many would have excused Rafa Benitez if he walked away from the club after his 10 game stint. After all the Spaniard, a manager who has won many honours including the champions league after that memorable night in Istanbul; was only the manager of Real Madrid two months earlier.
The appointment of Benitez took the footballing world by surprise, Newcastle fans rejoiced. Fans were able to dream again of the days of Keegan and Robson. In those 10 games, Newcastle showed a bit of fight, organisation and a desire to stay up. Ultimately it was a job too big even for one of the best in Benitez; Newcastle were relegated before their last game of the season. In that game NUFC fans sang Rafa’s name for 90mins showing him how much they loved him and how much they wanted him to stay. On the pitch NUFC beat Spurs 5-1, in truth there was not much to cheer about. United already having a long season in the championship ahead of them; But maybe this was a glimpse of what was to come under Rafa?
Relegation To The Championship
When Benitez agreed to stay on as manager; Managing in England’s 2nd tier for the first time there is no doubt he saw Newcastle as a project. He saw first-hand the passion of the fans. 52,000 passionate Geordies at every home game; They have a world class stadium and training facilities. The only drawback being the owner Mike Ashley; under his ownership there have been two relegations and only 2 top 10 finishes. His decision making has also been very questionable, appointments of Dennis Wise as director of football and Joe Kinnear as manager are two decisions which show that Ashley isn’t really a footballing man but rather just a business man. Dennis Wise didn’t have the qualifications or experience to be a director of football and Kinnear was away from football a long time and was completely out of his depth.
Benitez meticulous in his planning sounded out what a ideal championship player looked like as he didn’t know the league; One thing that kept coming up was character. Rafa had a lot of work to do as he would go on to lose half his team due to relegation; out went the players who had no interest in playing in the championship, Janmaat, Sissoko, Wijnaldum and Andros Townsend to name a few. In came Matt Ritchie from Bournemouth, Dwight Gayle, Yedlin, Diame, Hanley, Clark, Hayden and Murphy plus a few others to the squad. Some experience, some youth but all having “Character” and fitting into Rafa’s criteria in building a Championship winning squad.
Squad changes were not the only thing on Benitez’s list to build a winning team; He made changes at the clubs training base which went as far as the lighting in the canteen! There was also new equipment in the gym and a new 4G surface installed in the indoor training centre; a surface which has less impact on players and results in less injuries.
Promoted at the First Attempt – Champions
On the pitch, it was a long tough season but the ultimate goal was achieved; Promotion to the Premier league and on the last day of the season, in the last few minutes the title was also achieved. Job done for Benitez and preparation for England’s top tier could begin. There was no room for sentiment when putting together a premier league squad, ever present in the championship and good servants Vurnon Anita and Gouffran were let go. Squad members that were deemed surplus to requirements were also let go to raise some transfer funds.
In came Florian Lejeune and Javier Manquillo to add to United’s defensive options. Christian Atsu returned after the loan deal was made permanent; Jacob Murphy and Mikel Merino were brought in to bolster the midfield. Joselu was brought in from Stoke City to add to NUFC’s attacking line but the overall feeling after the transfer window closed was one of disappointment and missed opportunity; many felt NUFC should have done more.
Rafa The Tactical Genius
With the majority of the squad playing in the championship; Rafa knew he had players who had already brought into his philosophy, his way of thinking, his mentality and that he could depend on those players, he also knew as part of his wide scouting network the players he brought in for the premier league will adapt quickly and buy into his ways. On the pitch Benitez will be happy with the start they have made after 11 games; they sit 11th with 14 points.
The most pleasing thing for the fans and Rafa will be the way the players have applied themselves; the team in defence have kept their shape, are very organised and are hard to break down which is a far cry from the Pardew and McClaren days where it was the norm for the team to capitulate after conceding a goal. In midfield Merino has been a very good signing and has a very bright future; Shelvey and Ritchie have been dependable as ever but Newcastle do have their issues; Going forward they are lacking a prolific goalscorer; Joselu has shown signs of why Rafa brought him, Dwight Gayle hasn’t had much game time while Mitrovic seems out of favour.
All in all Benitez has had a massive impact on NUFC already; The hard work he has put in is obviously paying dividends. But there will be still a lot for him to think about. He has made fans fall back in love with Newcastle United during an Ashley regime which has continued to test fans patience and loyalty. A rumoured takeover is at an advanced stage has also got fans excited and dreaming of what can be achieved at St James Park under Benitez.
Rafa has brought a winning mentality back to Newcastle!
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