da fezbet： Without Rafael Benitez there would be little optimism at St James’s Park.
da pixbet： By some measures little has changed around the club since the Spaniard’s arrival, yet it feels as though so much has changed: it feels as though the Magpies are on the brink of a new era.
Perhaps it’s because takeover talk has been on the agenda for quite some time, but things are better than they were upon Benitez’s arrival just over two years ago.
The former Real Madrid manager couldn’t stave off relegation and stayed with the club in the second tier, winning the Championship and sealing a marching return to the Premier League. When he arrived, things had to get worse before they got better. That is clear progress, but away from the pitch, not too much has changed.
Benitez spent the summer at loggerheads with his board over player transfers, a battle played out in full view of the watching media. Investment has been limited at the club despite promotion, with Burnley, Swansea and Huddersfield among the many Premier League clubs who spent more money than Newcastle last summer.
By the time the window shut, the manager stopped moaning and got on with the job. The same thing happened in January. It was politics on all sides, and the situation was, to a certain degree understandable: Benitez wanted to use his platform to get more money from the owners, whilst Mike Ashley wanted to spend as little money as possible in order to get a better deal from any potential buyer.
It almost cost Newcastle their Premier League status. The squad, barring one or two players, didn’t look like a top flight squad. It is to Benitez’s eternal credit that his side have broken the 40 point barrier with five games of the season still to play. Not just because of the quality of the squad, but because of the uncertainty around the club off the field this season, too.
The inevitable question from the national media since Benitez’s arrival in the North East has been about his eventual departure. How could a manager of such name recognition swap Real Madrid for relegation candidates Newcastle? How could he stay with them in the Championship? And now, when other jobs may be available this summer at teams who might actually spend some money, how could he stay at a club with a bare-bones squad and an owner who can’t seem to do anything right?
But those questions are to misunderstand the situation.
Surely, at any point where those questions were asked, he could have walked away. So why would he consider doing so now?
The role of emotion in football has come to the fore in the last few weeks, lifting the sport beyond the clinical tyranny of stats and logic. Liverpool’s epic Champions League first leg victory over Manchester City saw the Anfield crowd play a crucial part in unsettling the Premier League champions and still one of the best teams in the world – or at least lifting their own team. There are countless examples of St James’s Park providing the same cauldron of noise: victories over Manchester United and Arsenal at home this season are just two of the most recent.
That same emotion applies to a manager who is in charge of a club whose fans adore him, and who respect his managerial abilities – which has not been the case for Benitez at every club he’s managed.
It’s impossible to tell where Newcastle would be without Benitez, but in all likelihood it wouldn’t be good. They started this season in the Premier League with a Championship squad, but they’ll start next season in the same league with a better one. A much better one if there’s a takeover and an owner prepared to spend some money.
And even if there is to be no change at the top this summer, and even if Benitez still has limited resources there’ll still be incremental progress. But from the manager’s point of view, surely that’s still a lot better than gambling elsewhere: why on Earth would he leave now?