How the summer of 'frustration' has all but ended Newcastle's fairy-tale with Benitez
Newcastle fan’s frustration does not boil down to having several new, shiny signings - it’s rooted in Benitez remaining at the club.
For seven months, anxiety has engulfed the city, with countless news reports suggesting that Benitez is on the verge of quitting because of a lack of investment from owner Mike Ashley.
This has left Magpie supporters praying that Ashley does not suddenly do something so rash that it abruptly puts an end on their blissful, dreamy relationship with Benitez, eradicating all hope and turning the last 18 months into a ‘what might have been.’
A leopard doesn’t change his spots, but Newcastle supporters have all but deluded themselves in believing that this was the case.
They thought their owner had changed. He had seen the light, some said, and was making strides to making Newcastle a competing Premier League side once more. Ashley’s surprising acquisition of Benitez in March 2016 on a three-year contract was testament to that.
Yet, if you pressed supporters hard enough, tapping into their inner-most thoughts - even during their side’s promotion push last season where the dream was at its most realist - they would have conceded that, in fact, they were just waiting for everything to blow up in their faces – for they know what Ashley is really about.
Benitez achieved promotion with Newcastle last season, winning them the €110m in TV money. This was despite Ashley frustrating Benitez by refusing to spend around €12m on a deal for Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend in January– something which rocked Benitez’ trust with the club greatly.
Ashley then promised him ‘every last penny that the club generates through promotion, player sales and other means’ via Newcastle’s official website.
The summer window started and deals took agonisingly long to complete. Newcastle were haggling over minor details of payment with their target’s representatives.
Tammy Abraham on loan from Chelsea and Willy Caballero on a free from Manchester City had been lined up by Benitez but it crumbled because of the cost of wages and the loan payments.
Eventually Newcastle brought in Mikel Merino, Christian Atsu, Florian Lejeune, Jacob Murphy, Joselu, and Javier Manquillo for around €40m.
But as the final day of the window approached, Newcastle were still in need of a left-back, striker and goalkeeper.
Benitez mistakably thought he could let the club handle the transfers, following a ‘clear the air’ discussion with managing director Lee Charnley and Ashley’s ‘fixer’ Justin Barnes.
Benitez had been invited along to UEFA’s elite manager forum in Switzerland. A multi-European cup winning boss himself, Benitez rubbed shoulders alongside Jose Mourinho, Sir Alex Ferguson, Zinedine Zidane, Massimiliano Allegri and Leonardo Jardim- all reputable names that you would not be shocked to find at the biggest clubs. Elite clubs, even.
When he came back to newly promoted Newcastle late afternoon, he would have yet again been dumbfounded to find out that his club were unable to get want-away Arsenal striker Lucas Perez, third-choice Southampton left-back Matt Targett and Chelsea’s left-sided Brazilian Kenedy, who had been reprimanded by his club posting racist videos via his social media.
The window closed while the club allowed 16 players to depart to free up the wage-bill. The idea was to free up space in order to bring new faces in, but now the side have been left worse off than it was a week prior.
No surprise, then, that news has come out on Friday stating that Benitez has no long-term plans with Newcastle. It is thought that he will stay until the right offer comes along - and by most accounts that offer will be West Ham, who have given Slaven Bilic a last chance.
A top level manager like Benitez is now riding his job in the North-East based on emotion, his connection to fans and to the city.
There have been murmurs that Ashley is looking to sell the club during the summer period, and the peculiar Sky Sports interview Ashley did last week seemed to suggest just that. It came across more as an advert than an interview, one journalist remarked.
For Newcastle, if they remain in the Premier League, the untapped potential is so large that any investor would be silly not to enquire. And when Ashley does sell, with or without Benitez, there is the idea that it would be just a matter of time before the Magpies are flying high again. They just have to keep going.
Follow: @Jac_talbot