Has Rafa been short changed?

By Brandon Prangell

Rafael Benítez was appointed the manager of Newcastle United on 11th March 2016, and in that time the Tyneside club has been relegated and promoted while seeing the experienced boss bring in as many as 27 players so far.

Fans of the North East club have consistently said that the club would be able to compete if controversial owner Mike Ashley would put more money into the club or, better still for the Tyneside faithful, sell The Magpies.

As a result of Ashley’s thriftiness Benitez has been forced to sell his best players only to replace them with inferior talent – or sometimes not at all.

Ashley is trying to increase his bank balance as well, after his latest purchase of department store House of Fraser for £90 Million, a similar price to Paul Pogba’s transfer fee when he re-joined Manchester United in 2016.

Since their Madrid born manager has been in charge, they have spent £128 million and gained back £147 million. A profit of £19 million on transfer fees.

How has Rafa Invested in the team?

Newcastle made a profit this season, it’s rare for a club in the top flight to do this let alone improve on what they have done the following season.

With the players that they have, it’s difficult to see whether that will be enough to keep them in the league. It’s clear to see investment is needed as the club just about stayed up in the Premier League last season and that hasn’t happened here.

However, the money that has been spent on bringing players in hasn’t been a complete blowout. When you are in the critical situation of battling relegation, you will be judged by your signings for better or worse.

Finding a goalkeeper that can be relied on is difficult, and almost six million was wasted on Belgian shot-stopper Matz Sels, who’s since been sold to Strasbourg for half that.

There is sympathy to be had for Newcastle’s manager as he was forced to sell one of last season’s most important players, Mikel Merino, for the bargain price of £10 Million to help spend money on forwards.

Striker Problem

Many fans are quick to point to the lack of funds the former Liverpool boss has to work with. However, questions can be asked as to whether he is spending it right when you consider six strikers have been brought in for a combined total of £30.5 Million.

Of the six, two were loans and two of the permanent transfers have gone, including a loan deal this season for Dwight Gayle whose been on fire in the Championship for West Bromwich Albion scoring eight in 14.

When you have a manager that has won both the Champions League and Europa League, you would hope that he can get the best out of his players, but the Aleksandar Mitrovic situation proved that sometimes this doesn’t happen.

Mitrovic spent three years at the club before leaving for Fulham on a permanent deal and has been enjoying life at the London club finding the net five times so far this Premier League campaign.

Since playing his first match for the Cottagers he’s scored 17 while playing 29. That tally is equal to the amount he scored for his former club, but he did it in 47 games less.

With replacement forward Salomon Rondon failing to register a league goal yet, Newcastle fans can be forgiven for the taste of sour grapes while watching Mitrovic thrive.

Is it possible for Newcastle to stay up?

Can the magic be worked again to keep the struggling side up? Benitez certainly has his work cut out for him and it is fair to assume any chances of survival will hinge on the Spaniard being on the touchline for the rest of the season.

Benítez hasn’t been optimistic about his side’s chances of survival, “We will try to find three teams worse than us.” Times are bad at Newcastle but their manager is not a man to roll over and accept falling through the trap door.

What’s Next?

Newcastle enter a vital stretch of their season. November and December see them clash with just one of the current to six – away to Liverpool on Boxing Day.

Outside of that they face five teams who are currently in the bottom half of the table. The congested fixture list is often talked about as a negative, but it could represent the perfect chance for Newcastle to build momentum.

The good news is Róndon is back and they may have a chance to try something new as his aerial threat is very different to the approach of Ayoze Pérez or Joselu.

Considering Mike Ashley and Benitez met recently it’s likely that the manager’s plea for needing more cash injected into the squad has been heard. Whether action is taken is a different proposition, although the track record of the owner does not draw optimism.

This Spanish manager’s contract expires at the end of the campaign, money will have to be spent or it will be Championship football next season without the fan favourite boss.

Read our preview of Newcastle’s upcoming match – https://www.prostamerika.com/2018/10/26/must-win-game-for-both-sides-as-newcastle-travel-to-southampton/202239/