Former Newcastle midfielder Kevin Nolan has rubbished Rafa Benitez’s continued claims that the board failed to back him well enough in the summer transfer window.
Benitez has continually reminded the press of Mike Ashley’s failure to properly back him over the summer, and has recently claimed that rivals can offer more in fees and wages to their players.
As quoted by the Chronicle, Benitez said before Newcastle’s game with West Bromwich Albion: “We have just arrived in the Premier League. Some teams like Watford and Burnley have been here two or three years, and the wages and transfer fees that they pay are bigger than us. It is a fact.”
However, former Toon favourite Nolan thinks that Benitez is leaning on the summer’s failures too much, and brings it up to prevent attention being turned to him for their poor recent form.
Speaking to Sky Sports News, as quoted by the Chronicle, Nolan said: “Rafa played on it a lot in the early months of the season. It seemed it was more about Rafa Benitez than the team at the time. When they got over that they got a few results and got a bit of a mentality and a winning run going.
“Now it’s turned because they have lost four on the spin. And I think he always tries to bring out a few bits to remind people ‘We’re not supposed to be here’. Listen, he’s spent a lot of money on that squad last year and this year.
“He’s probably spent a lot more money than his rivals have so for me, with the way they are up there – with the expectancy of the crowd and the town and what goes up there with it – he might be trying to kid them a bit and make sure they don’t get on his back too early.”
OPINION
Nolan makes a valid point, but more importantly, it is something that not many people would really have thought about. By continually referring the club’s problems back to the board, Benitez has cleverly diverted attention away from himself and his team. It seems as though hardly a week goes by without another complaint from Benitez, when maybe he should just be getting on with the job at hand. Newcastle’s squad, while obviously not ideal, is no weaker than many of their rivals’. Benitez won’t be able to go on for much longer about the summer window, and will have to turn his attention to making the most out of January, new owners or not.