Former Premier League footballer and current BBC pundit Stephen Warnock has blasted Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez for his tactics in the defeat to Nottingham Forest in the League Cup on Wednesday evening.
The Magpies tumbled out of the cup to the team which knocked them out at the same stage last season, Forest picking up a 3-1 win in front of the City Ground faithful this time around.
Speaking after the game, Warnock was heavily critical of Benitez, a favourite of the Newcastle fans, and insisted that the tactics employed set the side up for failure.
He told BBC Radio 5 live: “Newcastle didn’t deserve anything out of the game tonight.
“Rafa will be frustrated but he has to look at himself sometimes. You can’t always blame Mike Ashley.
“They just didn’t look at the races at all – that’s the style that Rafa set them up for. Every time Newcastle got on the ball they were just knocking it long. There’s no football, there’s no skill involved in that, it’s just route one football.”
"You can't always blame Mike Ashley" ?@StephenWarnock3 says Rafa Benitez 'has to look at himself' following #NUFC's #CarabaoCup defeat to #NFFC
?https://t.co/Mn7yCsfHzo pic.twitter.com/BGwa2z39rl
— BBC 5 Live Sport (@5liveSport) August 30, 2018
Opinion
The Newcastle faithful would be loathed to agree with any criticism which is levelled at Benitez simply because of what he has done for the club since his arrival, but Wednesday night’s performance against Forest was one of the worst the Toon Army have witnessed under the Spaniard. They looked toothless in attack and shaky in defence, and if this is what a Championship side can do to the Magpies then imagine the carnage when Newcastle visit Manchester City this weekend. Yes, the League Cup is not a priority and some of the criticism has been over the top but at the same time it does not matter what competition they are in, there are still standards to be met. Newcastle did not live up to expectations and Benitez has to take some of the blame for that. He needs to make sure the focus is on stopping what have proven to be a potent City attack this weekend, and a solid performance there could bring back some confidence which has been wiped from the club right now.