Richard Keys has laid the blame for Newcastle United’s League Cup exit firmly at the door of Rafael Benitez.
The BeIN Sports broadcaster took to his personal Twitter account on Thursday morning to annihilate Benitez, claiming “I can’t believe” the manager’s team selection for the second-round clash at Championship club Nottingham Forest, which they lost 3-1 on Wednesday night.
Keys claimed the Spaniard has the “tools” at Newcastle to compete for the League Cup and end the club’s 50-year trophy drought to “cement his place as a Geordie hero”.
They last won a domestic trophy in 1955. I can’t believe what Benitez did last night. Why? He’s got the tools to have a go at winning the LC – cement his place as a Geordie hero & make me wrong. Except I’m not.
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) August 30, 2018
OPINION
Former Sky Sports man Key has directed the blame at Benitez, and certainly the manager must take some of the flak for the team’s televised clash against the second-tier club. But the patchwork nature of his team hardly provides mitigation for the defeat; although Benitez made seven changes to his starting XI, Aitor Karanka disfigured his with five for Forest. Newcastle were flimsy in all areas because their squad is not strong enough and they couldn’t cope against a side who out-spent them in the summer’s transfer market. Keys makes no mention of Mike Ashley, under whose unpopular ownership Newcastle progressed beyond the fourth round of a domestic cup competition only twice in 10 years. What about the club’s historical drought? Not since the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1969 have they actually lifted silverware. The ache goes on, but Keys is being facile by singling out Benitez.