John Motson believes that Newcastle United will be lingering towards the bottom of the Premier League table if owner Mike Ashley does not spend in January.
He says that there is nothing to indicate that Rafa Benitez’ players are about to embark on a winning win any time soon, whilst also admitting that from here on out, the Magpies are not going to find their games easy.
Motson thinks that if Ashley does not part ways with more of his cash in the January transfer window in order to bring new players in, then there is every chance that United will be lingering towards where they do not want to be – the bottom end of the league table.
“Well no game is easy for Newcastle now until they finally persuade Mike Ashley to release the purse strings for Rafa Benitez in January because if they don’t then I still think they’ll be hovering around the bottom of the table then,” said the commentator on talkSPORT [28/09, 14:41].
“There’s no evidence to suggest they’re about to go on a winning run, Leicester in the mean time, are doing a little bit better than people were willing to give Claude Puel credit for.”
OPINION
Motson has stated the obvious here – if Newcastle do not splash the cash, then they will be doomed to a fate that matches their fears. Benitez would have done extremely well if he managed to guide his team to top flight safety if the club failed to recruit new talent in January. However, that seems a distant possibility, so Ashley needs to spend if he does not want his side destined for the drop. At the moment, they do not have the depth or quality within the squad to survive this season – and if they do not sign anyone, then relegation is pretty much odds-on for them. Some would have hoped that Ashley would want to take action after he witnessed United’s poor showing against Crystal Palace last weekend, but it is wise to remember who we are talking about here. You would hope that he would see that his team are need – otherwise a Championship season will be on the cards for them next term.