Robbie Fowler has suggested that Rafa Benitez was a cold manager, and that the Spaniard is playing Newcastle United fans off against owner Mike Ashley.
The former Liverpool played under Benitez at Anfield, and has revealed that the gaffer was more concerned with getting results than endearing himself to his players.
Speaking as a pundit on BT Sport, he said: “He was a cold person, if I’m being honest, but tactically he was superb. He will certainly get points. He will stop Newcastle going in a rut really.”
He added: “At times he does play a game, he does try and work the fans off the owner. I’m not sure whether that’s good for the morale of the club.
“His ethos was ‘I’m not here to be liked, I’m here to do a job’ and I don’t think you can fault him for that. It was similar at Chelsea, I don’t think anyone liked him, but the type of person and the type of character he was, I don’t think he was bothered.”
"He was a cold person, but tactically he was superb."
"He does try and work the fans off the owners."@Robbie9Fowler tells us what it was like to work under Rafa Benítez ?#SaturdaySav pic.twitter.com/8MCtHFwXE4
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 12, 2019
OPINION
Fowler certainly hasn’t minced his words on this one, not that Benitez will care. The Spaniard has a reputation for being a hardline manager, concerned with success and success only. If he can keep Newcastle in the league, their fans won’t mind either, but it’s interesting to hear the ex-Liverpool man suggesting that Benitez is playing a game. It’s true that he has almost unanimous support on Tyneside, and it’s true that Mike Ashley is universally abhorred, but it’s unusual to hear a pundit speak out in criticism of the Magpies’ boss on the subject. It definitely suits Benitez’s personal agenda to have the fans on side against Ashley, especially when results aren’t going the way he or the supporters would want, and it shifts a decent amount of the blame away from him when the going gets tough. Benitez has done an admirable job, but that shouldn’t make him exempt from judgement, and Fowler’s comments are food for thought.