Richard Keys ranted about Newcastle United going out of the FA Cup in a detailed blog post and blasted Rafa Benitez in the process.
The pundit claimed that Magpies fans should be demanding a cup run and questioned why Benitez made a 11 changes to his team to face Watford in the FA Cup, and stated that it was a disgrace they were now out of the tournament.
Keys shared that club owner Mike Ashley cannot be blamed for the Magpies going out of the FA Cup and went on to say that while Benitez wants money to splash on his team, spending the cash on new players isn’t necessarily the answer.
“So what can Newcastle fans expect? Indeed – demand? I’d say a Cup run – minimum,” wrote Keys in his latest blog post for his website.
“That would excite everybody. Why not? For goodness sake – Newcastle aren’t going down, so why did Benitez make 11 changes at Watford and toss off another campaign? That isn’t Ashley’s fault.
“If he interfered with team selection and demanded a Cup run all hell would let loose. By the way, Palace are still in the Cup.
“They’ll expect to win at Doncaster – then a 1/4-final beckons. Their supporters will be on fire at that prospect. Why not Newcastle? It’s a disgrace that they’re out.
“There’s no reason they should be out. King Kev would never have allowed that. A Cup run won’t see Palace relegated. The momentum they get from it could easily see them finish top half.
“Rafa wants money. He’s had money. He had £102m and the biggest budget in the Championship to get Newcastle back into the PL. Chris Hughton had nothing like his funds but got Brighton up – as he did Newcastle when he was in charge.
“Spending money isn’t the answer to PL success. Are West Ham any better this season after a £100m spend last summer? Are Bournemouth?
“Mike Ashley won’t ever win any popularity contests in Newcastle. Nor will I. For some reason Benitez continues to weave spells that have the locals transfixed by some of his nonsense.”
OPINION
Keys clearly remains not a fan of Benitez and it’s just painful to read him go in so hard on the manager. The pundit references Benitez have a spell over supporters and feeding them nonsense, but that simply isn’t the case. While Benitez making several chances to his side in their latest FA Cup game which saw them lose to Watford was disappointing, if his squad was bigger then of course he would have gone all out to win the cup. The Spanish manager has seen his squad wrecked by injuries this season and not having suitable cover for his crocked players, so why would he risked them in the FA Cup? While it’s true the Magpies seem comfortable as it stands regarding the Premier League relegation battle, football can change quickly. The Spanish manager knows he has to prioritise keeping the Magpies in England’s top-flight and if Ashley had approved more signings in the recent windows, he’d probably have a squad able to compete in two competitions.