Former Tottenham boss and Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood has backed Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley in gambling on the success of the manager, rather than the players, at St James’ Park.
The Magpies are currently languishing in the relegation zone after finishing 10th in the top flight last season and with half of the January transfer window gone are yet to dip their toe into the market.
However, despite their lack of business Sherwood insists Ashley has made the right move in risking his money on manager Rafael Benitez, investing heavily in the Spaniard rather than his team.
He told Sky Sports’ The Debate (16/01, 22:00): “He’s made a decision: ‘I’m not going to go out and buy average players, I’m gonna stick primarily with what we’ve got and what I’m going to do is I’m gonna pay a manager who is probably one of the best managers at getting results at the right time.
“‘I’m going to pay him a king’s ransom, something I would never pay any other manager in the world and I’m going to hope, because he’s a coach, he’s going to make my players better,’ and you have to say that’s good management because that’s exactly what he’s done.”
Opinion
A workman is only as good as the tools at his availability and quite frankly the players Benitez has got to work with are lacking in quality. Imagine what the Spanish boss could do if he had a little more cash to invest in the window? Yes, he has worked miracles with his Newcastle squad but the fact of the matter is he could be doing so much more at St James’ Park if Ashley only backed him. Survival in the division, to keep the Sky television money coming in, is obviously the owner’s one and only aim and as such a 17th placed finish would be alright in his eyes. Until he changes his perspective on things – or leaves the club completely – it is not going to change and Benitez is going to continue to struggle with a lack of finances at his disposal. Disappointing for the Toon Army – but at least the Spaniard is there to stop the ship from sinking completely.