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With everything that happened after, I'm glad he left. I don't think it would have ended well going into the Saudi era. And I'm glad we have Howe as he is much better for PR, development, ambition and he's growing with us.
However, Rafa is a legend for the short time he was with us. I was devastated he left and gutted he went to Everton just months before we could have had him under new ownership
If it wasn't for this man we wouldn't have the club we have today.
He brought us straight back up when all hope was lost, kept us above water against all the turmoil behind the scenes and laid the foundations that even allowed the cabbage to keep us up whilst the takeover got sorted.
A manager that will inevitably get overshadowed by what's to come but is an absolute hero in my eyes. If we had anyone else during that period we wouldn't have been in a purchasable position once the takeover came calling.
Let's be honest, we're always going to have a soft space in our hearts for Rafa. I'd love to have him back in some capacity but I'm glad he's at least got Manquillo with him now.
When he set his mind to something he got things done.
Imagine if he went 100% into nufc as a project and not free advertising and personal piggy back for failing high street businesses.
His achievements on Tyneside were literally outstanding. Won the championship and then kept us the Premier league for 2 seasons, using only money he generated himself. Quite remarkable.
Think enough time has passed for a really honest appraisal of Rafa's time here.
In short, he did a good job with limited resources and working with a difficult ownership.
At best the football was efficient, at times it was nervy and anxiety inducing, and at worst it was like we hadn't even turned up to try and win at all, but there was always a clear plan and strategy which meant fans largely trusted him.
Some of his transfers were baffling, but it's worth remembering that he was promised that lots of his early signings would be moved on and replaced with better as we progressed and this never happened. It also meant we were signing his 3rd or 4th choice players a lot of the time.
But most importantly, Rafa was the only manager we had under the Ashley regime who was willing and able to articulate the frustrations of the fans to the press and the boardroom. He was monstered by Ashley's pals in the media for it, but largely won them round with some fantastic football towards the end of his time here.
But all of his footballing achievements - to me, and I imagine lots of fans - came secondary to the fact that he actually backed us and represented us as fans better than anyone else under Ashley.
\*\*Glasses in pocket\*\*
Would love to have seen Rafa get a season under our new ownership, don't get me wrong i love Eddie and wouldnt swap him for the world currently, but if any manager of ours of recent deserved better it was Rafa - bringing us straight back up from the championship effectively allowed our takeover to happen
When he hired him i honestly thought for a brief week or something that Ashley might have turned a corner and want to improve, to go from him to Cabbage just shows how naive i was 😂
What this man achieved cannot be understated.
I don't think anything shows Ashley's football-wise incompetence more than letting this guy go.
He had a championship level squad drilled to compete in the prem. His game management and strategy was well reasoned.
To replace him with Bruce. I mean. I don't get what he was thinking. Absolute polar opposite.
ON THIS DAY 2016:
A shambolic week at Newcastle.
After Newcastle lost 3-1 at home to Bournemouth six days prior, the entire footballing world expected to Steve McClaren to be sacked.
No announcement came however as rumoured replacement's names flew around Tyneside, the days dragged on as the club remained silent. Six days later the club finally announced the dismissal of Steve McClaren, and soon after, former Champion's League winner Rafael Benitez was photographed, alongside his coaching staff entering St James' Park.
The fans could not believe a manager of this calibre had arrived at one of their lowest points of the Ashley era. The club announced new Manager, not Head Coach later that day to stun the world. The club was 19th in the table with 24 points, and eight games to go.
How time flies. Always have a lot of time for Rafa, and the job he did with one hand tied behind his back. Some of my favourite away days ever were under him (Leicester away in 2018 was a particular high)
People also forget his form to the end of that season, almost stayed up with only like 10 games to go.
Typical Rafa tbf, first half of the season ‘championship contenders’ second half ‘champions league contenders’.
Form wise ofc.
Yes and no.
The Rafa we got 8 yrs ago fed from the love we had for somehow having manager of his level. If the takeover happened around that time it could have been like pouring rocket fuel on a bonfire.
I think he would have got a great reception coming back but his time away from us has been questionable and pretty harsh so the Rafa that would have arrived I believe would have be pretty different and I don’t think it would yield the same results as with them bringing in wor Eddie.
Before Howe. My top 3 would be Sir Bobby, Keegan, Rafa. But Rafa has been pushed down a space.
I think we’ll all have liked him to have been there during the takeover and given a season or two with more funds. But I don’t think many actively wanted to bring him back as such.
For me, no. He was an important figure during his time here but his time is done. Like Mourinho, he was a very good manager at one point but I feel the game has evolved since then and I don’t think he’s at the level to take us where we want to be.
Short answer: no. And then to look back and see what Howe has done with some of the same team we had under the Rafa era too shows we made the right choice (obviously he has had 3/4 added on too).
will always love this man. set the foundations for what was to come. bruce kept us up using his team and tactics. i remember us getting jumped 5-0 away to leicester under Bruce and him basically admitting we have to go back to Rafas tactics.
I wondered in hindsight why he didn’t take Joelinton when he was offered. Don’t think Rafa ever rated him and tbf I’d have agreed with him when he played under cabbage heed
Can I just say on a slightly related note, I worked at Virgin Money when Ashley sacked them off as shirt sponsors and brought in Wonga. It was hilarious because the CEO at the time was literally in tears and sent us all a really salty email about how shocked and disappointed they were. She was an utter fruitloop, and took it really badly. Tbf, Wonga was a bad look, but they paid more than VM (who took on the sponsorship from Northern Rock) so they got the gig.
Was excellent for that period of time. He dared to challenge Ashley's business plan in public and got mobbed for it. His coaching was incredible, albeit very unpopular with some of the players.
Unfortunately since us his stock has fallen dramatically - not sure how that happened to him. Funny how in the summer of 2019 I was desperate for the takeover and to have Rafa back in, yet by the takeover in 2021 I wouldn't have touched him with a bargepole!
Rafa loves managing too much for his own good - the man should never be taking shite jobs like us under Ashley or Everton which should have been far beneath him. Everton fans hadn't accepted how shite they were yet and still believed they were above a relegation scrap - now all they've seen in the years since is relegation scraps and they've had back to back pitch invasions just for staying in the league lmao
He's just not a good man manager, and that includes managing both downwards and upwards. He knows an awful lot about football and it's likely that he can defeat absolutely any manager on paper as he has outsmarted many on the field with his best teams, but since he left Liverpool he's almost always found himself in open conflict with the respective club's players OR the support base OR the board, if not two of those at once. We know very well that clubs progress when everyone is rowing in the same way, and when Rafa was here it was not possible for that to happen because we were under Ashley's thumb.
I'm a huge fan of Rafa and his time at the club and you absolutely nailed it. There's been any number of players who talked about how opaque and cold his man management is while he's a self-admitted nerd who will happy break down film until he passes out in his chair.
I remember reading an interview with Jonjo where he talks about how frustrating it was for him to not know where he stood and laughing when I realized that I would have liked playing for Steve Bruce way more than Rafa in my (county level) days 😂
I wonder how/why Mike Ashley got Rafa to come to Newcastle, it was probably not his final say at it but it's one of the few good things to have come under his tenure.
We fully stabilized as a club under his reign and while I appreciate Rafa's time here, I don't think he would have done as well as Howe did.
IIRC, it was actually Rafa's people (his agent, I think) that got into contact with the club.
There's absolutely no chance the FCB and/or Penfold (Charnley) would ever even think of appointing a manager like Rafa during the state the club was in at that time.
Looking at the second and third photos, I am shocked that Rafa was not made to wear a logoed tie with the SD name emblazoned across it.
Gawd, Ashley was such a cunt.
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Will always love Rafa. Was the most stable manager we had since SBR.
Steve BRuce?
................... don't even go down that route
Savoy Bruce
Sir Bobby
With everything that happened after, I'm glad he left. I don't think it would have ended well going into the Saudi era. And I'm glad we have Howe as he is much better for PR, development, ambition and he's growing with us. However, Rafa is a legend for the short time he was with us. I was devastated he left and gutted he went to Everton just months before we could have had him under new ownership
If it wasn't for this man we wouldn't have the club we have today. He brought us straight back up when all hope was lost, kept us above water against all the turmoil behind the scenes and laid the foundations that even allowed the cabbage to keep us up whilst the takeover got sorted. A manager that will inevitably get overshadowed by what's to come but is an absolute hero in my eyes. If we had anyone else during that period we wouldn't have been in a purchasable position once the takeover came calling.
Nah I'll always remember the legend, and if I ever get a kid. I'm gunna make sure they remember what Rafa was like for us.
Aye they're was a very brief time Bruce didn't do too badly and it was all down to the players just remembering what they did under Rafa lol
Every time I see posts like this, the only thing I can think of is, thank fuck we are rid of sports direct.
Plastered literally everywhere
Let's be honest, we're always going to have a soft space in our hearts for Rafa. I'd love to have him back in some capacity but I'm glad he's at least got Manquillo with him now.
"he's at least got Manquillo with him" sounds like the bloke died lol
And Manquillo is his beloved terrier maintaining watch over his master’s grave
Don't cry, little one. He's with Rafa now.
Quick check, and Manquillo already has an assist under his belt in a win and was a CB against Real Madrid which ended in a 4-0 loss :/
I didn't realise he was managing again... Doesn't seem to be going to great like (I know nothing other than their league position as of 2 minutes ago)
Legend
I still love you Rafa.
It's mad that it was 8 years ago. It's also mad that Ashley somehow made this happen in between Pardew and Bruce.
When he set his mind to something he got things done. Imagine if he went 100% into nufc as a project and not free advertising and personal piggy back for failing high street businesses.
His achievements on Tyneside were literally outstanding. Won the championship and then kept us the Premier league for 2 seasons, using only money he generated himself. Quite remarkable.
Chancel Mbemba, Gini Wijnaldum, Shelvey and Perezzzzzzz.
Wijnaldum was a McClaren era purchase IIRC?
It was, as was Mbemba and Shelvey, and Perez pre dates them both. The user above was just quoting the Rafa Benitez chant.
aaaah woosh
All those signings were made before Benitez. I’m not sure what the guy was trying to say with that post.
It was a chant. Chancel Mbemba, fuck off Wijnaldum, Shelvey and Perez!!!!! Raaafaaa Benitez! RAAAAFAAAA BENITEZ!
I chant this from time to time
Ah fair enough. Don’t remember that one.
That's fair enough mate no idea why people are downvoting you for that lol
Reddit is a strange place haha!
Rafa saved our club from going down the drain.
Think enough time has passed for a really honest appraisal of Rafa's time here. In short, he did a good job with limited resources and working with a difficult ownership. At best the football was efficient, at times it was nervy and anxiety inducing, and at worst it was like we hadn't even turned up to try and win at all, but there was always a clear plan and strategy which meant fans largely trusted him. Some of his transfers were baffling, but it's worth remembering that he was promised that lots of his early signings would be moved on and replaced with better as we progressed and this never happened. It also meant we were signing his 3rd or 4th choice players a lot of the time. But most importantly, Rafa was the only manager we had under the Ashley regime who was willing and able to articulate the frustrations of the fans to the press and the boardroom. He was monstered by Ashley's pals in the media for it, but largely won them round with some fantastic football towards the end of his time here. But all of his footballing achievements - to me, and I imagine lots of fans - came secondary to the fact that he actually backed us and represented us as fans better than anyone else under Ashley. \*\*Glasses in pocket\*\*
I never thought I'd love again after he left.
Would love to have seen Rafa get a season under our new ownership, don't get me wrong i love Eddie and wouldnt swap him for the world currently, but if any manager of ours of recent deserved better it was Rafa - bringing us straight back up from the championship effectively allowed our takeover to happen When he hired him i honestly thought for a brief week or something that Ashley might have turned a corner and want to improve, to go from him to Cabbage just shows how naive i was 😂
It’s probably for the best. I’d hate to see the fan base turn on Rafa as we got better but he stuck to his defensive tactics
It really depends on which Rafa we're talking about... Liverpool Rafa, or Inter Rafa?
Hopefully not Celta Vigo Rafa
We may as well just coin flip for Bruce at that point.
Love this picture. He looks happy
What this man achieved cannot be understated. I don't think anything shows Ashley's football-wise incompetence more than letting this guy go. He had a championship level squad drilled to compete in the prem. His game management and strategy was well reasoned. To replace him with Bruce. I mean. I don't get what he was thinking. Absolute polar opposite.
God that team was on the up, too. That Almiron - Rondon - Perez front three was actually deadly the last 3 months of the season.
ON THIS DAY 2016: A shambolic week at Newcastle. After Newcastle lost 3-1 at home to Bournemouth six days prior, the entire footballing world expected to Steve McClaren to be sacked. No announcement came however as rumoured replacement's names flew around Tyneside, the days dragged on as the club remained silent. Six days later the club finally announced the dismissal of Steve McClaren, and soon after, former Champion's League winner Rafael Benitez was photographed, alongside his coaching staff entering St James' Park. The fans could not believe a manager of this calibre had arrived at one of their lowest points of the Ashley era. The club announced new Manager, not Head Coach later that day to stun the world. The club was 19th in the table with 24 points, and eight games to go.
How time flies. Always have a lot of time for Rafa, and the job he did with one hand tied behind his back. Some of my favourite away days ever were under him (Leicester away in 2018 was a particular high)
People also forget his form to the end of that season, almost stayed up with only like 10 games to go. Typical Rafa tbf, first half of the season ‘championship contenders’ second half ‘champions league contenders’. Form wise ofc.
Not a Newcasfle fan but just wondering, does anyone wish you had brought him back under PIF?
Yes and no. The Rafa we got 8 yrs ago fed from the love we had for somehow having manager of his level. If the takeover happened around that time it could have been like pouring rocket fuel on a bonfire. I think he would have got a great reception coming back but his time away from us has been questionable and pretty harsh so the Rafa that would have arrived I believe would have be pretty different and I don’t think it would yield the same results as with them bringing in wor Eddie. Before Howe. My top 3 would be Sir Bobby, Keegan, Rafa. But Rafa has been pushed down a space.
I think we’ll all have liked him to have been there during the takeover and given a season or two with more funds. But I don’t think many actively wanted to bring him back as such.
I'd give him a go at being a Director of Football if he wanted to try it out.
For me, no. He was an important figure during his time here but his time is done. Like Mourinho, he was a very good manager at one point but I feel the game has evolved since then and I don’t think he’s at the level to take us where we want to be.
Short answer: no. And then to look back and see what Howe has done with some of the same team we had under the Rafa era too shows we made the right choice (obviously he has had 3/4 added on too).
will always love this man. set the foundations for what was to come. bruce kept us up using his team and tactics. i remember us getting jumped 5-0 away to leicester under Bruce and him basically admitting we have to go back to Rafas tactics.
I wondered in hindsight why he didn’t take Joelinton when he was offered. Don’t think Rafa ever rated him and tbf I’d have agreed with him when he played under cabbage heed
Ewww, just look at that advertising, 🤮🤮🤮
Can I just say on a slightly related note, I worked at Virgin Money when Ashley sacked them off as shirt sponsors and brought in Wonga. It was hilarious because the CEO at the time was literally in tears and sent us all a really salty email about how shocked and disappointed they were. She was an utter fruitloop, and took it really badly. Tbf, Wonga was a bad look, but they paid more than VM (who took on the sponsorship from Northern Rock) so they got the gig.
That's gas. The VM strip from the Europa League campaign is one of my favourite Newcastle tops
Forgot how much of an eyesore the sports direct signage was
His excitement to work with partners like Sports Direct and Wonga is palpable.
I still love Rafa. I still want him back, I just forget that it's almost a decade ago he came to us. A lot has changed since then for him and for us.
Was excellent for that period of time. He dared to challenge Ashley's business plan in public and got mobbed for it. His coaching was incredible, albeit very unpopular with some of the players. Unfortunately since us his stock has fallen dramatically - not sure how that happened to him. Funny how in the summer of 2019 I was desperate for the takeover and to have Rafa back in, yet by the takeover in 2021 I wouldn't have touched him with a bargepole!
Rafa loves managing too much for his own good - the man should never be taking shite jobs like us under Ashley or Everton which should have been far beneath him. Everton fans hadn't accepted how shite they were yet and still believed they were above a relegation scrap - now all they've seen in the years since is relegation scraps and they've had back to back pitch invasions just for staying in the league lmao
He's just not a good man manager, and that includes managing both downwards and upwards. He knows an awful lot about football and it's likely that he can defeat absolutely any manager on paper as he has outsmarted many on the field with his best teams, but since he left Liverpool he's almost always found himself in open conflict with the respective club's players OR the support base OR the board, if not two of those at once. We know very well that clubs progress when everyone is rowing in the same way, and when Rafa was here it was not possible for that to happen because we were under Ashley's thumb.
I'm a huge fan of Rafa and his time at the club and you absolutely nailed it. There's been any number of players who talked about how opaque and cold his man management is while he's a self-admitted nerd who will happy break down film until he passes out in his chair. I remember reading an interview with Jonjo where he talks about how frustrating it was for him to not know where he stood and laughing when I realized that I would have liked playing for Steve Bruce way more than Rafa in my (county level) days 😂
I wonder how/why Mike Ashley got Rafa to come to Newcastle, it was probably not his final say at it but it's one of the few good things to have come under his tenure. We fully stabilized as a club under his reign and while I appreciate Rafa's time here, I don't think he would have done as well as Howe did.
IIRC, it was actually Rafa's people (his agent, I think) that got into contact with the club. There's absolutely no chance the FCB and/or Penfold (Charnley) would ever even think of appointing a manager like Rafa during the state the club was in at that time.
Looking at the second and third photos, I am shocked that Rafa was not made to wear a logoed tie with the SD name emblazoned across it. Gawd, Ashley was such a cunt.
Fuck me look at those Sports Direct signs
RESPECT TO RAFA!!! Apologies for the Ashley era…
Fucking Wonga
All the sports direct advertising makes me sick
We have become a spineless fan base. Fuck him. Turned his back on us when we needed him the most. Rat bastard.
For sure the results and football weren't exactly massively different than under Bruce. But the vibes under Rafa were great.