Newsletter

Get your daily update and weekly newsletter by signing up today!

Opinion

Paul Merson at his embarrassing ‘best’ with latest Rafa Benitez quotes

7 years ago
Share

Paul Merson is at it again.

The problem for his though is that when trying to undermine Newcastle United, he has two massive hurdles to overcome.

Remembering what he said/what happened in the past (or not caring what he said) and more importantly, he is absolutely thick.

Those expressions ‘As thick as a castle wall’ and ‘As thick as a whale sandwich’ could have been written specially for Merson.

His latest anti-NUFC garbage sees him stating that Rafa Benitez will definitely leave Newcastle United AND that he is right to do so.

He has came up with a list of reasons as to why the United boss should walk out on the club he has just got promoted at the first attempt…

Paul Merson says that Rafa should leave because there might be a transfer embargo due to the HMRC investigation, funnily enough he doesn’t say the same about West Ham who were raided on the same day. Plus, with the investigation said to involve any number of clubs, players, agents – Merson is too think to realise that any possible outcome/punishment would be way down the line and if there was any punishment, it would almost certainly be in the form of fines, not a transfer embargo.

Merson also says that the possibility of not getting as much transfer cash as he’d like, is another reason to walk. Obviously this is a worry for Newcastle fans but then any number of managers will be going into this summer trying to persuade club owners to give them as big a budget as possible. Again, why just single out Newcastle?

He says ‘Without new signings they’ll finish 15th or 16th at best’…well I think the fans would expect almost certain relegation without any new signings, Rafa Benitez will be able to make signings – it is just a case of how many and at what level he will be shopping.

Paul Merson says ‘You have to think long-term in this game’ and that Rafa Benitez ‘might wonder what’s coming down the line at Newcastle’. Merson is a fine one to talk about thinking long-term when you consider how he managed his whole career in terms of not looking after himself. Again, every Premier League manager can worry ‘what if’ about the future at their club and it’s not just Rafa. Newcastle supporters expect that every season he is at St James Park, Benitez will have to fight his corner every time when it comes to transfer budgets BUT that doesn’t equal him wanting to walk away now because of what might be around the corner.

If you did really doubt the existence of Paul Merson’s lame anti-Newcastle stance, then just look (see below) at what he said in May 2016 after Newcastle’s relegation.

Merson laid a significant part of the blame for Newcastle’s relegation at Rafa Benitez’ door and compared him unfavourably to Sam Allardyce, even though Rafa Benitez had only 10 games to save Newcastle in a hopeless situation.

In May 2016, Paul Merson confidently predicted/hoped that Rafa would walk out on Newcastle, saying:

“Did they really think if they went down that Benitez was going to stick around to get them back up?

“He started the season managing Real Madrid. I can’t see how you can go from the Bernabeu to the away dug-out at Burton so quickly – can you?”

Hopefully in 12 months time, Paul Merson will be yet again telling us all that Rafa Benitez is leaving Newcastle United…

Paul Merson – 29 April 2017:

“Rafa Benitez can leave Newcastle a hero if he walks out this summer – and I think he will.

“He’ll wonder how much further he can take them in the Premier League.

“It doesn’t look like they will be denied promotion because of the tax fraud probe but what if they’re hit with a transfer embargo?

“He might wonder whether it’s worth it if he doesn’t get a big transfer budget. Without new signings they’ll finish 15th or 16th at best in the Prem.

“And he could walk into another job fairly easily. He would be in demand. The fans shouldn’t hold it against him either.

“He stayed and took them straight back up when he could have walked away. He can leave with his head held high.

“You have to think long-term in this game and he might wonder what’s coming down the line at Newcastle.”

Paul Merson – 14 May 2016:

“Benitez will leave Newcastle.

“Sam Allardyce must have enjoyed sending Newcastle and Rafa Benitez down this week.

“Without Jermain Defoe’s goals they would never had stayed up, but Allardyce is the master of survival.

“He’s been there and done it before. He knows what to do. Benitez? He hasn’t. Newcastle had to beat Aston Villa last week and they played one up front.

“That was criminal for me. I said when he took over that Benitez is the sort of manager who sets teams out not to lose games, instead of trying to win them, and look what happened.

“Did they really think if they went down that Benitez was going to stick around to get them back up?

“He started the season managing Real Madrid. I can’t see how you can go from the Bernabeu to the away dug-out at Burton so quickly – can you?”

Share

If you would like to feature on The Mag, submit your article to contribute@themag.co.uk

Have your say

© 2024 The Mag. All Rights Reserved. Design & Build by Mediaworks