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Rafa Benitez – Newcastle are chasing Everton not the top six

6 years ago
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Rafa Benitez yet again wasn’t getting carried away with Newcastle’s current run of form.

With safety already assured, a top 10 finish theirs to lose, and now every chance of ending as high as eighth, for a promoted club that would an astonishing outcome.

Particularly with the low level of investment compared to even the other two promoted clubs, both Huddersfield and Brighton having a several times higher net spend in the past 10 months.

In terms of how this run-in will go, Monday night’s match at Everton looks pivotal.

A win for Newcastle would put them ninth, two points ahead of Sam Allardyce’s team, with a game in hand and better goal difference.

However, Rafa Benitez says that it is clubs like Everton that Newcastle United are currently trying to catch up with, not the top six.

The Newcastle boss pointing to the benefits for clubs who are constants in the Premier League as compared to the likes of Newcastle, who under Mike Ashley’s chaotic ownership managed to be relegated in two of the previous seven Premier League seasons and also have a couple of near misses.

On Friday Rafa Benitez returned to two recurring themes, saying that once again he couldn’t yet plan for the next transfer window as he didn’t yet know what budget there would be, plus he stated that he is still waiting to hear what plans Mike Ashley has for the club…whether his ‘ambition’ match those of the manager and fans.

Nobody expects Newcastle to suddenly spend £180m+ as Everton have done in the past 10 months but whilst finishing above the scousers is more than possible this season, it is unlikely Rafa will be able to keep on pulling rabbits out of hats unless things change with more realistic transfer backing.

Alluding to the recent past at Newcastle United and particularly the massive wasted opportunity after the fifth place finish in 2011/12, when only Vurnon Anita was added to the squad and a number of fringe players [Fraser Forster etc] sold to fund even that, Rafa Benitez says: ‘Not just one year where we finish fifth, after you could be relegated twice, so it makes no sense.’

Much of Mike Ashley’s running of the club ‘makes no sense’ and that has to change, with Ashley either selling up, or now giving a top class manager his full support.

Rafa Benitez asked if Newcastle and Everton are two clubs now looking to break into that top six:

“No.

“Everton finished seventh last year, and there is a massive difference between teams who are already in the Premier League, such as [even] Burnley, Bournemouth and Swansea, and those [just] promoted.

“They already have that money from TV and are able to attract players.

“When you are on the brink of dropping out of the Premier League, or you are in the Championship, it is much more difficult to attract players.

“Everton were ahead of us [before] and are miles away from us [at the moment] in terms of investment.

“We need to improve to be able to compete – to be consistent in terms of we want to be there.

“Not just one year where we finish fifth, after you could be relegated twice, so it makes no sense.

“It has to be about consistency of staying in the Premier League and then competing for something.”

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