Speaking to the press ahead to tomorrow’s trip to West Brom, Rafa Benitez has today admitted that Newcastle could not even compete with fellow newly promoted sides Brighton and Huddersfield over the summer – stating we couldn’t ‘sign the players they signed’ or ‘pay the wages they paid’.
We knew we were restricted financially over the summer following a year in the Championship, however this is a truly disturbing admission from Rafa and the biggest sign to date that Mike Ashley needs to go.
Here’s his sickening comments in today’s pre-match presser, including a clear dig at Mike Ashley – suggesting his lack of investment is the main reason we find ourselves in a difficult predicament:
“We have to compete against Huddersfield & Brighton but we couldn’t sign the players they signed or pay the wages they paid.
“We are where we are because we did what we did. We couldn’t sign players and couldn’t pay wages or the fee.”
Unfortunately, this is a sad sign of just how far we’ve fallen under Mike Ashley’s unambitious reign.
Us Newcastle fans don’t need to be told how important it is that Ashley leaves our club, but these comments make it even more essential that new owners arrive as soon as possible.
What a sad and scary statement
— ianmarshall. (@ian9694) November 27, 2017
Change the word’s, Couldn’t and Wouldn’t, then we have the real truth….
Mike(Quote)
Mike(Quote)
Sadly, with Ashley intent on selling the club, there was never any way he was going to allow any real money be spent in Summer, especially if it meant he would have to help bankroll purchases until the Sky mega bucks came in at the end of the year -he knew that if he’d put up £50M of his own cash there’d be no way he would have recouped it in the asking price
Once again he shows his true colours; greedy, spiteful, selfish and untrustworthy – gotta just pray that the sale goes through before Rafa decides he’s had enough and the current squad go into freefall.
Patrick Church(Quote)
Strange comments from RAFA, due to the fact he spent £38+ million in the summer window, only 5 other teams spent more than him.
Player(s)
Age
Nat.
Moving from
Transfer fee
Jacob Murphy Jacob Murphy
Right Wing
22 England
Norwich City Norwich
EnglandChampionship
£10.17m
Florian Lejeune Florian Lejeune
Centre-Back
26 France
SD Eibar SD Eibar
SpainLaLiga
£9.00m
Christian Atsu Christian Atsu
Left Wing
25 Ghana
Chelsea FC Chelsea
EnglandPremier League
£6.75m
Joselu Joselu
Centre-Forward
27 Spain
Stoke City Stoke City
EnglandPremier League
£4.95m
Javier Manquillo Javier Manquillo
Right-Back
23 Spain
Atlético Madrid Atlético Madrid
SpainLaLiga
£4.50m
Mikel Merino Mikel Merino
Defensive Midfield
21 Spain
Borussia Dortmund Bor. Dortmund
Germany1.Bundesliga
Loan fee:
£2.70m
Adam Armstrong Adam Armstrong
Centre-Forward
20 England
Bolton Wanderers Bolton
EnglandChampionship
End of loan
Jan 1, 2018
Tim Krul Tim Krul
Keeper
29 Netherlands
Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton
EnglandPremier League
End of loan
Sep 19, 2017
Ivan Toney Ivan Toney
Centre-Forward
22 England
Wigan Athletic Wigan
EnglandLeague One
End of loan
May 31, 2018
Lubomir Satka Lubomir Satka
Centre-Back
21 Slovakia
DAC Dunajska Streda Dunajska Streda
SlovakiaFortuna Liga
End of loan
Jun 30, 2017
Siem de Jong Siem de Jong
Attacking Midfield
28 Netherlands
PSV Eindhoven PSV Eindhoven
NetherlandsEredivisie
End of loan
Jun 30, 2017
Emmanuel Rivière Emmanuel Rivière
Centre-Forward
27 France
Martinique
CA Osasuna CA Osasuna
SpainLaLiga
End of loan
Jun 30, 2017
Florian Thauvin Florian Thauvin
Right Wing
24 France
Olympique Marseille Marseille
FranceLigue 1
End of loan
Jun 30, 2017
Henri Saivet Henri Saivet
Attacking Midfield
26 Senegal
France
AS Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne
FranceLigue 1
End of loan
Jun 30, 2017
Tim Krul Tim Krul
Keeper
29 Netherlands
AZ Alkmaar AZ Alkmaar
NetherlandsEredivisie
End of loan
Jun 30, 2017
Kevin Mbabu Kevin Mbabu
Right-Back
22 Switzerland
Congo DR
BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys
SwitzerlandRaiffeisen Super League
End of loan
Jun 30, 2017
Sum: £38.07m
Average age of arrivals: 24,5
Total market value arrivals: £55.8om
source
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/newcastle-united/transfers/verein/762
Billofengland(Quote)
Billofengland – aren’t you missing the rather glaring fact that he generated fees through sales as well?
The Zaarchasm(Quote)