Every England fan across the country was dealt a sickening blow when the World Cup dream came to an unexpected and possibly even unnecessary end against Croatia in the semi-finals. The final whistle blew at the Luzhniki Stadium after extra time and with that, England were heading home, there were more than a few sobering thoughts for the fans as the realization sunk in, especially if you were a Newcastle United supporter.
The euphoria of the World Cup has given Toon fans the opportunity to forget about goings-on at St James Park and instead focus on the success story that has been the England team. With that having come to end, attentions will turn back to preparations for the upcoming Premier League season with kickoff less than a month away.
While transfer dealings haven’t been altogether terrible, especially after the announcement that Kenedy has returned on a season-long loan, money will still need to be spent at some stage and the gaffer knows just as much.
Kenedy IS in Ireland with the squad and he’ll train with his teammates this morning #NUFC pic.twitter.com/dS2xw0zq5z
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) July 12, 2018
Rafa Benitez was being his transparent self when asked about the last month of the transfer window and having only made three additions to his squad already, he knows that there is work to be done still if Newcastle are to avoid a season of constantly looking over their shoulders.
Benitez was able to turn around a disappointing 2017/2018 season where it one stage it looked like Newcastle would possibly even be relegated. The time has to come for change where the Geordies start threatening at the other end of the table; as it stands, Newcastle are 20/1 for a top-six finish in the football betting and that may prove to be where the smart money is for those looking to use a £100 free bet.
There’s a long way to go yet before that can happen and the Newcastle gaffer refuses to get ahead of himself, as was illustrated by his brutally honest assessment about the last month of the transfer window. The Spaniard was quoted as saying that he will “take it one game at a time” and follow the same approach that led the Toon to a very respectable tenth place in the Premier League last season. Fans can often get worked up over the lack of signings and a lot of the time that concern and worry is justified. Newcastle will know that all too well as Mike Ashley is never one to willingly put his hand in his pocket.
Benitez’ words, though, will act as a calming influence in the face of quite a few worrying storms that are already brewing. Carrying on, Benitez alluded to the fact that everyone around them were spending money and when you consider the fact that Newcastle have to play Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City in the first month of the season, the potential for things to go wrong from the off is very high.
#NUFC pic.twitter.com/9RxsSqVvIK
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) July 12, 2018
With the Spaniard in charge, Newcastle have a manager that is more than capable of riding out those storms and he has proved on more than one occasion that he is able to get the best out of a group with obvious limitations.
This type of measured approach takes discipline to implement time after time especially when it seems that he is not getting the backing from the board that he needs. There is every chance that Newcastle will dip back into the transfer market and spend before the window is closed and that will help a lot. For now, though, Toon fans can rest assured in the knowledge that they have a manager in place who is capable of making Newcastle punch well above their weight.
