Back in the 2007- 08 season, after successive cup victories in the UEFA Champions League and FA Cup, a banner was unfurled at Anfield, which proclaimed with a picture of Rafael Benitez that said, “To some, greatness comes naturally”. It shouldn’t be lost on us that while Benitez has always been known to leave his clubs in acrimonious circumstances, he still holds a special place in the hearts of the supporters of all clubs that he has managed (well, almost all – Madristas aside).
Trending
At the Bernabeu, he looked a haunted man, a manager who has always been clear in his ideologies, struggled to adapt to the entire atmósfera. A job which had been coveted by him for more than a decade, given that his initial coaching steps were taken at Madrid.
But as has been seen time and again, the Madrid job is often considered a managerial quagmire. Everyone covets the job, but once into the job, the manager has to juggle so many parties, that often they lose sight of the goals they have set themselves. A manager being hounded away from Madrid is not a unique thing; after all there have been 8 managers in the past decade itself.
An endearing figure for the fans
Coming to Benitez, he has generally endeared himself to all fans of the clubs he has managed (exceptions aside). As he said, so famously of the Liverpool fans, “We don't need to give away flags for our fans to wave - our supporters are always there with their hearts, and that is all we need. It's the passion of the fans that helps to win matches - not flags.”
When the numero uno in the club utters words such as these, all the fans can feel is an overwhelming sense of passion. So LFC fans have fond memories of Benitez and let’s not forget the Valencia fans who adore him as well.
For the record, this is not the first time he has been called to attempt and resurrect a club. Liverpool appealed to him in the summer of 2004. As recently as a couple of seasons back, Chelsea FC appointed him as the interim manager with whom he promptly won the Europa Cup.
This was despite the reservations against him by the voracious fans of Chelsea FC. Whether his current tryst with Newcastle will be successful or not is a moot thought. With so few games left, it will be akin to turning water into wine if Newcastle do indeed drag themselves out of this, to put it kindly a precarious situation.
Passion can often be misplaced but with Benitez, a man who loves the passion of managing, the Newcastle job could have come sooner. But with 10 games to go and Newcastle still reeling in the relegation places, it was make or break for Mike Ashley, the often criticised owner of Newcastle United.
The Premier League is well revered by Benitez, for he believes that there is a certain respect for the man. While there are critics, there is no political gameplay as he was so ferociously exposed to in Madrid. Many in Spain still believe that he was a scapegoat for whatever went wrong with Madrid this season. A man who has delivered trophies wherever he has gone in his own style and manner was hounded out of the Bernabeu for what was deemed an abrasive style of play.
Right man, wrong job
For once he waivered from his style and tried to be the peacemaker, thus losing his own identity in the process. Some may say he was naive, the way he went about denouncing the media campaign to sack him. A person who has been famous all these years for his control and is a micro-manager instead decided to be accommodative in nature, which ultimately cost him his credibility and the job.
But time, as they say, heals and while it may be too early to comment on who is taking the bigger gamble of taking up the arduous task of a relegation battle, there seems to be only one winner. Save Newcastle from relegation and Benitez will surely enter into Newcastle folklore, get relegated Benitez still wins, after all, he was trying to plug the holes in a sinking ship.
This time, though, Benitez won’t be accommodative, it seems. He already has chewed over the job for more time than necessary. Whether that was an indicator of his terms being complied with, we will never know, but there is a certain sense of relief and confidence that the right man has been identified for this firefighting exercise.
Whether he can instill the self-assured confidence within this squad, which seems to be a compilation of the most inconsistent performers in the league, is a considerable headache. Over the course of the season, Newcastle may not have been awfully awful, but they haven’t chalked up the necessary points which have left them in this position.
Steve Mclaren’s vast experience couldn’t inspire the likes of Wijnaldum, Sissoko et al to put in performances every week. Defensive frailties have been ruthlessly exposed; at times, the players seem to have stopped running. Too many mistakes, too many errors, too many excuses.
At times this season, the Newcastle players have turned with the gait of those who will be handed the win because of their reputation. The squad is talented that is for sure, the right players were identified to suit a system the club was trying to build, but then you have to put in the hours to achieve that as well.
Nothing comes easy and a Premier League victory is as good as being in a street scrap, where every inch will be challenged and every blade of grass will be contested. Belief, if not anything else Benitez should be able to instill in this squad. The question now remains whether this belief will help them avoid relegation.
