Liverpool clash could be breaking point for Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez

WHEN Newcastle coach Rafael Benitez faces old club Liverpool this weekend, it won’t only be Jurgen Klopp he’ll be battling but his own club owner as well.

How much longer does Rafael Benitez have on Newcastle? AFP PHOTO / Glyn KIRK

NEWCASTLE United fans must be among the Premier League’s toughest. They’ve experienced some giddy highs and been dragged through some crappy lows — A LOT of crappy lows — but still they love their club.

There is no “prawn sandwich brigade” at St James Park. Even last year in the Championship, Newcastle’s average attendance was more than 50,000 — a figure backed up in their return to the Premier League. If support alone won trophies, Newcastle’s cobweb-ridden trophy room would be full to bursting by now.

But it’s not. And the club have been a shambles from top to bottom for years. A succession of bad owners have milked that very dedication for all it’s worth, without repaying the favour.

The live EPL game on free-to-air this weekend is Huddersfield v Tottenham on SBS, kicking off at 9.30pm AEST on Saturday night. Newcastle v Liverpool kicks off at 2.30am on Monday morning AEST.

How much longer does Rafael Benitez have on Newcastle? AFP PHOTO / Glyn KIRK

Current boss Mike Ashley has faced fans calling for his head for years — but either through foolishness, stubbornness or a combination of the two, he just won’t leave.

But the one man who could save him might.

If anyone still doubted Rafael Benitez’s coaching ability, his time at Newcastle has ended those questions. The Spaniard not only proved himself by pulling Newcastle out of the shove-and-push of the Championship but he has maintained that competitiveness in the face of bigger challenges since rejoining the Premier League.

One of the faults Benitez’s critics like to take aim at is a supposed lack of man-management skills. It’s true he retains a professional air with the players he coaches but if Benitez feels affection from the fans, he will feed it straight back to them.

Newcastle fans have copped it worse than most. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

After managing Liverpool, Inter, Real Madrid and Chelsea, Benitez is not a coach who would remain out of work for very long. But he took the Newcastle job on because he saw the potential and wanted the challenge. A man who has won titles and the Champions League took a plunge into the muck of Championship and came up smelling of roses.

And Newcastle fans love him for it. After decades of failure with coaches who were clearly never going to win a thing, Benitez has given them something rare and wonderful — hope.

That a coach of this calibre could land at St James Park, that deep well of underachievement, was bewildering. But it doesn’t look like it will last much longer.

Benitez is doing what he can with his underpowered team. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

After promising to back Benitez in the transfer market after securing promotion, with his calls for a new goalkeeper, leftback, winger and striker — you know, just the spine of a team — Ashley, unsurprisingly, gave his coach nothing.

That Benitez has been able to coax this squad to midtable is something of a miracle. More players left than joined in August, and those that came were nothing special.

After starting the season with two defeats to Tottenham and Huddersfield, Benitez steadied the ship and three runs on the trot from his team. Nothing spectacular but enough to suggest Newcastle could yet survive the season.

But slumping to a defeat to Brighton last week was another blow to the cracks that are showing. And it increased speculation that Benitez is ready to walk away, with rumours suggesting he could replace Slaven Bilic at West Ham.

It doesn’t get easier for Newcastle. This weekend they host Benitez’s former club Liverpool. Jurgen Klopp’s side are going through some struggles of their own but it seems unlikely they won’t overwhelm Newcastle with their exhilarating firepower.

But then again, Benitez excels at these kinds tactical opportunities. Everyone knows Liverpool’s weaknesses — unbelievably, the Reds’ defence is now one of the worst in the league — and for every goal they score, there is always an opportunity to get one back. And you can bet Rafa will know just how to do it.

Benitez will know how to exploit the weaknesses in Jurgen Klopp’s side. AFP PHOTO / PAUL ELLIS

But regardless of this result, Newcastle face a struggle to stay afloat. Without investment, it wouldn’t take many injuries for the club’s season to come crashing down. And given his previous experience, would Rafa be willing to wait until January in the hope that Ashley miraculously pulls some magic money out of a hat?

What’s more likely is a return to form, with Benitez walking away, taking any optimism with him, and Ashley installing some second-rate hire-a-coach as the club sinks inexorably back to the lower leagues, destroying the hopes of those hard-bitten Toon fans once again.

Originally published as Liverpool clash could be breaking point for Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez