Hypocrisy is a word that isn’t immediately mentioned in relation to football, but perhaps it should be. Double standards are rife, from the perception that bigger clubs receive more leniency from referees, to the huge transfer fees paid just days after a manager shakes his head in disgust at the money within the modern day game.
In every corner, this problem is huge. Fans may not acknowledge it, but they are perhaps more guilty than anyone of fuelling the issue; anyone but the media, at least. When Newcastle United gained promotion back to the Premier League last season, as well as the Championship title with a 3-0 win over Barnsley in May, it felt like everything would only get better. Rafa Benitez, a Champions League-winning manager, was preparing for the second summer at the helm, seemingly backed both idealistically and financially by the board. It was a dream situation for most fans.
Owner Mike Ashley said in a statement after discussions with Benitez that he would have ‘every penny available’ to reinvest in the squad, going against everything he had demonstrated in the years prior.
It is only natural, but the media latches onto the clubs perceived to have money and ambition as a home for transfer gossip and speculation. Pundits, the same people who have chastised Newcastle fans for expecting too much of their club in spite of numerous cost-cutting transfer windows, missed opportunities and eventual relegation, then began suggesting some very unrealistic players for Benitez to target, including Chelsea’s Cesc Fabregas and Wayne Rooney before he joined Everton. Yet, it is the Newcastle fans who are putting unfair and unnecessary pressure on the team, apparently.
Ambition to make the club better is all Newcastle fans really want, but most are understanding and patient. Fabregas was never an option, but he’s not the only big name Benitez should supposedly be after according to some onlookers. Suggesting Newcastle fans are over-demanding is nothing new, but it seems particularly unfair when they are being fed stories of interest in players who have played at the same level that Benitez has coached at and are way beyond the club’s current station.
But that is the hypocrisy; the idea fans should remain grounded when the newspapers and ex-professionals are constantly offering false hope, while also reporting discontent on Benitez’s part if these players are failing to be secured. The reality is for Newcastle, as confirmed by the boss during a talk-in with fans recently, that heavy spending is not yet an option for the Magpies, as it appears to be for the likes of West Ham United and Bournemouth. “The market is crazy”, Benitez said, while insisting on the promises made by Ashley at the end of last season.
Again, though, the press have stirred the pot somewhat. Frustration is brewing, from Benitez and the fans, but only that is being reported, rather than the underlying acceptance from both parties that it will be a tough season back in the Premier League and survival is not just the first aim, it is the most important, and possibly even the only aim.
Any sense of worry has been born out of the idea that Newcastle are underperforming this summer. Comparing to the picture painted after Ashley’s statement and in the early gossip column inches, that may be the case. There have been no bank-breaking, club transfer record-shattering deals; the £25million striker supposedly promised has not materialised and it doesn’t look like he will before the end of August. Most understood the situation, and those who don’t now are only upset because they succumbed to the idea that Newcastle would be able to hit the ground running this summer, joining the mad Premier League spending spree as soon as the second tier title was lifted, as the media previously speculated.
Pre-season predictions make the same mistake every single season; assuming teams will be placed into one of four mini leagues. The top six will chase the title and Champions League spots, the following four will aim for the Europa League, then five will chase the top half and everyone left battles to avoid relegation.
This fails to take into account the evolution of the Premier League. Three of those smaller competitions have morphed into one, meaning rarely is any team more than two or three results away from a good season or a catastrophic one. It has been said that Newcastle fans won’t accept the possibility of relegation, while Brighton and Huddersfield, the other promoted sides, will embrace it, and that will be the former’s downfall. The truth is, the majority of the clubs in the division are as much in a battle to stay in it as they are to finish in the top 10.
Benitez is clearly disappointed with some of Newcastle’s business in this transfer window, but contrary to the reports, he doesn’t seem overly angry when looking inwards. Whenever he speaks, there is an underlying tone of realism and understanding; the targets he wants are only available at extremely high prices.
Everything considered, Newcastle have done some great business this summer, with more possibly on the horizon. Fans and manager alike can and should be disappointed that more has not yet come, but only that is being reported, rather than the manageable and fair expectations of both.
Had the story of living within their means been around all summer, the panic and concern would not have set in so deep. This is phase two of Rafa Benitez’s project at Newcastle United, it is bound to be tough, but hypocrisy on the side of the pundits has not helped the cause one bit.
