JOHN GIBSON Rafa vision for future is a breath of fresh air
TOP-EIGHT OBJECTIVE FOR CLUB IS MUSIC TO THE EARS OF LONG-SUFFERING FANS
THANK goodness that at long last someone from within is willing to tell it the way it is.
For a decade Mike Ashley and his minions have been full of what United cannot do because of necessary restrictions on his part.
The southern press have gladly taken up the theme, accusing Geordies of being unrealistic and expecting too much. Like avoiding relegation?
Now along comes a big player used to residing in the land of plenty, Rafa Benitez, who is prepared to look at the situation through eyes of clarity.
In a nutshell, should United’s proposed takeover go through, Rafa believes it could propel the club into a top-eight position.
However first things first – I’ve been banging on for some time that the present is absolutely crucial, more so than the future at this moment, and Rafa it would seem agrees.
“I think that this club still has great potential,” maintained Benitez. “If we do the things that we have to do in January and we stay in the Premier League, this is one of the clubs that has to be in the top eight.
“But we have to be sure that we understand this is a crucial time for us.”
It’s so reassuring for a manager to have the courage to publicly acknowledge a rosy future is possible given the darkness of where United stand right now, teetering on the fringe of the relegation dungeon, while at the same time pointing out that any lack of action come the impending opening of the transfer window would be nothing short of criminal.
Just think of it . . . Man City, Man U, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, and Newcastle as the Super Seven. The eighth? We don’t care. Let them all fight for it.
Rafa sees United for exactly what they are right now – a massive club with a huge and consistent fan base in grave danger of imploding once again.
Which is why we place our faith and hope in Amanda Staveley and PCP Capital Partners, although to be truthful we know next to nought about them apart from the presumption they must be better equipped than the disastrous Ashley.
It was Staveley, after all, who brokered the Manchester City takeover that has changed the face of English football, and while we don’t expect anything like that impact up here (despite being ‘unrealistic’) we have to believe she and her backers from the same land of honey will carry a similar ambitious streak. Otherwise why join?
However what literally happens next is of paramount importance.
The transfer window opens on Monday and Rafa has always maintained he likes to get his business done early which, given United’s current plight, would be the sensible thing.
Liverpool have set the pace, having already concluded a record £75m deal with Southampton for their central defender Virgil van Dijk. Will Ashley allow Benitez to strike quickly as well?
The testing time is upon us. BRIGHTON boss Chris Hughton is not expecting a big turnover of players in January.
Hughton would love to bring in a new striker, having failed to land one in the summer, and has been persistently linked with Celtic forward Moussa Dembele.
The promoted Seagulls currently lie 12th despite scoring just 15 goals in 20 Premier League matches.
But when asked if a forward was his priority, Hughton said: “Not necessarily.
“What we do have is an obligation to finish January with the best squad we can.
“We’ve done fairly well. We probably surprised ourselves a little bit with a very good period and then had a more difficult period.
“So anything we do will be minimal. The striker has been mentioned more because of the summer – most people are aware we tried in the summer and weren’t able to.
“But any move for a striker would have to be right for this club to do anything.”
Hughton rotated his squad for the 2-0 Boxing Day defeat at Chelsea with one eye on more winnable games against Newcastle and Bournemouth coming up.
First up is a long trip to St James’ Park to face the Magpies, the club which gave Hughton his first job in management.
Hughton guided Newcastle to promotion in 2010 but he was sacked the following December with them lying 12th.
Nevertheless, Hughton admits visits back to Tyneside will always be special to him.
“Very much so, it was the club which gave me my first opportunity to manage and that’s something I’m always very grateful for, it will always hold a special place,” he said.
“I’ve been back on a couple of occasions since and it’s always enjoyable to go back there, but mostly you want to go back and play well enough to get a result.
“It’s still a difficult place to go, it’s a wonderful stadium, a full stadium who want to get behind their team.
“Whatever problems they have had they always get through it, and that makes them very tough opposition.”