OPINION
Danny Higginbotham raved about the fact that Newcastle United had stuck by the majority of their Championship winning team and claimed it was a major factor in their Premier League survival this season.
The Sky Sports pundit admitted that you can’t stick with the exact same team that kept you up, and that adding some quality was needed, but shared that he thought no major overhaul was needed upon promotion.
“It’s no great surprise that Newcastle, Brighton and Huddersfield stayed in the Premier League at the first time of asking,” wrote Higginbotham for The Sun.
“The secrets to last year’s promoted clubs survival were the same for all three: Identity and continuity.
“Eight of Newcastle’s starting 11 played in the Championship last year, as did seven for Huddersfield and seven for Brighton.
“They came up with specific core values, and however tempting it may to abandon those with new found riches, they did not – and they’ve reaped the rewards.
“Yes, you can’t just stick with the exact same team that got you up, but you need to look at what got you promoted, stick to your principles and add just a splattering of quality to supplement what has already been successful for you.”
While the pundit does goes on to gush about the success of keeping the core team due to spirit and standing by a manager that knows the team well, it was a still unnecessary risk for the Magpies to take.
Newcastle United benefited not from having a manager that knew them, but having one who is as masterful as Rafa Benitez.
The managerial genius turned players who have no business being in the Premier League into first-team regulars, and no other manager would have been able to do the same.
Also Higginbotham claimed that a splattering of quality is needed and Mike Ashley didn’t open his cheque book enough for that to occur, with the side completely relying on Benitez’s magic.
So while it’s nice that the Sky Sports pundit is raving about the Magpies for standing by their team, there needs to be an overhaul of the playing squad in the summer.
The Magpies shouldn’t be a team battling near the end of the season for their Premier League status, they should be guaranteed to be competing for a place in the top eight.
While hopefully the great team spirit showcased this season can be kept together, if there isn’t a bunch of new arrivals in the summer at St James’ Park, it will be a disappointing campaign next year.
This would be the case even if Benitez stays, and he won’t if transfer funds are nowhere to be seen, as even he doesn’t have enough magic to pull off the impossible task of keeping this Championship level squad in the Premier League again.
There are definitely a few keepers in the Magpies set-up, but a lot of the first-team regulars should be considered squad players not starters.
Therefore while Higginbotham praises the Magpies for hardly changing and keeping the majority of their team together, that needs to change as soon as possible to get the Magpies where they belong.
