Malcolm Macdonald insisted that as a businessman Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley must be aware that he needs to make the most of Rafa Benitez being at the club.
The Magpies legend, affectionately known as Supermac, opted to deliver some advice and a warning to Ashley in his latest column for the Chronicle and used the club’s previous failures to capitalise on what Kevin Keegan and Bobby Robson achieved at the club to prove his points.
Macdonald insisted that if Ashley backed Benitez, which would allow the club to blossom, when the businessman did sell the club he would make an awful lot more money.
“As a businessman he ought to know better,” wrote Macdonald to the local newspaper.
“He has a sound base upon which to launch a bright future, for United to finish where they did in their first season back in the top flight, and with the players they had, was truly phenomenal, it was the Rafa effect and Ashley must know it.
“However such an opportunity doesn’t hang round for ever, it has to be grasped while it’s available or it disappears and might not surface again for years.
“United didn’t cash in long-term on what Kevin Keegan and Bobby Robson built here, that should be a warning to Ashley to safeguard what he has got.
“He can look at it strictly in a business sense if he wants rather than personal glory, if he backs Rafa and United continue to blossom then when he does get round to selling the club it will be worth an awful lot more.”
OPINION
Bravo Macdonald for saying what a lot of people are thinking. The 68-year-old knows a thing or two about the Magpies, having played 187 times for the club, and it shows. The old saying that one needs to spend money to make money rings true and that is effectively what the Magpies legend is saying in his latest column. The retired footballer puts his points elegantly across in order to appeal to Ashley’s business sense and if he reads this column, he won’t see a flaw in his logic. If Ashley really is going to be in charge for the foreseeable future, he can’t avoid not to invest in the transfer market as it’s the best way to protect his investment in the club. The Magpies owner no doubt was sweating over relegation at points during the latest campaign as a drop into England’s second-tier would have seen the value of the club take a significant hit. Therefore in order him not to be worrying in the upcoming season, he needs to splash the cash to help Benitez lead the club to success. The higher the Spanish manager gets the Magpies up the league, the more the club can be sold for, it’s as simple as that.
