Legendary football commentator John Motson has predicted Newcastle United to suffer relegation from the Premier League in their 2018/19 campaign.
The famous voice, who is set to work for talkSPORT this season, shared his thoughts ahead of the new season and revealed that in his opinion Newcastle United, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town would be the three teams to end up in the relegation zone.
Motson, affectionately better known at Motty, stated that he thought what could ‘condemn’ the Magpies to having another stint in the Championship would be the relationship between Rafa Benitez and club owner Mike Ashley.
“At the bottom, I feel Cardiff will just not have enough quality to match their spirit,” wrote Motty for The Sun.
“But that is not underestimating the job Neil Warnock has done there.
“Huddersfield will suffer from second season syndrome, and I feel the relationship between boss Rafa Benitez and owner Mike Ashley could condemn Newcastle.”
OPINION
It’s bold to predict relegation for the Magpies when they finished 10th in the table last season but clearly Motson believes the potentially toxic relationship between Benitez and Ashley will effect proceedings on the pitch. Hopefully the famous commentator is way off the mark with this assessment as the Magpies don’t want to lose their Premier League status anytime soon. The relationship between Benitez and Ashley will remain a talking point throughout the season especially after another disappointing transfer window where at times the Magpies manager could not hide his frustrations with the club’s dealings. Newcastle United have since issued an open letter to fans, which can be read here, signed by Benitez, club captain Jamaal Lascelles and managing director Lee Charnley to address the recent transfer window and it felt like an attempt to try to calm fans’ anger. Yet it will no doubt just infuriate supporters more and it will be a shame if due to failings behind the scenes, the Magpies suffer relegation just like Motty predicted.
