Rafa Benitez shared that he is allowed to have different opinions from Newcastle supporters after he was asked about them booing his decision to bench Matt Ritchie during the 2-0 loss to Leicester City.
The Foxes cruised to a comfortable victory over the Magpies on Saturday at St James Park and frustrated fans were vocally annoyed when Benitez brought Ritchie off in order to replace him with Jacob Murphy in the 65th minute.
The Magpies manager was asked directly after the Magpies’ latest loss how he felt about fans booing his decision and responded in a respectable manner.
“It’s very clear,” explained Benitez, as quoted by the Chronicle.
“They want to win, we want to win.
“We can have different opinions depending on the moment. We were trying to change things but it was more difficult for us to keep the intensity.”
OPINION
Benitez is rather blunt with his response as he clearly seems a little frustrated by the question. However the Spanish manager was diplomatic with his response and Magpies supporters will no doubt appreciate that. Though with hindsight surely Benitez must know he was wrong to remove Ritchie from the game when he did. The winger may not have been tearing the game apart but he did showcase his ability to whip dangerous crosses into the box during the game and he should have been kept on. While Murphy did replace him and show glimpses of what he could offer, his end product is nowhere near the same quality as Ritchie. This isn’t the first time Ritchie has been benched early in a game this season as it has started to become a pattern. If you’re Ritchie right now then perhaps for that reason, Benitez isn’t your favourite person. The winger does appear to be a bit of hot head so the frustrating situation is probably getting to him.
