Sam Allardyce believes that “time will tell” as he casts doubts over whether Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez has spent wisely in the summer’s transfer window.
He says that whatever money owner Mike Ashley wishes to invest in more players, it is up to the manager to spend it as wisely as he can, even if the Magpies have not had the best of starts in the Premier League.
Allardyce said that the Spaniard proved he had spent wisely last year, particularly as he guided the team to a tenth placed finish upon their return to the top-flight – but added that there is every chance that United will “come through” despite their rocky start to the season.
“Because (in the transfer market Benitez is) limited, as we all find ourselves with whatever club we’re at, we try and use our tactics and the players we’ve got to the best of our ability,” he told Press Association Sport [transcribed by ITV News].
“The Newcastle fans give (Ashley) a lot of stick, but he is the owner of the football club and he has put his money in. Whether that’s enough or not he decides how much money he wants to give the club and it’s up to you as the manager to try and spend that as wisely as you can.
“Only time will tell if Rafa has. He certainly did last year; he finished very, very strongly. This year’s a difficult start but maybe again they’ll come through. New players again – we all have to settle players in very quickly, and that’s very demanding as a manager.”
OPINION
Like Allardyce has pointed out, it is up to Ashley how much money he decides to invest in bringing in new players. However, it is not fair to say that Benitez should try and use it as wisely as he can – that is very hard to do if the funds are so limited. That does not mean that he cannot do the best that he can – it is just very easy for someone else to say what should be happening at Newcastle when they are not in Benitez’ shoes. If Newcastle had any other manager with this lack of financial backing, then they would be far more worse off than they are at the moment. Yes, things look a bit bleak seeming as they have not got a win on the table thus far, but the players can only think optimisitically when they have a figure like Benitez in charge. In essence, Allardyce is essentially shelving all of the responsibility onto Benitez – which is harsh considering he has only ever done good for the club.
