BBC pundit Martin Keown has claimed that Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez will be in danger of the sack if the club continue to lose, adding that the Magpies are ‘floating through games.’
Newcastle are one of just two Premier League sides yet to secure a win this season, with Benitez’s men having won just two points from their first nine games.
The Magpies are now being touted as serious relegation candidates just six months or so after they finished tenth in their first season back in the top-flight, and Keown has now slammed Benitez for his tactics so far this term.
In his ‘Tackle Keown’ column for the Daily Mail, he said: “The alarm bells must be ringing at St James’ Park and Rafa Benitez’ job will be on the line if results do not improve. Brighton at home last week was the sort of game that they should be winning.
“Newcastle are floating through games trying to get a draw. By playing this way, it is as if Benitez is admitting that he does not have the players to be expansive.
OPINION
It has got to the point in the season where all this criticism of Newcastle is totally fair. The fact is that the Magpies have played badly all season and do look to be serious relegation candidates if this continues. Benitez has come in for some stick for his style of play, and that is understandable when you consider the way in which Newcastle have set up against teams around them in the league. Despite the lack of backing received in the market, this Newcastle squad is still superior to many of their close rivals, and yet they seem reluctant to exploit that. That being said, the majority of the blame simply has to be attributed to owner Mike Ashley, something which Keown does briefly touch upon. This is a huge club with the potential to become a challenger in the top half of the table, and yet Ashley is not helping them towards that. A loss against Southampton this weekend and things are going to start to look particularly grim for the Magpies.
