BBC Sport pundit Mark Lawrenson has labelled the situation at Newcastle United ‘a sorry state of affairs’ ahead of their clash with Manchester City on Tuesday.
The Magpies are in a relegation dogfight and crashed out of the FA Cup at home to Watford on Saturday. Now they welcome the champions to St James’ Park, with Lawrenson predicting a 2-0 win for the visitors.
“What is happening with the Magpies is a sorry state of affairs,” he wrote on the BBC Sport website. “Although I can understand why the majority of their supporters are behind manager Rafa Benitez, I do not understand why he would come out after their defeat against a Watford side who made 11 changes and say his squad is not strong enough for a FA Cup run.
“Why not have a go? He is risking losing some of those fans, because he has sent out a message of total negativity.
“There is a huge gap between these sides, and it is perhaps best illustrated by their goal power. City have scored 28 goals in their past six matches, while Newcastle have taken all season to hit 25 in 27 games. I get the feeling that if Benitez could play 10 centre-backs and a goalkeeper, he would do for this game, although I am not sure it would do any good.”
OPINION
Lawrenson is absolutely spot on, here. Everything that has gone on with Newcastle this season – and in the Mike Ashley era in general – has made it clear that it’s a sorry state of affairs on Tyneside. The team could have done with the boost that progressing in the FA Cup would have given them, but instead they bowed out meekly to the Hornets. To go from that to Manchester City is extremely tough, and it’s very unlikely that the Magpies will get anything from Tuesday’s game. As Lawrenson says, there is such a gulf in class between the two teams, particularly at the business end of the pitch. Newcastle are typically incapable of scoring more than once a game, while City excel in blowing teams away. Benitez will set his team up to be difficult to beat, probably with a five man backline, but it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to come away with anything but a thrashing from City.
