Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has revealed the names of the four ‘very important players’ the club lost when it was relegated in 2016.
Despite having a number of talented players Benitez was unable to stop the rot and the Magpies slipped into the second tier at the end of the 2015/16 season, resulting in most of the club’s best talent being sold that summer.
Benitez has had his say: “We lost very, very important players when we were relegated,” he told The Chronicle. “You see they are now playing in the Premier League – [Andros] Townsend, [Moussa] Sissoko, [Daryl] Janmaat, [Georginio] Wijnaldum. They are good players.
“We lost something but, little by little, we were building something new. What do we have now? We have a team that we know, and everybody knows, that every player cares, and everybody is focused – all these things. So it is different.”
OPINION
When you read the names Benitez mentions it’s hard to believe that a Newcastle team with those sorts of player and managed by someone like the Spaniard ever got relegated. It was a colossal waste of talent on Tyneside that season, as well as the result of an unbalanced squad, an out of depth manager for much of the campaign and an apathetic owner. Just look at what the four aforementioned players have gone on to achieve in the top flight. Townsend is one of the most exciting attackers outside of the top six, while Janmaat regularly stars for a Watford team who are having an unbelievable season. Wijnaldum could be on the verge of winning a Premier League title, whereas Sissoko is arguably the most improved player in the division having become indispensable for Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham. Still, somehow Newcastle were relegated with them. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
