Adrian Durham blasted Rafa Benitez and Mike Ashley while sharing that he didn’t think a takeover was about to happen at Newcastle United.
The talkSPORT broadcaster slammed Benitez for not making a decision over his future with his Magpies contract set to expire shortly (Source: The Sun) and claimed the Spanish boss was deluded if he was waiting to see if a takeover was going to happen, as it wasn’t going to.
Durham also dubbed Ashley terrible and said he needed to get out of the Magpies, as well as suggesting that Benitez was aware of the businessman’s shortcomings.
“Let me preface it all by saying, you and I and pretty much everyone on the planet, we all know Mike Ashley is terrible, needs to sell and needs to get out of the football club,” said Durham on talkSPORT (16:07, Friday, June 21st).
“It’s a given, everybody knows that, Rafa knows that as well by the way and if he is waiting for some sort of takeover to happen then he is deluded as none of us think it’s gonna happen.
“Do any Newcastle fans think it’s gonna happen? So what is Rafa waiting for? Why doesn’t he commit and sign the contract that’s on the table or why doesn’t he say no it’s not for me, I don’t want to work here anymore, and I’m off.
“And then we’ll all know, why keep leaving and leaving it and leaving it? I know the owner is no good but when he isn’t giving clarity, the owner, it’s doubled up by the manager not giving any clarity as well.”
OPINION
Durham claims he isn’t alone in not believing that a takeover of Newcastle is going to happen, but several people likely still have hope. The Sun reported last week that Bin Zayed Group’s £350million takeover of Newcastle is still alive and progressing well even though the Magpies and the Premier League haven’t commented on it. So it’s likely that there are at least some who haven’t thrown in the towel yet, despite Durham clearly thinking a person would have to be deluded to think it’s happening. As for the rest of his remarks, Durham is probably spot-on with his decision to slam Ashley but is out of order to question Benitez. While it’s frustrating that no one knows whether he’ll be the manager of the Magpies in the upcoming season, he’s entitled to take his time. Benitez clearly is reluctant to leave a club he has spent multiple seasons at, especially when you consider his good rapport with fans, so why shouldn’t he wait to make sure he makes the best decision for him.
