Newcastle have finally put Steve McClaren out of his misery and are set to announce Rafa Benitez’s much-anticipated arrival on Friday lunchtime.
McClaren has been hanging on to his job by a thread after picking up just 24 points in 28 Premier League matches – a total that leaves Newcastle languishing in 19th place.
The looming threat of relegation has prompted Mike Ashley to take action and, after intense speculation all week, the Daily Mail and others report that Benitez is now set to be announced as McClaren’s replacement.
Confirmed: as reported last night, Steve McClaren has been sacked this morning, Rafa Benitez on the way to #NUFC
— Simon Bird (@SimonBird_) March 11, 2016
The Spaniard will be in charge for Monday’s meeting with league leaders Leicester City, but not everyone is convinced he’s the right man for the job…
He’s not everyone’s first choice for a start
https://twitter.com/JonnyGabriel/status/707514449419214850
But maybe there’s some logic to the move
Rafa Benitez at Newcastle is one of those appointments that seems both perfect and terrible on paper, so consider me excited
— Amitai Winehouse (@awinehouse1) March 10, 2016
It’s a real head-scratcher
https://twitter.com/Hannamayj/status/707691856298119169
People are anticipating a car crash
https://twitter.com/robbro7/status/707933524909756416
While there are plenty of conspiracy theories doing the rounds
https://twitter.com/hmclandress/status/707945089780338688
Somebody tell Rafa Benitez there are far simpler ways to get a Sports Direct mug.
— Chris (@chrs00) March 9, 2016
But maybe the problems go deeper and even Rafa can’t fix them
https://twitter.com/TheM_L_G/status/707694331965022208
https://twitter.com/cathgibs/status/707877177057001472
