Newcastle Fan View: Magpies drop into the relegation zone

Newcastle lost 1-0 to Arsenal this afternoon, an eighth defeat in nine games and a defeat that took the Magpies in to the bottom three of the Premier League table. On recent form – the worst in the league – we deserve to be there, and with games away at West Ham and then home to Manchester City coming up, I have an awful feeling that we will be bottom of the table for the new year.

It is frustrating, as while I could blame our Championship-level side, I wasn’t calling them a Championship-level side when we were winning games and comfortably in the top half of the league at the start of the season. Every player is to blame for the slump, there have been no stand- out stars and, if anything, they seem to want to hide rather than come out and fight.

AS IT HAPPENED: Arsenal v Newcastle

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Rafa has said he is to blame and he’s not wrong – he has made numerous mistakes throughout the last few games in terms of team selection and with how defensive he sets up the side. But I am still with him, still fully behind him and still trust him.

The national press is waiting for the day that Newcastle United fans will turn on Rafa but you know what? I can’t see that happening. Yes, some fans have called for him to go, more in anger after the Everton defeat this week, but we’re not daft – we know we have a world-class manager and I hope he gets the chance to flex his muscles this January in the transfer window.

I’m not that angry with the defeats anymore, I’m just disappointed that we have been so, so poor over the last two months – I kind of expect us to lose these days, so anything we might get is a bonus! We haven’t looked at the races and there have been so few positives to take from any games.

We played okay against Everton and Arsenal, but we still lost and my gauge for how well we play these days seems to be on the basis of whether we can actually pass the ball to a player in black and white; even the basics of football have gone missing recently and I am a bit unsure how teams aren’t hitting four or five past us.

I’ve said it a few times this season already, but this January transfer window is massive and I have also said that I fully expect it to be a disappointing one. I have lost count of how many times I have approached the window full of hope and optimism, only to be left utterly deflated a month later.

Given the takeover is still being discussed in the background, I have zero expectation that Mike Ashley will allow Benitez to spend. Of course, he needs to, he needs to invest in the side if he wants to sell a club which plays in the Premier League and has Benitez as a manager.

When fans are asked what position we need to strengthen, they often pick a striker or a winger but, quite frankly, we need an entire team overhaul. My prediction for the transfer window will be a loan signing and a panic buy towards the end of the window following the sale of Mitrovic. Yep, it’s going to be fun!

The takeover seemed to gather some momentum on Wednesday when all press outlets said a deal was imminent. My phone notifications were going wild with breaking news from Sky, the BBC and Twitter – the signs were good but, once again, things have gone quiet. Amanda Staveley has apparently set a Christmas deadline for the deal to be done and with the big day being just over a week away, it is anyone’s guess whether a deal can be done.

What is actually more important right now is giving Benitez the funds to improve the side. I have given up hope of winning any games before 2018 hits, so hopefully we can buy a few players, ship out some of the deadwood and get back on track to stay up this season.