Thanks for that Stret. Let's hope we can step back up and punch our weight this time. It's been by no means an easy 12 months, but we got our act together and quickly became a side where everyone who was kept on put some shifts in. If Rafa gets another good summer completed, we'll have enough to feel good in this league.
Rafael Benitez: Newcastle manager fined £60,000 for referee comments 5 October 2018 | Newcastle Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has been fined £60,000 after accepting a charge for commenting about the referee prior to his team's Premier League game against Crystal Palace last month. The Spaniard was responding to Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, who had said he was not being protected by referees. Benitez said he had "confidence" in match official Andre Marriner. The Football Association constituted the comments as improper conduct and/or bringing the game into disrepute. FA rules state managers are not allowed to talk about specific referees prior to a game. Zaha had said he believed he would need to have his leg broken before opponents were shown a red card. Benitez responded: "I am surprised because normally the FA deal with these comments. I have a lot of confidence with Andre Marriner. "He has a lot of experience, even if his record with our players is not that great in terms of red cards. He is an experienced referee. "Zaha is a good player, no doubt about that, but I think the FA have to deal with his comments. I think Andre Marriner will not have this in the back of his head. "The way that he [Zaha] plays, normally, he will receive more tackles than other players because he likes to run at players. It won't make any difference for our players." The game finished 0-0. Rafael Benitez: Newcastle manager fined £60,000 for referee comments
A decent couple of seasons but the days of us competing for anything more than survival and the hope of top ten are long gone under Ashley.
