According to Chronicle Live, former Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill is the bookies’ favourite to take charge of Newcastle United should Rafael Benitez step down from the helm of affairs.
The Magpies have endured a terrible start to their Premier League campaign and currently sit 19th in the league standings.
Rafael Benitez’s side have lost four out of their first six games in the Premier League and have managed to secure two points which via draws against Cardiff City and Crystal Palace. Although the manager has every right to argue that the defeats have come at the hands of some of the top teams in the Premier League, it must be noted that Newcastle have visibly lacked the inspiration to compete and win games.
The Magpies have been guilty of playing some dull and boring football in the ongoing season against the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal. Although they were the underdogs in those matches, they did not make any attempt to take control of the proceedings and make an impact.
The Tyneside outfit has lacked creativity in the midfield and some ultra-defensive tactics from Benitez haven’t helped their cause either. In most of the games, they have gone into a shell, inviting pressure from the opposition. Newcastle had 18% of the possession against Chelsea, 21% against Manchester City and 36% against Arsenal. The statistics clearly reveal that they haven’t made any successful attempts to win the ball.
The Magpies faced a 3-1 humiliation at the hands of Championship side Nottingham Forest in the second round of the League Cup. Newcastle came into the game as favourites and dominated the proceedings but could not manage to get the all-important victory.
However, Benitez is not the only one to blame for Newcastle’s woes this season. As it seems, owner Mike Ashley hasn’t given the manager adequate financial backing in the transfer market. Consequently, the club has suffered due to the lack of transfer activity. Although Benitez managed to acquire the services of Yoshinori Muto, Federico Fernandez and Fabian Schar, they failed to buy a potent attacker.
Meanwhile, Martin O’Neill is no stranger to the Premier League. The 66-year-old Irishman has the experience of coaching all divisions of English football and has managed teams like Leicester City, Norwich City, Celtic, Aston Villa and Sunderland over the course of his illustrious managerial career.
O’Neill now works as the manager of the Republic of Ireland. The 66-year-old has tasted commendable success with the national team and guided them to the Round of 16 in the Euro Cup 2016 as well.
Undoubtedly, with all his experience, O’Neill is a suitable candidate to manage any club in Europe. However, he cannot turn Newcastle’s fortunes around unless he is provided with significant financial backing in the transfer window. Newcastle are in a precarious situation and they need to make some changes to survive in the Premier League.