Winners Newcastle United and the siege mentality Three consecutive league victories are not enough to absolve Mike Ashley of any blame for Newcastle United’s lethargic summer of transfer activity, and that is a view that would be privately shared by their manager. Yet amid the in-fighting and sniping between supporters and their infuriating owner, the last three weeks have demonstrated that Newcastle fans do have someone in a position of responsibility of which they can be proud: Rafael Benitez. There are not many better managers at making a team greater than the sum of its defensive parts and certainly none better in the Premier League’s predicted bottom half. Benitez’s response to...
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