Before anyone had actually asked him, the word coming out of Newcastle United seemed to be that Unai Emery was going to be their next manager.
The trouble was, on Tuesday as rumours began to gather pace, Villarreal were a little preoccupied with preparing to face Young Boys in the Champions League.
We will never know then, how tempted Emery was by the prospect of swapping last season’s Europa League champions for the lure of a relegation battle in England. Even at Arsenal, where his reputation was knocked in an underwhelming 18 months, things never got quite that bad.
At Newcastle, however, so serious is the threat of dropping down to the Championship that the need to replace Steve Bruce – sacked 15 days ago – is becoming ever more urgent.
Emery will not be his successor, after he released a statement on social media saying he was “grateful for the interest of a great club, but even more grateful to be here.” Tellingly, he reiterated his loyalty “no matter how much noise there was in another country”.
It is easy to see how the consortium now running Newcastle might have believed that, as the world’s richest club, “noise” was all that was needed to charm one of Spain’s most decorated managers into the dugout. What it has revealed, though, is how much they have to learn about how football actually works.
Villarreal’s president, Fernando Roig, pointed to the fact that Emery has a contract until 2023 and even if the club were tempted by the potential compensation on offer for a manager struggling in La Liga (where they are 13th), they seemed irked by the presumptuousness of it all.
Perhaps amid the hysteria surrounding Spurs’ appointment of Antonio Conte, Newcastle felt the need to reiterate that they are now part of the conversation too. That would certainly explain the leaks to the media before any official approach for Emery had been made.
It is not the most terrible of setbacks for the new regime (Newcastle fans are used to far worse disappointments) but it is a reminder how quickly the initial euphoria of the takeover can wear off. The longer they go without a Premier League win (played 10, lost six, drawn four), the harder it will be to attract not only top coaches, but players who do not want to gamble on which division they will be in next season.
How they deal with that rejection is what will define their managerial search going forward. Do they opt for Eddie Howe, who kept Bournemouth up for five years, having taken them from League Two to the top flight within six seasons? Paulo Fonseca, another bookmakers’ favourite, has nine trophies on his CV, though he also has some glaring errors, twice left red-faced after making illegal substitutions at Roma last season.
So the remaining options are not quite as promising as Emery, but it is still an attractive job – albeit one which will become much more attractive a few years down the line.
Next Newcastle manager odds
- Eddie Howe 4-6
- Unai Emery 5-1
- Paulo Fonseca 13-2
- Roberto Martinez 8-1
- Lucien Favre 16-1
- Rafa Benitez 20-1
- John Terry 20-1
- Nuno Espirito Santo 20-1
- Steven Gerrard 25-1
- Graeme Jones 33-1
Odds via Betfair and correct on 3 November
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3q9tMpX
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