Back in December 2018, Newcastle United had just played out a nil-nil draw with Fulham - it was a game that still ranks as one of the worst to have played out at St James’ Park in recent times.
United looked lackluster and struggled to carry a threat against a Fulham side who had conceded in each of the 21 games that had gone before. The point was no more emphasized than by the fact United didn’t register a single shot on target.
The result left The Magpies in 15th position, five points off the drop zone going into the New Year and the performance provoked then-manager, Rafa Benitez, into an outburst that shocked even the most hardened of journalists.
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"We have to be realistic,“ he told reporters, ”and understand we will be in the bottom half for the whole season and, if we can be better than three teams, it will be another miracle.
"It would be a miracle to stay up, yes. A game like that is confirmation of what I know. Even if we strengthen in January it will be a miracle if we stay up."
It was a statement that left people gobsmacked at its brutality. Most accepted the squad needed additional players but such a take from the manager caught most off guard.
It was a public shot at then-owner Mike Ashley - as Benitez often did very well. It came after a summer transfer window of reasonable spending - by Ashley’s standards - but one in which top targets hadn’t been secured. Yoshinori Muto, Fabian Schar, Martin Dubravka, Federico Fernandez and Ki Sung-Yueng had all arrived but squad was still lacking in all areas.
Salomon Rondon and Kenedy also joined on loan but Newcastle lacked creativity and goals. After a 10th-place finish the season before, Benitez had pushed for more investment to ensure progression but Ashley only handed him the tools to maintain rather than improve.
But even so, Newcastle, after that draw to Fulham, were only eight points from 10th place, and while there were clear issues with the squad, had a cushion to the drop zone most teams in their position would take.
But Benitez was not happy. No doubt still discontent with the lack of summer spending and all but preempting that what was to come in the January window would not provide the remedy to his problems.
As it were, Miguel Almiron - Newcastle’s top scorer in the current season - arrived from Atlanta on deadline day but it still proved to be a frustrating window.
Fast forward four years and the situation couldn’t be more different. Newcastle are backed by ambitious owners who are proactive rather than reactive when it comes to transfers, but also a manager who has installed a great belief in his squad.
Eddie Howe and his staff have used confidence as a massive asset - and while some may not want to read it, it’s something Benitez couldn’t do as well.
While no Newcastle fan disputes Benitez was not backed strongly enough by Ashley, his words and quotes in hindsight were perhaps detrimental to his end goal.
The quotes after the Fulham game were not overly welcomed by some in the dressing room - a feeling that they had been hung out to dry in a battle between owner and manager. Howe, even during the testing first few months in charge, never threw his players under the bus.
Of course, the situation is vastly different. Howe was aware that funds would be available in his first window, but even then he found himself in a much worse position in the league table - three points from safety - after the four-nil defeat at Leicester.
Yet with all that in mind - five (Manqullio, Schar, Lascelles, Dummett and Ritchie) of the players who drew that game with Fulham remain at Newcastle today, and another six who were at the King Power against Leicester City, are also still part of today’s squad.
Howe after that game talked collectively about the errors while also insisting that ‘we are on our way to becoming what we want to be.’ There was no pleading in public for funds or morale-damaging quotes about ‘miracles’ of safety when the irony is, it was much more of a miracle Newcastle managed to survive the drop last season.
So while many, and rightly, will point to the money Howe has spent since becoming Newcastle manager, Benitez’s words back in 2018, highlight the importance of Howe’s different approach to management. A public showing of unity and overwhelming ability to make the players think they can achieve anything they want to.
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