Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez continues to work behind the scenes trying to rebuild the club from the bottom, while attempting to convince some of our players to stay and help the Magpies to come back to the Premier League after one only season in the Championship. As he’s doing his job, we continue to look at the state of our squad. Next are the centre backs.
We started last season with one key addition there in Chancel Mbemba and rewarded our long-term captain, Fabricio Coloccini, with a new deal. Despite that, the results weren’t good and we still shipped way too many goals. Coloccini was looking like a veteran, who lost another step or two, and him alongside Mbemba were showing they weren’t a good fit to play together. The lack of a leader at the heart of our defence was clear to see and, simply put, costly.
When without one of then, Mike Williamson (who was finally moved out later) and Steven Taylor (who again struggled with injuries and was recently released) had their chances, but clearly weren’t the answers too. It was just after Rafa Benitez took over that we stumbled across a working combination, Jamaal Lascelles and Mbemba. It’s another area that has been dramatically improved since the Spaniard’s arrival at the Club.
Let’s look at what we still have and what can be done to the next season.
