Interesting. Is a residual affection for Benitez enough to colour opinion about the team he manages? I suppose that question is rather dictated by how much affection you have for Benitez, measured against how much you hate the team he manages.
For example, I wished him no success at all at Chelsea, while still being slightly annoyed at how their moronic fans treated him. And I wasn't averse to see him succeed at Real, despite my antipathy towards Ronaldo, their fans and the club in general, but that's largely because I hate Barcelona even more.
But Newcastle? I mean, they're annoying and amusing in equal deluded amounts, but they're largely an irrelevance. They've never been a genuine threat to us, or our goals for 20 years, and even when they were flirting with title challenges, we still beat them anyway.
Yeah, Ashley is a total twat.....but I dunno. It's difficult really. I still like Benitez and wouldn't want him to get relegated....but it's Newcastle and it would be funny.
But not as funny as Fat Sam going down instead. There. Mind made up.
