Benitez starts mind games with Brighton boss Hughton

[Sussex Nomad]

Did we raise our game against Newcastle then?

No but playing us at the Amex will be their cup final.

 

[spring hall convert]

No but playing us at the Amex will be their cup final.

Surely Leeds or Massive?

 

[Sussex Nomad]

Surely Leeds or Massive?

Can't see Leeds or Massive being above them

 

[spring hall convert]

Can't see Leeds or Massive being above them

It doesn't matter. Their immense stature as clubs clearly transcends league position. We are lucky to have their like gracing the Championship.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

They certainly will raise their game against Newcastle but Newcastle have spent 10's of millions and may well do the same in January.Must be nice for high profile plonkers like Bruce and Benitez to have so much money to play with and it seems they don't quite get what it's like to have a smaller budget in the footballing world.

As Davie Prutton said on one of our Sky live games a couple of weeks ago "Newcastle have the best players, Brighton have the best team". Could be right.

 

[maltaseagull]

Mmmm, 5 point cushion over the Mighty Toon. That'd be nice And if Fulham do Reading tonight as well, which is not beyond the realms of possibility, an 11 point cushion over 3rd

As long as Cardiff don't do one to us

 

[Cowfold Seagull]

I wonder if it occurred to Benitez that opposition players raised their game against Newcastle because they were Newcastle, not because of their league position?

Good point. I also think that clubs are likely to raise their game against sides who are in the play-off places, not just the one at the top of the table.

 

[Mattywerewolf]

Alternatively any side that goes one nil down against us early on will resign themselves to a heavy tonking....

 

[Bob'n'weave]

Sounds like Manuel is feeling the pressure. Think he is trying to play the 'higher ground' card, talking down to us like we don't know what is going on and have reached the top through luck. He's trying to take the dairy off his own mediocre performance. Like the earlier post says, 'Newcastle have better players, Brighton have the better team'. Nuff said, now f**k off and grab your tea trolly.

 

[perseus]

Rafa has been playing mind games with the press since the start of the season, upping his squad that contains some rather ordinary players as well as a core of goodish players. I am not sure how many of their players would get in the B Albion team if everyone was fit?

Newcastle playing to play-off standard at most. Huddersfield and Derby look genuine threats.

 

[Bodian]

Yes indeed. In fact it seems to be the opposite. Look at Leeds - winning games and either side of us but very wary and introverted at The Amex.

But Leeds would never see us a challenge to have the need to 'raise their game' against. We'll always be the underdogs against them!!

 

[The_Viper]

Who cares? Stay humble, keep doing what we're doing in the classy way we're doing it and if we both go up I couldn't care less.

 

[Stat Brother]

S**t the bed Chris is going to go apepoop mentals when he reads this.
I'd love it, just love it to be there when he does and this happens:-




On a less serious note, can you imagine Newcastle not winning tonight?
Sure they got turned over by Weds, losing 1-0 ho-hum.

But to lose that game and their divine right to top spot has to hurt.
It's such a bonus for them to be able to make up for it just 4 days later.

I fully expect the referee to stop the match bang on 90 minutes as an act of mercy for Forest.

If they aren't completely humiliated or the unthinkable happens and Forest come away with something, Rafa is in trouble.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Report in The Northern Echo Dot.

RAFA BENITEZ has fired the first salvo in the psychological war with Chris Hughton after warning his Brighton side is there to be shot at.

The Newcastle manager cranked-up the mind games with his opposite number after the Magpies surrendered Championship pole position to the in-form Seagulls.

Hughton, who guided the Geordies to the title when they last won promotion from the second tier in 2010, enjoys a two-point advantage over his old club at the halfway stage of the season. While hoping their stay off the summit isn't prolonged, Benitez has turned the spotlight on their upwardly mobile rivals, claiming they now have deal with the added obstacle of teams raising their game against the new top dogs.

Second-place Newcastle could return to the head of affairs with victory at home to Nottingham Forest tonight (FRI) should the South Coast side slip up at the Amex Stadium against Cardiff City.

Benitez expects Neil Warnock's strugglers to go the extra mile in a bid to topple the leaders, who are unbeaten in 17 league games since a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford in September. He said: "We've been in the same situation as Brighton are now when every game is like a cup final for the other team.

"You'd see a team play against someone else, and when they faced us it was like they were a different side because they're playing the top of the table. Teams run that extra mile against you because of that and I think Brighton will find that situation now. Maybe there will be more pressure on them - let's see how teams approach it."

When asked for his response Chris Hughton replied quietly with either 'bovvered?' or 'whatever', to be honest I couldn't quite hear him.

 

[Dick Head]

Mind games? What a load of old shit.

 

[Randsta]

Show's desperation imho ...no confidence in his squad, and he's "trying" to unsettle us...it won't work!

 

[Wardy's twin]

Who cares? Stay humble, keep doing what we're doing in the classy way we're doing it and if we both go up I couldn't care less.

agree .... its all about promotion not anyone else

 

[ferring seagull]

Report in The Northern Echo Dot.

RAFA BENITEZ has fired the first salvo in the psychological war with Chris Hughton after warning his Brighton side is there to be shot at.

The Newcastle manager cranked-up the mind games with his opposite number after the Magpies surrendered Championship pole position to the in-form Seagulls.

Hughton, who guided the Geordies to the title when they last won promotion from the second tier in 2010, enjoys a two-point advantage over his old club at the halfway stage of the season. While hoping their stay off the summit isn't prolonged, Benitez has turned the spotlight on their upwardly mobile rivals, claiming they now have deal with the added obstacle of teams raising their game against the new top dogs.

Second-place Newcastle could return to the head of affairs with victory at home to Nottingham Forest tonight (FRI) should the South Coast side slip up at the Amex Stadium against Cardiff City.

Benitez expects Neil Warnock's strugglers to go the extra mile in a bid to topple the leaders, who are unbeaten in 17 league games since a 2-0 home defeat to Brentford in September. He said: "We've been in the same situation as Brighton are now when every game is like a cup final for the other team.

"You'd see a team play against someone else, and when they faced us it was like they were a different side because they're playing the top of the table. Teams run that extra mile against you because of that and I think Brighton will find that situation now. Maybe there will be more pressure on them - let's see how teams approach it."

Good luck with that one Rafa!

Cool Chris did take us to the top of the table for a long period last season with a weaker squad than now.

Poor Rafa! - Winning this league by anything less than 10 points might be seen as failure - that's pressure.

However - playing mind games with Hughton could blow your mind Rafa!

Postponement ! Pressure now back on Benitez and NUFC ? - LOL

 

[e77]

We got nothing out of tonight so it must be working!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pevenseagull]

Who was the last person to engage in this sort of thing? Nigel Atkins? More of the same please.