Former Newcastle head coach Sam Allardyce says he doesn't "understand why Rafael Benitez was deemed to be so good" at St James' Park and does not think the club should re-appoint him once their proposed takeover is completed.
Magpies owner Mike Ashley has reportedly agreed to sell the club to PCP Capital Partners, who have been backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund to complete a £300 million ($375m) takeover.
The news will come as music to the ears of supporters who have waited years to see a change in the boardroom , but the deal looks set to leave Steve Bruce's future in the dugout up in the air.
Bruce was an unpopular choice to replace Benitez in the hot seat last summer due to his past links with Sunderland, and his predecessor has been tipped to return when the new owners come in.
Allardyce, who also enjoyed a managerial stint at Newcastle in 2007-08, believes it would be a mistake for his former employers to part ways with Bruce, who has steered the team away from a relegation dog fight over the last few months.
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He has also questioned Benitez's record at St James' Park, insisting the Magpies were guilty of playing "negative football" during the current Dalian Yifang manager's three-year spell on Tyneside.
“It’s going to be very difficult for Steve, I think he’d be worried if the takeover happens,” Allardyce told talkSPORT .
“I’ve experienced new takeovers twice – once at Blackburn [with Venkys] and once at Newcastle with Mike Ashley.
“I wasn’t Mike’s man and I can understand that, and Steve must be very worried from that point of view.
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“There was a lot of hoo-ha about whether Steve was good enough or not, but I think he has done a very good job in his first season, considering he came in just two weeks before the season started, and at the moment they are going to be a Premier League side next season.
“I still don’t understand why Rafa Benitez was deemed to be so good. I just don’t understand it because Newcastle played such negative football then, it was unbelievable.
“But there you go; Rafa did a great PR job in himself and how he managed that club at that time."
Allardyce continued: “Steve is a very, very good Premier League manager of a great high quality, irrespective of what the media might say, and he knows how to put a club in a position to move forward.
“If you change everything around, sack everybody and bring new people in, then it’s going to take years and years and they may well waste their money spending it quickly on the wrong players.”
