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Benitez: Murphy Signed for His Championship Experience
Saturday, 22nd Oct 2016 08:51

Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez confirmed that the Blues won’t face their former striker Daryl Murphy at St James’ Park this afternoon and says he signed the Irishman, who has recently been suffering with a calf problem, to add Championship experience to his squad.

Murphy, 33, joined the Magpies for £3 million close to the end of the transfer window, signing a two-year deal, having handed in a transfer request.

But the Waterford-born frontman has so far only played in one game, the 2-0 EFL Cup victory over Wolves last month.

“When he first signed, we were playing [Dwight] Gayle and he was scoring goals,” Benitez explained.

“We had [Aleksandar] Mitrovic, and Murphy played in the cup. After some time, Murphy felt tightness in his calf, and now we do not want to take any risks with him.

“He is training now, but he is not playing because Gayle is still scoring goals and we have Mitro waiting. He is not in the squad.”

Outlining his reasons for recruiting Murphy, Benitez, whose club had also shown interest in fellow Blues striker David McGoldrick earlier in the summer, added: “The idea for us was to have someone of his experience to give us some advice.

“At the moment he is unavailable. He is improving, but it is not something we can take risks with now.

“He is not someone we had watched for a long time, but when we were looking for strikers with experience in this competition.

“We had to pick one from two or three, and he was one of the options and he wanted to come here.

“And we liked him. We knew he was not to be a starter, but we thought he could do well because he is clever, has good movement for a target man and is quite mobile.

“We saw that in the cup. He was perfect for what we were expecting in the Championship.

“He is fine, a little disappointed to have a little injury, but in terms of attitude, I think he has been fine.

“We were really pleased with how he played in the cup, and we are disappointed he cannot play at the moment.”


Photo: Action Images



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BanksterDebtSlave added 08:56 - Oct 22
£3M for a bit of advice..anything else you need help with Rafa?
13

Bildestoned added 09:05 - Oct 22
He'll be back on loan at this rate!
1

ArnieM added 09:18 - Oct 22
I hope not because it will be back to HOOOOOOOF n hope
1

HarryfromBath added 09:30 - Oct 22
Frustrating as it is to read, this is spot on and Newcastle fans were saying as much all week.

The signing of Murphy was paralleled with their adding Hanley to the squad, players with a proven track record and a successful one at this level, and players who would be prepared to wait for their chance in the wings. I only wish it had been someone else they landed on, but this is the world we live in.
5

strikalite added 09:37 - Oct 22
Sums up the huge gulf in finances, even if fit he'll do well to make the bench....I can't forgive us releasing him without a replacement of quality lined up, has to be the worst decision by the Club ever I'd have thought..

Football is a business, you don't do favours in business, well, not to this extent anyway.
3

Knightsy added 09:41 - Oct 22
Murphy will be back at Ipswich next season on a free transfer.

It's going to be 0-0 or we're going to be hammered 4-0
2

Dissboyitfc added 12:32 - Oct 22
Khightsy...so true
1

Seasider added 14:48 - Oct 22
Mick will be pleased,as am I that Murph wont be playing;because so many times former players have scored against us,especially Jordan Rhodes.
0

Mick_Mills_Tache added 14:59 - Oct 22
So they paid £3million for a player knowing he's very unlikely to even make the squad....

Our whole squad cost less than that!

If only we had that sort of money, eh, boys and girls!
0

itfcbam added 07:22 - Oct 23
Shows the massive gulf in finances that exists between many clubs in this division (who benefit from parachute payments) and clubs like ourselves who are now trying to balance the books every season (with a massively lower income). Some moan about the sale but remember the player wanted to go and more often than not when that situation happens the player moves. Also can you blame Murphy, he has roots up there and also not doubt went with a pay rise. Even 3-4k a week would equate to 300-400k over the 2 seasons. Nice little addition to his pension pot!
0

Facefacts added 15:34 - Oct 23
£3M but what is the cost to the football club if losing Murphy is the difference between staying up and going down? Nothing to be done about Murphy now but it might be time to make a change now if ME is ready to run the FFP gauntlet and splash the cash in January. I think ME and MM together are a sinking ship, matey as they are. It's a huge undertaking to pick the new manager and I do not see ME as having the appetite for it. Result: more suffering for those still watching the team, home and away. I think ME would like a change but cannot face it. Too much hassle. Season ticket sales need a boost for next season. Oh, pull the duvet over my head, it's not worth it.
1


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