Inside the Rafalution

Newcastle United was a club on its knees when Rafa Benitez arrived in March 2016 – and changed everything. Inside the Rafalution is the story of a football club that had lost touch with its community and sense of purpose – and how one man was able to inspire a city to fall in love with its team again. It looks at how Benitez changed everything – from the lighting in the canteen to the team’s losing mentality, bringing you right to the heart of why his burning, obsessional drive to find solutions makes him the perfect fit for one of English football’s most bewildering clubs.


Benitez signed 12 players in the summer of 2016 and sold six decades of experience. He overhauled the way the club operated and inspired a staff. This is a story of how to manage – not just the corners, the free-kicks and team, but an organisation that had been shelled out by years of frustration and underachievement.


Mark Douglas is Newcastle United Editor for the Chronicle, Journal and Sunday Sun.