Daryl Janmaat effectively blames Steve McClaren for relegation

Daryl Janmaat has spoken up about his time at Newcastle United, and the most explosive thing out of this was effectively calling Steve McClaren a coach, a not a manager. Those words are damning to the man who was given a sizable transfer budget, a talented squad, and managed a relegated side rather than a top ten one.

Janmaat played for the club from 2014 through 2016, leaving the club for the now unbelievable Watford following the club’s relegation under Rafa Benitez. Speaking about the former “manager” Janmaat had this to say about McClaren:

“He could have been louder, and more able to make his mark on certain things. [He is] an excellent coach on the pitch, who happens to be a manager.”

That is an interesting choice of words to say the least. That McClaren just so happened to be a manager is a sign that Janmaat (and likely others on the squad) did not see him as one. McClaren, while on the board had minimal control over the club’s transfer policy, and under him, nothing changed. Under Rafa Benitez, the club saw Lee Charnley take on less of a role when it came to transfer targets, and Rafa alone was the one who identified targets.

McClaren just didn’t have that power, because like others before him, he was a yes man. He did what Mike Ashley wanted him to do because to him that would have kept him his job. if only he weren’t so terrible at it.

With the squad given to him, McClaren easily should have finished in the top ten. If Rafa Benitez was in charge, the club may have finished in a European spot.

A manager creates a cohesive unit, and what Janmaat is getting at here is the club wasn’t playing as one, because McClaren just wasn’t equipped to create such a thing. It’s a shame, because that transfer window was one of the best Newcastle United have ever had, and McClaren wasted it.