Rafa Benitez is in trouble at Newcastle.The Spaniard steered The Magpies to an impressive 10th place finish last season but tensions have been escalating with chairman, Mike Ashley.Benitez has complained on numerous occasions to the media about Ashley's inability to back him in the transfer market.
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And that seems to have been detrimental to the team's success.
Newcastle are currently 19th in the table having picked up just one point from their opening five games.
They are not lost only by virtue of having a better goal difference than Burnley.
A lot has been said about Benitez and his relationship with Ashley.
Jamie Carragher played under Benitez at Liverpool and he has now had his say on the situation in his column for the Telegraph.
Carragher's view is made clear by the title: 'Rafael Benitez is wasted at Newcastle – he has to leave this failing institution'.
"Looking at the situation at the club at the start of this one, from a footballing perspective, it is difficult to explain why my former manager is still there," he writes.
"For a coach of Rafael Benitez’s pedigree to be treading water with no prospect of doing anything beyond retaining Premier League status is incomprehensible.
"There is nothing more he can do at St James’ Park. Not without regime change, and that is not happening.
"Newcastle are a big, prestigious club, Benitez is on a lucrative salary and he retains the overwhelming support of the St James’ Park crowd, but the reality is that they are an institution limping along until an inevitable parting next summer.
"Yet again, the Newcastle fans will suffer when this has played itself out. While they cherish Benitez’s coaching talent, those running the club are wasting it."
It's the sad truth. Benitez has won it all in his managerial career.
He's been at Valencia, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Chelsea during his stint as a manager.
There's no doubt that he could move to one of the biggest clubs in world football again but, instead, he decides to show remarkable loyalty to a club where he is being undermined by the chairman.
As Carragher points out in the article, Newcastle could thrive under Benitez, but he's being limited by Ashley.
And although they don't want to admit it, Newcastle fans are agreeing with what Carragher has said.