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The most frustrating thing about deadline day for Newcastle United was the fact there WAS money in the kitty again.

Granted, it wasn’t much and compared to some of the deals that got pushed through by the big six in the Premier League it was pretty paltry - but Newcastle’s efforts on the recruitment front this summer just haven’t got their fans too excited overall.

As ever there seem to be more questions than answers at St James’ Park.

Did they speculate to accumulate? Nah.

Have they taken a risk by not backing Rafa Benitez and providing squad cover? Yes.

After being relegated in 2016 and almost going down in 2015 - why leave Benitez with an under-strength squad?

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Or was this summer always going to be about reducing the wage budget?

Not for the first time in a summer transfer window it all seems unnecessary.

Why take such a gamble? And why wait to see where the club are in January before spending again?

Why not be positive and go the other way then see if Newcastle are safe before deciding whether to push for a respectable place or the FA Cup?

Yet all of the above is football logic - and Newcastle United operate with a strict business logic - much to the despair of fans and much to the frustration of a true football man in Benitez.

Back in June, I wrote, to many people’s surprise, that Newcastle would be operating this summer with “limited funds” - despite their return to the top flight.

The club’s owner Mike Ashley has since stated he no longer has any money to plough into the club and all funds for transfers must be generated by either sales or TV or competition prize money.

Benitez wasn’t concerned about making his thoughts known about being left to shop in the bargain basket when he said: “I am signing the players that I can, not the players that I want”.

What is deeply disappointing though is that Benitez and his back-room team managed to raise additional funds.

For some reason, the club weren’t able to bring in new faces despite around £200,000 per month chipped off the wage bill after departures of senior players in the last few days.

Surely loan deals - like Lucas Perez - should have been pushed for? Wilfried Bony was also up for grabs and so was Daniel Sturridge.

Benitez managed to claw together some cash thanks to sales of the Grant Hanley, Siem De Jong and Emmanuel Riviere and with the promise of more TV money to come surely there were still some deals out there that would have made the season more comfortable for United?

Unlike previous first team bosses, Benitez hasn’t meekly accepted the situation behind the scenes and underlined the football reasons why Newcastle must continue building their squad.

He hasn’t been afraid to make his unhappiness known in public and has not shirked some tough on the record questions.

Rafa has told the fans that straight from day one.

He may sit back in the next few days and think he is gradually changing the culture of the club though, not that it’s any consolation to most fans.

He won his battle to re-jig the scouting structure with powerful transfer chief Graham Carr now history at St James’ Park.

Carr’s exit, however, came seven weeks after the season had finished and each transfer Benitez did manage to pull off was painstakingly slow.

For example, it took EIGHT weeks to thrash out a loan deal for Mikel Merino and Benitez will now work on a quicker process when it comes to new faces.

The biggest issue is trying to get Newcastle to think like a football club again and not operate like a retail business.

That business logic is still the order of the day in the St James’ Park boardroom and that hurts the fanbase and the city in general.

Even though the club have been relegated twice during the Ashley era and felt the full cost of dropping into Championship it still goes on.

After promotion Newcastle had the chance to well and truly build on the momentum and feel-good factor of returning to the Premier League.

But they didn’t seem to grasp that opportunity and even though Newcastle have been in the top flight before the moods at fellow promoted clubs like Brighton and Huddersfield seemed very different, buoyant and boisterous compared to the United camp.

Perhaps there is a plan for Newcastle in the long run, if there is fans would love to hear what that plan is.

Right now it all seems so frustrating.

From the start of the summer, even the current squad knew that improvements were needed and the talk of bringing in new faces wasn’t just around the pubs and clubs of Newcastle, it was in the four walls of the dressing room as well.

Benitez will have to pick up the pieces.

In some ways, he will be glad to get on with work on the training field, but he will also be furious by the way Newcastle let some good deals slip through their fingers.

Just like the fans. Yet again.