After a certain point, one starts to wonder if Rafa Benítez is just a glutton for punishment.

He left Valencia in 2004 after a row with the owners at the Mestalla (“I asked for a table and they bought me a lamp” was how he phrased his frustration at their transfer policy),.

He was at the forefront as Liverpool buyers Tom Hicks and George Gillett almost brought the club to its knees – almost losing his job on several occasions before finally being replaced by Roy Hodgson in 2010.

He then took the unenviable task of taking on an ageing Inter squad that José Mourinho had wrung every last drop out of to win the treble of the Scudetto, Italian Cup and Champions League.

He bafflingly agreed to put out one of Roman Abramobich’s many Chelsea fires, encountering untold levels of abuse from the stands even after he pretty much rescued their season, guaranteed Champions League football and won the Europa League.

His time at Napoli was at least relatively calm – a nice, relaxing two years before joining the crass, vacuous carnival that is Real Madrid.

It speaks volumes then that he would begin the season at the Bernabéu and end it in St. James’s Park – at a club that might be less prominent, but is every bit as unstable.

On paper, a relationship between Mike Ashley and Rafa Benítez should be doomed to failure. In fact, not just on paper – there are few (if any) logical simulations or permutations that can be run where this doesn’t end up in a giant proverbial ball of flames.

In a meeting of two stubborn and opinionated individuals, one of the parties is going to have to compromise for it to stand any hope of succeeding.

And yet, despite the many, many reasons why this shouldn’t work, there remains a chance that it will.

From the reports this morning, it would suggest that Rafa is the one who is set to get his own way – in the short term at least. The contentious title of “head coach” is to be replaced by the far more palatable rank of manager, while the new boss’s demands to be given full control over transfers will put a dampener on the hitherto increasing influence of chief scout (and board member) Graham Carr.

The very fact that Ashley has targeted Benítez shows a statement of intent, a willingness to change. After hiring a series of subservient yes-man over the years, the Newcastle owner finally now has a boss who will stand up to his authority.

Joe Kinnear, Alan Shearer, Chris Hughton, Alan Pardew, John Carver, Steve McClaren – Newcastle’s recent managerial history is littered with failure and mediocrity. None of those men can be blamed for taking the job, of course – but none of them proved to be particularly good at it either.

He now finally has a manager with a proven track record, with an obvious desire to succeed wherever he goes. With the exception of Bobby Robson, this is probably the biggest appointment that Newcastle United have ever made.

56% – Of managers to have taken charge of 50+ Premier League games, Rafael Benitez has the 7th best win ratio (56%). Incoming? — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 11, 2016

In one respect it’s easy to look at the clubs and owners Benítez has gone to and suggest (as I did earlier) that he simply enjoys punishment. But then it could be seen from another point of view – that he looked at what were massive challenges and decided to take them head-on.

Saving Newcastle from relegation isn’t the challenge – on paper this team is, to use a tired cliché, too full of individual talent to go down – and while relegation is still a distinct possibility, with the right management they can steer themselves clear of the mess that they’re in.

The real work should start in the summer. The club has mountains of untapped potential in terms of infrastructure and resources – the stadium is one of the biggest in the country and the crowds flock to fill it. This can be expanded upon as long as the manager defies the limitations that his his predecessors simply accepted as the norm.

Steve McClaren didn’t get what being the manager of a would-be big club was all about. McClaren did what McClaren does with his players – he tried to be their friend. It was the same at England, everything was “JT” this or “Lamps” that – the air that managers have to give is one of total authority and McClaren just didn’t have that. The Newcastle players lost all respect for him because of this.

Fraternising with the workforce will not be a problem with Rafa. If anything the opposite is true – he is distant, at times cold (as Steven Gerrard can attest to) – but he understands that there are some lines a manager does not cross. And he commands respect instantly because of it.

Case in point, he wasn’t in the door five minutes at the club and he was already out taking training on Friday afternoon.

He will command control and full authority, but time and again he has delivered success off the back of that. This is the big name that the Newcastle fans have been crying out for, the leader who is undaunted by the task at hand, one who understands not what a club is but what it can be.

The man won a Champions League final with Djimi Traoré in the starting eleven for Christ’s sake, that alone should see him beatified.

If he keeps them up this season, Newcastle can be a club reborn. Money alone will not solve a problem in this league but if Benítez’s transfer acumen is in good working order, they finally have a chance to realise their potential to be one of England’s biggest clubs.

Or it could all end in tears and Newcatle could be managerless and in the Championship within three months – trying to confidently predict anything when it comes to this club is nigh-on impossible.

Read More About: Champions League, Chelsea, graham carr, Inter, La Liga, Liverpool, mike ashley, Napoli, newcastle united, newcastle united news, Premier League, Rafa benitez, Real Madrid, roman abramovich, Serie A, steve mcclaren, valencia