Rafa Benitez is back in the Premier League with Newcastle but what is his record against the current crop of managers? The Spaniard was appointed Newcastle boss on Friday after Steve McClaren was finally relieved of his duties and is tasked with steering the second-bottom Magpies to safety.It will be no easy initiation for Benitez, with league leaders Leicester up first in Monday Night Football, but Newcastle fans with one eye on Sundays Sky Live derby clash with bitter rivals Sunderland may take hope from their new managers previous against Black Cats boss Sam Allardyce. Benitez has claimed seven wins from 12 matches against Allardyce - giving him a win percentage of almost 60 per cent.That ratio is only marginally bettered by his record against a previous Newcastle manager in Alan Pardew - and Pardews Crystal Palace visit Tyneside at the end of April in what could be another crunch clash in Benitezs bid to keep his new club in the top flight. Benitez record against current PL managers Opp Manager Played Won Drawn Lost Win Percentage Alan Pardew 5 3 1 1 60% Arsene Wenger 13 4 4 5 30.8% Mark Hughes 11 4 6 1 36.4% Mauricio Pochettino 1 0 0 1 0% Sam Allardyce 12 7 2 3 58.3% Tony Pulis 5 2 3 0 40% Improving an already striking win ratio against Allardyce would likely give Benitez, as well as the long-suffering Toon Army, satisfaction because its fair to say the pair dont see eye-to-eye.Their feud started when the then-Liverpool boss was critical of Allardyces Bolton and their physical playing style - a sentiment that did not sit well.Rafa would be very lucky to be in a job if he hadnt got to two Champions League finals, because theyve had some very poor finishes in the Premier League, Allardyce was quoted as saying in a magazine interview in September 2007, after he had left Bolton to take the Newcastle job. Allardyce (right) and his Bolton side earned criticism from Rafa While they are a very good Champions League team, theyre not a Premier League-winning side. They dont have the mentality to win that yet.Things came to a head, after several other spats, in 2010, following another victory for Benitez - Liverpools 2-1 success over Blackburn at Anfield. Benitez PL record v Allardyce Date & venue Benitez team Score Allardyce team 29/08/04, Reebok Stadium Liverpool 0-1 Bolton 02/04/05, Anfield Liverpool 1-0 Bolton 02/01/06, Reebok Stadium Liverpool 2-2 Bolton 09/04/06, Anfield Liverpool 1-0 Bolton 30/08/06, Reebok Stadium Liverpool 0-2 Bolton 01/01/07, Anfield Liverpool 3-0 Bolton 24/11/07, St James Park Liverpool 3-0 Newcastle 11/04/09, Anfield Liverpool 4-0 Blackburn 05/12/09, Ewood Park Liverpool 0-0 Blackburn 28/02/10, Anfield Liverpool 2-1 Blackburn 01/12/12, Upton Park Chelsea 1-3 West Ham 17/05/13, Stamford Bridge Chelsea 2-0 West Ham I think he is a model for all the managers all around the world, jibed Benitez. His style of football, his behaviour, everything.He is the perfect role model for all the kids. I am sure parents will enjoy this model and encourage their kids to be the same. I also think Barcelona are trying to copy his style of football.Allardyce responded - and didnt hold back. Alan Pardew (left) hasnt had much joy against Benitez It was a good cover-up by Rafa because he knows how bad his side were, Allardyce said.Hes got personal with it for many, many years now - thats why I dont like him and the feeling is probably mutual.Allardyce later wrote in his book: Of course, he can say he won the Champions League with Liverpool, which is something I never did. But it has nowt to do with him. Watch Benitezs first game back in the Premier League live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7pm on Monday. Or watch for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV. Also See: Redknapps title race view Do late sackings work? The relegation run-in Five challenges facing Benitez Jordan Shoes Australia Online . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. 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"No," replied Johnson when asked if he felt he was getting squeezed by home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman early in Fridays 7-5 loss to the Red Sox. "I mean, thats part of the game. I dont ever complain about the calls or anything like that." Johnsons performance of 3 1/3 innings, five earned runs on eight hits and a whopping 90 pitches, had manager John Gibbons rolling through his bullpen once again. "We got beat up in the rotation again," said Gibbons. "That makes it tough." Johnsons evening of hard labour came one night after Chien-Ming Wang was shelled for seven runs in just 1 2/3 innings. The math wont come up Blue Jays here: the bullpens been taxed for 11 innings of work in 24 hours. "We battled to come back and tie it," said Gibbons, crediting his offence for overcoming an early 5-0 deficit. "They dropped two on us, again, real quick. But the bullpen cant be perfect every night, theyve been pitching so well. It starts with the starter and theyve been taking it to us pretty good." Toronto chipped away with three runs in the fifth, one in the sixth and the tying run in the seventh on Edwin Encarnacions club-leading 23rd home run. In the bottom half, Neil Wagner was chased from the game after back to back singles by Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia, both of whom would later come around to score, breaking the 5-5 logjam. It would have been inconceivable in spring training to consider the notion of Johnson having but one win as a Blue Jay at the halfway point of the season. But, due in part to injury and in part to inconsistency when available, the lone victory is all Johnson has to show for his time in Toronto. The Blue Jays werent taking the bait on the subject of Dreckman, who appeared to have a fluctuating strike zone early in the ball game, one that benefitted Bostons rookie starter, Allen Webster. On the fourth pitch of the game, with the count 2-1, Jose Reyes took a second strike that, according to the Red Soxs TV rightholders "K-Box," was slightly off the outside corner of the plate. A fair call, if its made consistently and for both pitchers. It wasnt. Johnson was forced to grind through deep count strikeouts of Jacoby Ellsbury and Victorino in the first. In both at-bats, Johnson was just off the outside corner with fastballs similar to Websters versus Reyes. Those pitches were called balls. In the second, Johnson battled Mike Napoli to a full count but lost him to a walk, then fell behind 2-1 to left-hand hitting Daniel Nava on another close pitch.dddddddddddd Nava would single, both he and Napoli would later score and the Red Sox were off to the races. Johnson struggled. He didnt pitch well enough to win. To his credit, he didnt make excuses when offered an opportunity to do so. That said, its reasonable to argue Johnson was forced to pitch a different game than Webster, a game which required him to cut more of the plate with his pitches. Bostons offence, chalk full of notoriously patient hitters, sat on ready made fastballs and sliders which didnt have their customary break. It added up to a tough night. Toronto dropped to 1-4 on the road trip and now the best the Jays can hope for this weekend is a split of this series at Fenway Park. ROGERS LOOKS TO BOUNCE BACK Esmil Rogers gets the start in Saturdays late afternoon game against the Red Sox. Hes looking to bounce back after taking the loss in a 4-1 defeat on Monday in Tampa Bay. "I dont try to worry about nothing," said Rogers. "Im just trying to go into the game like the same as I do right now. The confidence I lost was just one inning, the third inning thats it, the other innings it was great. Ive just got to get everything back and get ready for tomorrow." In four starts since taking the rotation spot of the injured Brandon Morrow (forearm strain), Rogers is 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA. Left-hander Felix Doubront (4-3, 4.33) is scheduled to pitch for the Red Sox. KAWASAKI RETURNS Munenori Kawasaki returned to the Blue Jays clubhouse after a two-day stop with Triple-A Buffalo. He didnt miss a beat with the media. "Good to see you," he said. As for his brief time in the minor leagues: "Buffalo," he said. "I like Buffalo teammates. Good. Everybody nice guy. I appreciate it. Thank you very much." Asked what he hoped to accomplish this go-around: "I cant speak English." The affable 32-year-old embraced teammates upon arriving in the clubhouse. MILLER PASSES AWAY The Blue Jays are mourning the death of pitcher Justin Miller, a member of the 2002, 2004 and 2005 teams. Miller, 35, was found dead at his home in Palm Harbor, Florida. No cause of death has been released. Miller had a career 24-14 record with a 4.82 ERA over 216 appearances, 33 starts. He had appeared most recently for the Dodgers in 2010. ' ' '