Despite only taking the Chelsea job two weeks ago, Blues manager Rafa Benitez is already under intense pressure, and Anfield legend Steve McManaman believes that it's only a matter of time before the beleaguered boss is sacked by Roman Abramovich.
Since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Benitez's team has managed only two points from three league games, and if the Blues fail to beat Sunderland this Saturday, things could become incredibly uncomfortable for the Spaniard.
Analysing Chelsea's 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday, McManaman predicted a bleak future for Benitez. He said:
"What has happened to Chelsea? They’ve got themselves into a mess by panicking over Di Matteo’s sacking, and they brought Rafa in against the wishes of probably every Chelsea fan.
"The only way it’s going to end is when he [Benitez] leaves the club. With two points out of nine, and the style of football they’re playing, I think he’ll go. It’s just a matter of time".
In his post-match press conference on Saturday, Benitez himself admitted that he wasn't '100% sure' that he'd still be Chelsea manager at the end of the season. Ray Wilkins, however, is convinced that Benitez will not be sacked any time soon. He told the BBC:
“I would think that [being sacked] is totally out of the question. They have asked him to come in and do a job and he is trying to work very hard to do it. Unfortunately the results are going against him at the moment, and at the moment they are struggling".
Nothing is 'totally out of the question' when it comes to Abramovich, a man who is only marginally more loyal than Judas Iscariot.
Benitez is in a no-win situation at Chelsea, but to be honest, he's (arguably) made few mistakes already that have fanned the flames of discontent:
* Refusal to apologise for his negative past comments about Chelsea: Why not just apologise and appease the fans who are vehemently against him? What does he have to lose? As usual, Benitez is undone by his legendary stubbornness, which means Blues fans will continue to bay for his blood.
* Suggesting that Cole and Lampard could leave in January: Why even admit this is a possibility? Those two are revered by Chelsea fans, and now, if they do leave, Benitez will probably be accused of failing to do anything to stop their departure. Again, no attempt to appease the fans; why didn't he just say 'I want them to stay; they're a vital part of the club' etc?
* Dropping Juan Mata: So, after failing to score (or win) his first game in charge, Benitez decided to implement his reviled rotation policy by 'resting' Mata for Chelsea's game with Fulham. It was a horrible decision, especially given the fact that with 7 goals and 10 assists (prior to being dropped), Mata was Chelsea's most effective creative player. Benitez then did the same for the West Ham game by dropping Oscar. It's madness, and decisions like this will not endear him to Chelsea's fans.
* Right-hand man: Benitez may have missed a trick with his appointment of Zenden as his assistant. He could've curried favour with the fans by bringing in a Chelsea legend to assist him (Wise/Vialli/LaBeouf/Desailly, or someone else; you get the point), a move that could've created some goodwill towards him.
Benitez is a top-class manager, and I would hate to see him sacked again, but he's not doing himself any favours, either on or off the pitch. Luckily for him, Chelsea have a comparatively easy run of games coming up:
* Nordsjaelland (CL)
* Sunderland
* Leeds (LC)
* Aston Villa
* Norwich
* Everton
* Southampton
* QPR
* Stoke
Everton aside, all of those games are eminently winnable, and if things go Benitez's way over the next month, the poor results in his first two weeks in charge could all be forgotten.
The odds on Benitez being sacked before the end of the season are currently at 33-1.
EDIT: Benitez's odds have now been slashed to 9-2; second favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked (behind Martin O'Neill).
Jaimie Kanwar
Since arriving at Stamford Bridge, Benitez's team has managed only two points from three league games, and if the Blues fail to beat Sunderland this Saturday, things could become incredibly uncomfortable for the Spaniard.
Analysing Chelsea's 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday, McManaman predicted a bleak future for Benitez. He said:
"What has happened to Chelsea? They’ve got themselves into a mess by panicking over Di Matteo’s sacking, and they brought Rafa in against the wishes of probably every Chelsea fan.
"The only way it’s going to end is when he [Benitez] leaves the club. With two points out of nine, and the style of football they’re playing, I think he’ll go. It’s just a matter of time".
In his post-match press conference on Saturday, Benitez himself admitted that he wasn't '100% sure' that he'd still be Chelsea manager at the end of the season. Ray Wilkins, however, is convinced that Benitez will not be sacked any time soon. He told the BBC:
“I would think that [being sacked] is totally out of the question. They have asked him to come in and do a job and he is trying to work very hard to do it. Unfortunately the results are going against him at the moment, and at the moment they are struggling".
Nothing is 'totally out of the question' when it comes to Abramovich, a man who is only marginally more loyal than Judas Iscariot.
Benitez is in a no-win situation at Chelsea, but to be honest, he's (arguably) made few mistakes already that have fanned the flames of discontent:
* Refusal to apologise for his negative past comments about Chelsea: Why not just apologise and appease the fans who are vehemently against him? What does he have to lose? As usual, Benitez is undone by his legendary stubbornness, which means Blues fans will continue to bay for his blood.
* Suggesting that Cole and Lampard could leave in January: Why even admit this is a possibility? Those two are revered by Chelsea fans, and now, if they do leave, Benitez will probably be accused of failing to do anything to stop their departure. Again, no attempt to appease the fans; why didn't he just say 'I want them to stay; they're a vital part of the club' etc?
* Dropping Juan Mata: So, after failing to score (or win) his first game in charge, Benitez decided to implement his reviled rotation policy by 'resting' Mata for Chelsea's game with Fulham. It was a horrible decision, especially given the fact that with 7 goals and 10 assists (prior to being dropped), Mata was Chelsea's most effective creative player. Benitez then did the same for the West Ham game by dropping Oscar. It's madness, and decisions like this will not endear him to Chelsea's fans.
* Right-hand man: Benitez may have missed a trick with his appointment of Zenden as his assistant. He could've curried favour with the fans by bringing in a Chelsea legend to assist him (Wise/Vialli/LaBeouf/Desailly, or someone else; you get the point), a move that could've created some goodwill towards him.
Benitez is a top-class manager, and I would hate to see him sacked again, but he's not doing himself any favours, either on or off the pitch. Luckily for him, Chelsea have a comparatively easy run of games coming up:
* Nordsjaelland (CL)
* Sunderland
* Leeds (LC)
* Aston Villa
* Norwich
* Everton
* Southampton
* QPR
* Stoke
Everton aside, all of those games are eminently winnable, and if things go Benitez's way over the next month, the poor results in his first two weeks in charge could all be forgotten.
The odds on Benitez being sacked before the end of the season are currently at 33-1.
EDIT: Benitez's odds have now been slashed to 9-2; second favourite to be the next Premier League manager sacked (behind Martin O'Neill).
Jaimie Kanwar
Not bad odds to put a tenner on in fairness. I feel he was right not to apologize though. The gall of some people to even suggest it is beyond me. Chelsea fans are a fickle bunch. They were nothing and nowhere to be seen ten years ago and that's where they'll quickly be back once Abramovic gets tired of it. On top of that, they think Benitez should apologize whereas they continue to support Terry in spite of him being a racist and adulterer. All that said, I agree that Benitez again seems to be overestimating himself. He took the job thinking that he could be successful in the end because he is the great Benitez. That his decisions will be justified and that everyone was wrong but him. Sometimes I wonder if all his early success at Liverpool didn't have a damaging effect on his ego. I think I'll be ringing the bookies...
ReplyDeletethink rafa has made a huge career mistake hope he dose well but not at our expence
ReplyDeleteI read today that they are already thinking of Getting Grant back in lol. Roman is a joke.
ReplyDeleteRafa knows a lot of the players are close to burnout so he rightly rotates to freshen them up.That Chelsea guy in charge of the supporters group is some asylum seeker who managed to sneak into our once great England.Rafa will succeed at Chavski hes a great guy and a great coach,hes too good for Chavski fans who havent got a clue about football,theyve been given success on a plate by Abramovichs ill gotten gains leaving the Russian people in poverty so he can play his fantasy football.Rafa will get champs league,he will also win the world cup hes a winner through and through.in May i hope he becomes LFCs boss again since hes gone the heart has been ripped out of LFC,i hope your proud of yourself Carragher if i was you i wouldnt be able to look in the mirror
ReplyDeleteWhatever tactical decisions Rafa has made I will leave to him, he is certainly much more qualified than me, you and everybody else that comments on here.
ReplyDeleteAs for the apology to the Chelsea fans, I don't think it's a sign of being stubborn, he made them comments, they were true then, they are true now, so why should he apologize. Rafa is a man of principal and integrity, he is not a yes man who changes his mind like a politician and he certainly doesn't give in to the whims of the media.
I dont think any Chelsea legend would want to be associated with a Rafa Benitez regime at Stamford Bridge. They would want to distance themselves as far as possible. Lots of Chelsea fans have now gone against Zenden, even though he played for them.
ReplyDeleteWhat Rafa should have done is NOT take the job full stop.
I think he is a good fit for that club, but the fans dont help and the players certainly arent helping their cause by not playing well and defending worse than 11 year old schoolboys.
The problem Chelsea fans have is that they wont go against Roman. Because he might just walk out of their club and leave them in the mire. It's reported that just last week he wrote off £166m of debt! Incredible.
Two poor years at LFC, six shocking months at Inter, a while out of the game not by his own choice and a rather poor start at Chelsea suggest that Rafa is indeed fallible and therefore his decisions can be questioned
ReplyDeleteI think that Rafa was either very brave or deluded in accepting this 'poisoned chalice'. He has the fans against him, probably, half of the players, and an owner who will show as much compassion as Marcus Brutus had for Caesar. At least Benitez will know who is wielding the dagger. Chelsea seem devoid of passion and effort and it will take time for the situation to change. As at Anfield, the manager has got to be given a reasonable period to establish himself. Whilst I think that FSG will give Brendan that time, I have severe reservations that Abramovitch has the same patience. Incidentally Jaimie, in stating that you recognise Benitez as a top-class manager, you have left yourself wide open to abuse from the pro Rafa brigade. You might like to point out to them that if he succeeds at Chelsea he wouldn't want to come back and if he fails, why would we want him back ?
ReplyDeleteHope Rafa takes the rentboys down ,lol.
ReplyDeleteWhat a joke of a journalism..!! Where were you when Liverpool had the worst start of the season in century under the guidance of BR? And when people criticized BR, you slam them saying "what a knee jerk comments....heck its only been 5 games, 10 games, 15 games BR has been charge in, cannot judge too early"... Now Benitez who a had a better start than BR in league you are all over him!!!. Isn't it too soon to throw articles on Benitez like this? Criticizing him whatever chance you get. What a hypocrite..!!!
ReplyDeleteBR's first 3 league games - Lost vs West Brom and Arsenal .... Drew vs Manc City..!! Rafa has a point more with just a week with the squad compare to BR who used enough of pre season. Hypocrisy at its best..!!
ReplyDeleteas an associate to rafa
ReplyDeleteMaybe Rafa has taken the job to help Liverpool, because we all know he still loves the club. So myabe his thinking was "I will get them to do rubbish, and help Liverpool get ahead of them in the leauge.
ReplyDeletestill want MON at Anfield Jamie?
ReplyDeleteWell let's hope Rafa's still there during the Transfer windows and sell Sturridge and Torres to us on the cheap :p
ReplyDeletei genuinely believe that Rafa has an agenda to destroy Chelsea from the inside and he is just as surprised as us that he's been allowed into Stamford Bridge. How funny would it be if the chavs dropped out of the top 4 after all the money they've spend etc, showing a bit of solidarity and consistancy really do matter when it comes to running a football club. No chav fan is directing their anger towards RA because as said on here many times before, they would be literally be NOTHING without their sugar daddy. Makes me laugh what an absolute joke of a club they are even if there recent success has added a tiny bit of silverwear to their dusty trophy room...
ReplyDeleteGot very little sympathy for Rafa in relation to his situation at Chelsea. They didn't like him since the Jose-Rafa days and everyone knows what a unstable club it can be for managers, despite the success. He'll probably win the fifa world club cup at Chelsea but that will do little to appease the fans or the chairman, me thinks. I think he has got to take it on a game-by-game basis, as the pressure is building, so maybe he is being too safe in resting Mata. Mata has played a lot and barely gets rotated, so I get where Rafa is coming from in that but with the short term nature of the club at the moment, the pressure, etc, he is better off playing his first XI to get maximum points asap (and I've never rated his ability to get the best out of a non-first XI side). Any other club, I would have said it is far too early but this is Chelsea, a successful but volatile club and he is on a short term contract, he hasn't got much time to win them over.
ReplyDeleteJamie why r u even talking bout Rafa, he is the chelsea manager, granted he was once at liverpool, but i dont see u write about steve clark and how well he is doing, seems to me u have a bone to pick with rafa and his fans like me, this is a liverpool site if am not mistaken so am bit surprised to still see articles on a manager of another club. but its your site so i guess u can do as you please, just promise us rafa fans this. Please write about him if turns things around for chelsea, if win a major trophy please also write about him then
ReplyDeleteI wanted him in 2004, and would've taken him when Benitez left. As I've stated many times though, he's now too old for a long-term rebuilding job. LFC missed the boat on this one ages ago.
ReplyDeleteIts been denied now... Oh well. Would have been funny if they had done it.
ReplyDeletehe should apologize to us.
ReplyDeleteI hope he fails.
ReplyDeleteRafa is a great coach and manager, no one can manage big heads unprofessional non triers and pathetic anti fans.
ReplyDeleteeach to there own
ReplyDeleteBrendon is still in employment because of Rafa, there would have been no Stirling, Wisdom, Suso robinson etc or Texiera without him. or Lukas for that matter. anyone with sympathy for Chelsea fans knows nothing about football human decency.
ReplyDeleteI am not from England and at the time of Rafa's departure had only info from my newspapers about Liverpool, so I don't know what are you talking about, Carra was the one to push Rafa out?
ReplyDeleteAnd Liverpool is your own, why you wish well to Chelsea manager?
ReplyDeleteno i wish rafa well he did not want to leave the club ,hes always been a gentleman in the way he has spoke about the club and hes always got behind the city of liverpool [trying to be careful of word filter]so yes i do wish him well but like i said not at lfcs expence
ReplyDeleteTheir success is at our expence- we are fighting for the same goal.
ReplyDeleteAnd as much I appreciated when he was here(best manager I have seen in our club-only remember Houllier on), when you say "There is no way I would go to Chelsea, there is only one club in England for me", and then sign for them, well... Nobody forced him to say that, now fcuk him...
If my brother was their manager I wouldn't love him less, but I would like him to fail each game.
Hi Jaimie The Hypocrite, Brandon's regular 11...Reina, Agger, Skrtel, Lucas, Johnson, Sterling, Suso, Shelvey, Wisdom are all bought by Rafa.....
ReplyDeleteCarraghers contract was coming to an end and Rafa was debating wether to give him a contract or let him go or not pay him anywhere near what he wanted.So Carra started running to the press saying he will play for another club no problem.carragher then started leaking information to his friends danny murphy and michael owen who in turn went to the press stating there was disharmony in the dressing room.Christian Purslow then spoke to 2 players and Rafas position immediately came under consideration,the 2 players being carragher and gerrard.carragher saying it was time for a change,only saying this because he wanted a new contract.Rafa sacked Hodgson in the first thing Hodgson did was give Carragher his 2 year contract.
ReplyDeletehahahah
ReplyDeleteIf Juve beats Shaktar they will be top of the group so I don't think Shaktar will let that happen, plus they have very strong team, playing home in the only competition they have any serious opponents-Rafa might reach the knock out stages after all.. Ironicly, cl is the reason(last drop in the glass) Roman let go Di Matteo- it's so good watching their situation right now...
ReplyDeleteRafa should have stayed away from the Chelsea job. He knew that he was going to get flak from the Chelsea fans and he knew that the job will only be till the end of the season. Does he think he is going to get any favours from Abramovich? That is a dead end, no win situation full stop. Rafa will only have himself to blame if he gets the sack in the next couple of games.
ReplyDeleteProblem is that Rafa wants to manage in England and probably thought that if he comes out on top with the Chelsea job he might be given the job full time? If the Chelsea job goes up in flames for Rafa then he will further damage his managing career and where exactly will he go after that? Why did he just not go back to Spain? Surely there is a club that wants to take his services on over there?
The problem is that Rafa does not have time on his side. Chelsea have Nordsjaelland up next in the CL so you would think Rafa can get his first win in this match. If not then Abramovich will wait till Sunderland and if Rafa does not win that match then Rafa is gone. Either way, he wins in the CL and doesn't against Sunderland truth is he will be sacked.
There is no way out for Rafa. He will soon learn his fate just like old Hodgson did at LFC. If you do not have the fans on your side then you will lose. The Chelsea fans even had banners up saying Rafa out when Chelsea scored the first goal against West Ham. They do not want him there and add to that Abramovich who has probably already told Rafa, lose your next match and you are out of here...
Rafa needs to realise that his time as a manager in England is up. Nobody wants him and FSG will also not take him back. If they were ever interested in Rafa then they would have approached him before they appointed Rodgers which they did not do. Why can Rafa not see that?
Damn... Thanks mate.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all why can't you see that he has a family he doesn't want to uproot , has had offers from abroad and in England but he just bided his time until a decent project came along.
ReplyDeleteAlso, temporary caretaker role entrusted to revive Torres or getting sacked without a chance to mould his own team, he still gets a decent pay out!
Easy Money!!
The rest is irrelevant! Rafa has nothing to prove coaching wise.
If I was unemployed for the best part of 2 years I would take Abramovic's money even if it was a poisoned chalice.
ReplyDeleteThe temporary role will suit him just fine!
and the most important player of Rodgers' reign by far is not one of Rafa's signings. I talk about Suarez.
ReplyDeleteSo if Rafa does well = cue 'he is a brilliant manager, we told you'
ReplyDeleteIf Rafa does rubbish = cue 'he was just a LFC double agent making sure Chelsea do rubbish and also just there for the money, so he is still a brilliant manager', so basically absolving him of any criticism or blame.
Is that how it works, IRWT crew?
Thought this was a LIVERPOOL site
ReplyDeleteagent benitez your mission is going well, keep following the brief. i like rafa despite his bafflingly dodgy tactics when we should have won the league, despite wanting to replace super xabi with gareth friggin' barry, despite going to chelscum and despite his megalomaniacal tendencies....he still loves liverpool (as most of us do!) and he is a true friend to the HJC and the famillies, he wanted to come back but that was never going to happen, he loves the area, that's why he still lives there, he just loves liverpool.
ReplyDeleteSome of the best and most informative articles about of late, telling it how it is.
ReplyDeleteMy feeling is Abramovich only employed him so he could sack him. It would not surprise me in the slightest if he was gone by Thursday night.
ReplyDeleteI think Benitez is only there for a pay-off, though I think he was hoping he could make it last long enough to get a proper contract and rebuild his 'reputation'.
If Beni loses his next Chelsea match then he will go, there is not a lot of doubt.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Rafa would give a damn about the Chelsea fans. Why should he? The owner certainly doesn't. At least Judas showed remorse for his treachery......
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to the day when he knocks Stamford Bridge down, and recoups all the money he has spent on the club.
Would Rafa care if he was sacked?
Would Mancini care if he was sacked?
I seriously doubt either man would worry about receiving a large cheque for nothing...... What a glorious position to be in......
Also, he knows Zenden. To bring in a Chelsea legend that he doesn't know would be utterly cynical and populist
I know another player who said Liverpool was the only Premier team for him, guess who that was and where he ended up.............
ReplyDeleteI would say Benitez is in a win win situation. Back in the limelight, nothing to lose, hefty pay off, if he fails he's sacked, if he succeeds he's still sacked. Liverpool fans will alway love him. Better than sitting at home doing nothing.
ReplyDeletedon,t worry i,am back you can sleep easy tonight ;-) lol
ReplyDeleteSo fcuk him, right? I don't wish to either to brake a leg(like I do to Rooney), but just do not wish them well..
ReplyDeleteYeah...without Rafa's players we will at the bottom, even lower than QPR. Ha..ha..ha..
ReplyDeleteLike I care about what goes on in parallel universes, as that is a stupid and flawed point. Deal with the here and now, what has actually happened. They don't come close to Suarez's importance, form and current quality. That is as clear as day. We are 11th, with a squad that has a lot of Rafa's legacy. Ha..ha..ha...you must be proud we are in 11th.
ReplyDeleteDo you know? I was just thinking a similar thought about all those guys who lauded MON and wanted him at Anfield as the "bees knees" saviour! Simply a flash in the pan manager.
ReplyDeleteGood point!
ReplyDeleteYour memory of his time at Liverpool is a bit off if you believe he had 2 poor years.
ReplyDeleteHe finished 5th in his first year 2004/05 while winning the champions league and 7th in his final year 2009/10 and the rest of the time inbetween were top 4 finishes.
2008/09 he even finished 2nd on 86 points which was a record points haul for Liverpool in the premier league era.
Like him or not, I believe revisionism to belittle what he did in his Liverpool era is a bit wrong.
I see his time at Liverpool as successfull punctuated by one failed season when he was mutually terminated.
Rafa for some reason seems to be put in his own category when he is judged on his career as many seem to attribute failure to him but his successes to others.
I have seen many posts here claime he only won La liga at Valencia over 3 seasons because he inherited a good team but the manager he succeeded did not win anything with the team he may have built if it were not the director of football largely responsible for the squad of players.
He then won the Champions league with Liverpool with his purchases like Alonso and Luis Garcia being key players but it does not stop some fans and Houlier himself claiming the success was down to his work before he got fired.
Now the most interesting one is the Inter stint where he brought in noone so was not able to refresh the first team who never hit the Mourinho heights again because most of them were now simply to old and could not recapture their old form. Subsequent seasons after the Rafa firing show the team needed to be refreshed.
Now on hand he is judged to have decimated a champions league winning team he made no additions or subtractions to so is deemed a bad manager.
Now when he won the Fifa world Club Cup the same critics come back at him and say he won that with a team that was not his so the question is what does he have to do to be accorded the same respect that Di Matteo got for winning the Champions league with AVB's team that was already doing well in the chamions league under AVB(who was fired for his league form).
Now the most decorated British manager chips in that he feels should Rafa win the Fifa World Club Cup he is stealing Di Matteo's thunder even though Di Matteo won the Champions league the same way i.e he did not buy any of the players who became European champions on that day since he was also a caretaker manager to AVB's team.
Well said. Of all the managers we've had in the last 10 years, Rafa is the only one that I genuinely was concerned with him leaving us because, baseed on this achievements in his time with us, I believe he was our best chance of ousting ManU. Fergie had bad seasons and I thought rafa could bounce back. The previous owners made his job that much harder and I'm sometimes shocked that more blame is put on rafa than those two american rats! Imagine Rafa with the transfer kitty the King was given? (and please don't give me this "rafa spent terribly" nonsence cause all manager mess up but rafa still kept us relevant and improved our team on a buy-sell policy each season bar his last one) For those who dont think so, try and remember the last time we started a season and you truly believed we could win two or more of the competitions we were in? In 2007, Anfield was recognized as the loudest venues in the world...if you've been watching games recently at home, you can hear the opposition chanting over a silent crowd. This is something that never happened when rafa was here. We've got BR and lets get behind him, but stop disrespecting Rafa because without him, our trophy cabinet would be 4 trophies lighter and my generation (im 23) would not would not have had the opportunity to witness a moment in time when our beloved club considered among the best in the world!
ReplyDeleteHad a quick look at a chelski forum, its hilarious reading their fans having convulsions over rafa, the most plastic club in england have finally got kama for their devils pact, they were absolute pants till the russian village idiot faced melt threw his roubles at the club, jog on chavski!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat's wrong with Benitez believing in himself? He is a two-time La Liga winner, a Uefa Cup winner, a Champion's League winner, an FA Cup winner, that means he is a successful manager. I believe that Chelsea are a sinking ship and this is a poor tactical move by Benitez, although he has been out of the game for a few years and probably needs a high profile job to get back in the spotlight and to be in contention for more jobs. By the way, the reviled rotation policy that Jaimie speaks of is used by many bosses, Mancini uses it and he won the Premier League last season and are currently the only unbeaten side in the league this season, so it clearly works.
ReplyDeleteAnd that is why you are in the minority of Liverpool supporters, the majority are respectful of other players and other managers, especially ones that have helped our cause in the past.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I rate Rafa and think it was a mistake he was sacked when he was, I believe Rodgers has brought the heart back. He has been using the youngsters in the academy that Rafa brought in. He has reinstated the red goal nets and the "This Is Anfield" tunnel sign, lately our results have been improving, yes we are in 11th position, but we are only 7 points out of the top 4 and our results are improving. I also see many parallels with Rodgers and Rafa, Rafa started his managerial career as a youth coach at a high profile club, so did Rodgers. Rafa then took up posts at lower league sides, guiding the second or third into the top flight, same as Rodgers. Rafa then got the job at Valencia, a high profile club that hadn't had much league success for awhile and turned them into a La Liga powerhouse on limited funds. Rodgers is barely 6 months into the job as Liverpool boss, it's going to take time for us to become contenders, afterall, it's taken Man City a number of seasons. Real fans need to get behind Rodgers and give him time. The question we need to ask ourselves is do we want instant success for one or two years then fall back to the wayside, or do we want to take a couple of seasons to build ourselves up for a prolonged period as a powerhouse? I would much rather prefer the latter. We have to remember that Shankley's first season was in the 2nd flight and he didn't manage promotion, what would have happened if we had fired him then?
ReplyDeleteIs this speculation on your part or do you have proof? If you have proof, provide it. Only then will I believe this. After all, Rafa knew all about Liverpool legends, he brought Fowler back so he could get the send off he deserved. The story you are bringing up sounds more like Fabio Aurelio than Carra. But like I say, provide the proof of this claim.
ReplyDelete6 shocking months at Inter, a side that were aging and injury ravaged and Rafa was promised funds to improve the squad and was never given any, despite this they won silverware. This was not Rafa's fault, but board's fault. Rafa also turned Valencia into La Liga winners and Champion's League runner's up and Uefa Cup winners, all while working within a budget, he turned Liverpool into Champion's League winners and the most dominant team in the Champion's League over a 5 year period, including making two Champion's League finals over the space of 3 years, that means he made the final 4 times in 10 years, under Rafa, we regularly qualified for the Champion's League, we posted the biggest win in Champion's League history, we also nearly won the Premier League title, and for a team that was lauded as being too defensive, we also had the best attack not only in the league, but also in the country in that season, the 08/09 season, despite all of these successes, you want to focus on the "bad" parts, which when we look at those, the two poor years at LFC coincided with turmoil at the club with the previous owners, the "six shocking months at Inter" where he won silverware, as I previously stated were as a result of a broken promise by the board of funds being made available, an aging team and an injury ravaged side. Rafa told the president to make funds available or to consider his position. And to Chelsea, this is a club that is in crisis, Rafa might not have won a game with the in 3 matches, but he has only lost one, which isn't as bad as most people make out. His position was only ever seen as a caretaker position until the end of the season. This shows that there are/were circumstances beyond Rafa's control which any manager would have struggled to cope with.
ReplyDeleteYa...I don't question the importance of Suarez but football is played with 11 persons. Without the others would one person make it.
ReplyDeleteRafa accepted this knowing full well this was only going to be til the end of the season, which is exactly why he made the comment about Lampard and Cole, he stated if he was given longer, he could have changed their minds. Rafa sees this as a perfect opportunity to get back into management, not just with Chelsea, but to put himself in the window for other clubs. Let's face it, he was never going to go to QPR. On the surface, this looks like a bad choice by Rafa, but if you read, as Rafa made popular, "between the lines", you will see this is a very smart move by Rafa, a manager who has been out of the game for 2 years and clearly wants to get back into the game
ReplyDeleteRafa has an agenda to destroy Chelsea from the inside? Seems they are doing that quite successfully without Rafa. And you say they would be literally nothing without RA. Before RA came in, they may have been "nothing", but at least they had dignity and integrity. They won the FA Cup without RA, that against Middlesbrough, a match where RDM scored in the first minute. I think RA leaving Chelsea would be the best thing for Chelsea.
ReplyDeleteRafa took the job knowing full well the situation and that he would be only there to the end of the season at the latest. This is a savvy move by Rafa as he is placing himself in the window for others clubs, after a self-imposed hiatus from the game, he is ready to come back. And if the choice for you was QPR or Chelsea, 99% of people would choose Chelsea everytime, unless of course the roles of the two sides were reversed
ReplyDeleteTeixeira was actually a Dalglish signing, not a Rafa signing. Brendon is still in employment because of Brendon. Yes Rafa overhauled the youth system and brought in a number of top youth talent, but Rodgers is the one with the bravery to play these players, therefore, it is down to Rodgers, not Rafa.
ReplyDeleteAnd just to elaborate on that, we are 11th, but only 7 points out of the top 4, which means we are still in contention for CL qualification and with our results improving, CL qualification isn't too far out of question.
ReplyDeleteAnd as I have already pointed out, puts himself in the window for other positions. This is a smart move by Rafa.
ReplyDeleteYou say nobody wants him and yet he was also the top choice for QPR, which is why QPR moved to sack Sparky when they did, because they lost their top choice and didn't want to lose their second choice. Rafa has also knocked back previous jobs with English sides. So, saying that nobody wants him is completely false.
ReplyDeleteWhen he wanted to bring Barry in, Barry was one of the best midfielders in the league and Alonso was underperforming. People have short term memories over this, Alonso then came out the next season with something to prove and had his best season with us, before that, he didn't perform half as well as in that season. Barry however was proven to perform well with Gerrard, was proven to be able to play in multiple positions, and was proven to be one of the best in the league. Even when he plays for Man City, his class shows through. Maybe when Alonso is at his best, Barry isn't as good as Alonso, but at the time when Alonso wasn't playing his best and hadn't been for 2 seasons, Barry WAS the better player and more importantly, the better option.
ReplyDeleteFunny how both the managers you mentioned, Rafa and Mancini were both sacked, by Inter. Not that it matters to this, just an interesting tidbit
ReplyDeleteNowhere in any of my posts do I deny that football is not a team game but that is a pointless remark to make really anyway, in the context of what was initially being said. Original post boasts the first team regulars are mostly Rafa's players and I reply back with that the most important player by far is not a Rafa player as well as we are in 11th position. Despite your intentions, your replies do very little to argue effectively against my points, imo. You say we would be bottom without Rafa's players. Ok, lets ha..ha..ha time. FSG sells all Rafa players in the summer just gone, do you think they won't bring players in? Yes, they didn't bring in a striker but do you seriously think they wouldn't bring in a whole load of players to replace the vast no. of players that left? We simply do not know for sure that 'we will at the bottom' like you said, without these Rafa players. Considering our mediocre performances in the league for the last few seasons, I wouldn't be singing and dancing about still having a squad (current) that has a lot of Rafa players.
ReplyDeleteWell, I am not as hopeful as you are in relation to CL. If we get top 6, I'll be very happy with that.
ReplyDeleteBut in the context of the original point, at this point in time, if we were in the top 6 currently, than there would be a strong case for singing and dancing about having Rafa players in the team. But we're not.
Barry, Gerrard and most of the England players have been distinctly average at best for 99.9% of their England careers. 'Well'? pffft. For the rest, you got some decent subjective points I agree with mostly.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiousity, when was it official that QPR wanted Rafa? I know some nomark websites were peddling the rumour but I wouldn't be taking sites like 'caughtoffside' as the gospel truth, or even rumour itself, without something official. Did QPR's Tony Fernandes say something on Twitter or something? Did he or the club say something about Rafa?
ReplyDeleteI see it as risk, rather than 'savvy' but each to their own interpretation. As you say 'Rafa took the job knowing full well the situation', so I got very little sympathy in relation to the flak he is getting.
ReplyDeleteJust an example of how/why people see things in a particular way, me included. You boast about the runner up finish and the points total in the league in that season but yet you omit that Valencia were CL runners up two years in a row, instead say they didn't win anything (which is true of course but its the slant throughout the post is what i'm talking about). If CL runner up finishes don't matter, than hardly fair to start lauding the PL runner up finish....if one was to be more objective and neutral. I guess its each to their own, when it comes to convenient interpretation and agenda. Don't get me wrong, your not the only one, all of us do it.
ReplyDeleteJust a little bit on the injuries at Inter. Some of the Inter players thought some of the injury problems were down to Rafa's training methods, such as Stankovic, hence one of the reasons why they don't speak all that well of Rafa's time at Inter. Although Rafa denies this and I'm sure some will take his word
ReplyDeleteRespect- YES. Wishing well in another English club- NEVER. Rooney brake a leg - ALWAYS.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I stopped going to caughtoffside a long time ago. I am Australian and watch an Australian football show (not Aussie Rules) called the Shootout, which includes Mark Bosnich and they have an English football journalist who is their go to man, both stated this. Whether this can be taken with a grain of salt is another matter, but this was what was stated.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about the international scene, however when Gerrard was playing his best for England, which agreed isn't saying much, but it was with Barry and not Lampard. Barry sits back more and allows Gerrard to get forward more. When Gerrard was paired with Lampard, both of whose games involve getting forward, one of them had to stay back, for tactical reasons, for whatever that's worth.
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