Rafa Benitez, Football Manager

xxp, this is LFC we're talking about.

Do you remember last season at all? Because I remember AA getting fit by October and then him playing about 5 games after that because Rafa decided he didn't actually like him.

I agree that it's too early to call Aquilani, but he's had serious injury doubts cast over him throughout the past few years. Definite discount material, and I'm not sure did ye get that discount.

this is the lfc that rafa made sure he took over all transfer decisions after rick parry cocked up a couple times in the 80+ transfers he sorted for rafa.

AA made 26 appearances, started 13 of those.

practically up there with world's best striker fernando torres

this is the lfc that publically courts other managers, does everything they can to undermine the manager, shadows the manager in press conferences to make sure he doesn't let slip that his bosses are slimy cunts, sits in on team talks and goes into the changing room at half time, says that money made from players sold will be available to buy other players and then uses it to pay off debt, hides behind the media to defend it's decision to sack the manager, employs a chelsea fan who can't even attend matches but somehow makes time to sip champagne at chelsea's player of the year awards, and the lfc that doesn't have the bottle to tell the manager to his face that he's got the sack.

it's also the lfc that told the press rafa had cancelled 2 meetings with the chairman when in fact he was on a train across europe because of a cloud of ash, and then couldn't physically meet the chairman because he didn't want to attend the chelsea match.

Dude if they were playing Chelsea I really think Rafa should've gone.

this is the lfc that publically courts other managers, does everything they can to undermine the manager, shadows the manager in press conferences to make sure he doesn't let slip that his bosses are slimy cunts, sits in on team talks and goes into the changing room at half time, says that money made from players sold will be available to buy other players and then uses it to pay off debt, hides behind the media to defend it's decision to sack the manager, employs a chelsea fan who can't even attend matches but somehow makes time to sip champagne at chelsea's player of the year awards, and the lfc that doesn't have the bottle to tell the manager to his face that he's got the sack.

― The referee was perfect (Chris), Friday, 9 July 2010 17:09 (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Sounds like 95% of other clubs tbrr.

we're not 95% of other clubs though. there's a way of doing things at liverpool which has been conveniently forgotten in the last couple of years.

So bad manager at badly run club. Story of newcastle/athletico/lazio/spurs/etc. amirite?

good manager at badly run club.

Still don't understand what makes him a good manager tbh. Feel free to have a go at explaining this without referring to the club messing up all the things he should have been doing.

Pros- won the CL.
Bought Torres, Reina, Alonso, Masch, Benny Noon.
Beat lots of 10 men teams (Inter, Everton, Utd spring to mind.)

Weaknesses- can we blame his inability to understand wide positions on the board?

Maxi's turning out to be a pretty good wide player. Glen Johnson and Emiliano Insua have been encouraged to get forward and provide width.

encouraged to get forward, provide width and lose all ability to defend.

Am going to fully support this dude next season btw. Can't wait to see what he does for Balotelli's career.

you can't be in 2 players at once. lucas and masch fill in when johnson/insua go forward.

you can't be in 2 players at once. lucas and masch fill in when johnson/insua go forward.

― The referee was perfect (Chris), Friday, 9 July 2010 17:29 (28 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

think some wags have perfected the art actually.

also lol at the idea that full backs cannot both defend and attack. have you ever seen cole or evra or sagna or maicon or warnock etc. etc. etc.

http://browniestories.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/cat-ping-pong.jpg

apparently former liverpool goalkeep nikolay mihaylov (another academy kid/flop whichever way you look at it) got caught up in some shit with the bulgarian mafia when he was dating miss bulgaria.

this thread has not been a huge success since i went to the hospital and back tbh

NV where'd you come up with that pic, and is it g johnson defending/attacking, or is it this thread, or some happy double jeopardy type of general mishmash?

this is the lfc that publically courts other managers etc

Uh yes, I agree with all that. I think you're arguing the pro-Rafa case here. The present board at LFC are dismantling the club brick by brick and are the reason for its recent decline. It has not been as a result of Rafa's management.

Present board who gave him a huge contract and all the power to... spend £35m on two knackered players he doesn't like and come 7th?

I've always been able to separate the shite going on behind the scenes and Rafa's management of the situation he was in for a salary of 6m a year.

xxxpost

was looking for a game of ping pong to symbolize thread rhythm and made the happy discovery of cat ping pong

Rafa is an excellent European Cup manager. He has outsmarted Mourinho in the past and I think he is more than capable of doing so again in the CL with Inter.

(And Mourinho did seem to have an easier ride in Italy with Juve and AC down and seemingly directionless. But I only follow Italian footie if its on terrestrial/freeview)

So much battling to make the wildest claim on this thread, as such not worth commenting on beyond that.

Present board who gave him a huge contract and all the power to... spend £35m on two knackered players he doesn't like and come 7th?

― fuque santa cruz (a hoy hoy), Friday, 9 July 2010 20:50 (Yesterday)

Are you referring to Aquilani and Glen J? I've genuinely not heard that Rafa 'doesn't like' either of them. Where have you heard this?

Just assumed by the way he didn't play Aquilani?

Ronan this is all for you man, don't leave us here all alone

yeah i can talk bullshit about rafa in my sleep, i need some real competition to start busting out the proper challops.

Rafa is an excellent European Cup manager. He has outsmarted Mourinho in the past and I think he is more than capable of doing so again in the CL with Inter.

(And Mourinho did seem to have an easier ride in Italy with Juve and AC down and seemingly directionless. But I only follow Italian footie if its on terrestrial/freeview)

― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 10 July 2010 09:24 (7 hours ago) Bookmark

Pfft every time a manager's team beats another manager's team they're smarter now? Rafa's always managed his fair share of one-off wins- cup manager imo.

Mourinho's easy ride at Inter could be equated to Benitez having it very soft in only having a poor united to beat the season before last, tbh. He still got lauded for failing then.

I had thought Spurs did well last season until now - hadn't really considered that maybe they only just stumbled into 4th in the weakest premiership field ever assembled

Shit, I promised myself I wouldn't feed this thread ...

weakest premier league ever assembled

rafa's liverpool finished 7th.

go on.

Heh, don't change the subject. Just reading a piece saying Spurs have to pay an extra £7m if Keane plays a certain number of games - hadn't seen that before and it doesn't say how many games, but it'd explain why Harry's so keen to keep him out of harm's way

fuck.

german goal btw

fuck playing keane another game in any situation, his attitude has been rank since his return bar all but two or three games.

we overpaid to take him back as is. let him off, if anyone will pay his wages. another thing to blame on rafa, the cunt's wages.

last post totally on-subject btw

Yossi Benayoun tells us where he stands on the topic:

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_6255511,00.html

Poor Yossi. My heart bleeds.

Yossi Benayoun, July 2008: “I have very good chemistry with Benitez. He loves me. He bought me. I really enjoy being with him, moreover, I had an excellent season. I even surprised myself."

hm, well I suppose you could argue that keeping your staff happy is an important part of any manager's job

yossi otm. and chris, isn't his whole point that he didn't speak out negatively because he is a good pro. this doesn't surprise me at all, the lack of faith in creative players and wingers is rafa's biggest fault. he did "break" riera, managed to fuck the two closest things to wingers the club had, both of them.

perhaps he had lack of faith in them for the reason. i'm more inclined to trust rafa than someone who was moaning after 3 games, 3 games!, that he wasn't playing enough.

*a reason, not 'the' reason.

is yossi otm about albert riera? if someone's a disruptive influence then it makes sense to leave them out. xabi alonso - he was performing badly and rafa looked to replace him. xabi responded brilliantly, got his head down, and put in an awesome season for us before moving on. he still speaks highly of rafa, and didn't go crying to the NOTW.