No I said there were a lot of rumours building that they could approach him if they get taken over. The Chinese Super League is over now, so interest in him is going to ramp up now.
Benitez won't get another you job. His dtock has fallen. I wouldn't have him back here either. The game has moved on from defensive football. Someone should remind Bruce of that.
The only way Rafa is getting another top job is as a stop gap while they wait for a season to end for a target to become available. He's not in those conversations and hasn't been for quite some time. You have to remember the last time he managed a club like that was a good 5 years ago and it was a bit of a disaster. Its a long time in football. He's 60 and his style has never ever changed. Its not like a Bielsa, an older manager constantly adapting.
You do realise he was the 2nd choice for Spurs if Mourinho turned it down don't you. He was offered the Spain national team job 2 years ago. He was on the shortlist to replace Emery at Arsenal, but the compensation was too much for them. His stint in China hasn't affected his reputation at all.
We are about the level for him. We are ideal really while this owner remains in charge. Obviously we are not going to see entertaining football, but in terms of maintaining the position in the PL, he proved capable of that. He wouldn't be my choice, but I think if you are being brutally cold, he's a good fit for Ashley.
Here's your explanation Wonder where all the complaints are? https://www.barrons.com/articles/sa...alth-fund-offices-new-york-london-51600371083
They are buying property in Newcastle interestingly. Rumour is they want to open a University halls of residence for Saudi students from Newcastle and Northumbria Uni's.
We will have to agree to disagree. A relegation battle was not expected by Rafa or Dalian, that much is clear. So cutting out all the excuses about young players etc, he has done pretty poorly over there. I'm sure he's disappointed with how its gone. He deserves credit for not jumping ship though like a lot of foreign managers would heading over there. His reputation was already below what was expected of a top club. Its been awhile since he's held that kind of stature, and Real Madrid was a real ****er for his rep. In the era of player power, having so many top players begging the chairman to get rid would put a lot of top teams off. What I do realise (and perhaps you haven't) is that newspapers had him as 2nd choice at Spurs, and on the shortlist at Arsenal. I have not seen any comments from those clubs about it so its probably just speculation. I also realise national management is not the top accolade it once was. Its harder to get a job at a top club so that is irrelevant really. Bottom line is if we take the newspapers out of it, he ain't been appointed to any of those jobs or any other top job in a good 5-6 years. There is a theme with the top club appointments: Man C - Pep Liverpool - Klopp Bayern - Hans-Dieter Flick Barcelona - Koeman Real Madrid - Zidane Man U - Solksjaer Chelsea - Lampard Spurs - Mourinho Juventus - Pirlo PSG - Tuchel Take out Koeman (who I think will be gone in no time) and you've a bunch of high press managers playing entertaining football - largely younger. Jose is the only other outlier but he has tweaked his style in a way Rafa would not. He's had a good career, not stellar but he has a solid record with a good trophy collection to boot. He's just done in terms of getting back to the top table.
Wow Just thinking I own a small 7500 square foot property within a stone throw away from st james park and newcastle uni kerching
I mean we are a good fit in what he is good at, stopping the opposition. Its not a bad ploy when you have no ambition. He will do better than us on the continent for sure. He'd struggle to get a job here or say Germany where the game is evolving and leaving him behind. I could see him back in Italy who aren't really arsed about all the high press, and still just love defending. He could squeak into a Milan or Inter if they have struggles.
