Good post mate! I think most of those you mention would be good appointments. I disagree with the Rafa comment though.
Got a feeling it will be AVB to be honest. Guardiola would be good but in some ways he is untested to some extent; he inherited a great side at Barca and yes they improved under him but he had a fantastic nucleus that only needed adding to, also you could argue that he could almost choose whoever he wanted to bring in such is the draw that is playing for Barca. I am not sure about AVB either to be frank; yes he will be great but he will also be under huge pressure from the fans and media due to his failure at Chelsea(of course he was **** on big time). I actually think Rafa would be a fantastic appointment, unfortunately it probably does not fit with the FSG model. Rafa knows most of the players, he wanted Downing at one point so may be able to get the best out of him, he brought most of the backroom staff in meaning we keep the continuity. I also think he would be able to use what we have the best out of the managerial options, this season IMO part of our downfall was that we played a system that didn't capitalise on a number of players strengths; Gerrard, Carrol, Downing and perhaps even Bellamy etc.... Rafa would find a way of using the best we have, he is also a fantastic talent spotter especially when he has money. Perhaps we could appoint Rafa and bring in someone younger to groom into the job? Maybe even Rafa has boss with AVB or Martinez under him learning some of his tactical nouse, ok I am dreaming..........
I want nothing to do with Rafa anymore. People speak of him as if he were a god and how much it was a mistake to fire him. It's too much of an oversimplification to claim "he was only terrible in the transfer market because he had no money" (not true btw) and that it is exactly that which got him fired. Under Rafa, we were slipping further and further from a CL spot. He alienated Gerrard and Carra, had the man management skills of a potato and had a vision for this club on par with Helen Keller. Sure he made decent cup runs (winning two, at the beginning) but other than the 08/09 season, were we any better than now? He would trash our offensive game with back passes and pointless maneuvers. Young players would be as good as sold (Either forced to exhaustion a la Insua or ignored like a leper a la San Jose) and the older ones would be rotated. Rafa failed at Inter (at the time treble champions, best in the world) so I fail to see any improvement in bringing him in.
When you say he failed at Inter do you mean failed as in having stats , your opinion with reasons or media repeating failed? When he bought his first choices or had the money he generally bought well; unfortunately he was shopping at Aldi when he knew M&S was better!
Was he really THAT BAD in the transfer market? People justify this argument by including players like Veronin et al, who cost little to nothing. What got him fired was the pathetic - net sped in his final year as the Yanks pockets were already inside out, and by slipping "further and further" from a CL spot do you mean that one season? Or over a progression of seasons when we were actually getting closer to the top? Those young players were as good as sold probably because they weren't good enough, people moaned on and on last season because Pacheco wasn't getting a chance,. But now he has been on loan and still doesn't get a look in tells you that maybe some of this youth just doesn't cut it. By looking at the youth set up that is still progressing today also suggests that his vision for this club wasn't all that bad. Most of what you said seems to be the bollocks spewed out by the media. Do I want him back personally? Maybe, but I am wary of things most likely not being the same as they used to be straight away. We have all seen how impatient fans can be and I guess that applies to any manager who takes the job now. I just hope that FSG stick by their word and bring someone in for the long run.
It would also be interesting to see a list of the players the Rafa bought AND sold, I would guess that he made a combined profit on them all.
It has always amazed me this argument that Rafa "might" have won the league had he "been backed financially". Surely that is a possibility you could level at any manager. I keep hearing a list of players we would have brought in had he been given x amount every summer. Surely a "good" manager will use the resources he has at his disposal to the best of his ability no? We can debate whether he did that until the cows come home but ultimately he had 5 years and never fully got to grips with English football or what it takes to win the league. Would he have an ocean of cash to spend if he came back this time? No. So what's changed?
Where has anyone on this thread said that we 'might' have won the league? I think you are hearing what you want to hear; as far as I know the last few posts are COUNTERING an argument that Rafa was a crap buyer of players.
My argument wasn't that he was crap at buying players, it was that everyone seems to oversimplify Rafa's faults by making it seem he was a legend that just didn't make it from a lack of money. I believe I brought up some other points such as those that he was toxic to young players and played negative mentality football (don't bring up goals scored, that was a one-off). I agree with Billy, he wasn't restricted to penny pinching and in the 5 years at the club he never seemed comfortable in the league. In fact, our best season was nervy and our run too late to win the title. Any manager with money can win a title but he's not going to have millions to spend on the Morientes's and Keane's. He also had money at Inter yet made nothing of it. His failure there was evident after failing to win anything with them despite their being the best team in the world at the time. Voronin may have been free but Rafa made a mistake in consistently playing him though he was terrible. It's decisions like that which made me turn my back on him.
If Rafa came back, I'd be behind him 100%. That's for sure. He's proven he can win, he's proven he has an eye for serious talent (he wanted Silva, Alves, Villa amongst other now world class players in addition to Torres, Mash, Alonso, etc) and with the right board, he could flourish. I think since leaving us, he's realised how happy he was at the club, and he'd come back with a renewed drive to make us succeed - a genuine affiliation with the club - he still attends the anual hillsborough memorial such is his connection. I'd like to think he'll also have changed in the last few years, more balanced, more considered in dealing with players and must have had time to reflect on where he went wrong. I think the board would like him also. Most of his signings were sold at a profit, he had a vision with the youth and sustainability. With a compatible DoF, maybe he'd be more comfortable and wages could be controlled....if he'd be ok with that idea. He'd be good - but he wouldn't be my first pick. As I said, I'd support him fully if he came.
guys if i said that internet betting odds are as reliable as a british leyland 1970's car I'd not be far wrong. You do know trends here are taken literally as 2 or 3 guys place a wager... so some idiot punts on gerrard and the odds are slashed.. 2 or 3 and suddenly its a story? I find those odds are funny nothing more.
Yes to AVB. We are very different to Chelsea. He did great at Porto. Plus we can clash in on the media hype when ever we play Chelsea.
The point is that at the time he was competing with a very settled and strong Utd, Chelsea splashing the cash and a much better Arsenal than now and yet he did pretty well. At the same time we were competing very well in the champs league, the so-called best of the best. The Inter thing must surely be a joke; you are obviously regurgitating the media bs because anyone with half a brain(and most Inter fans agreed) that they needed rebuilding like most Mourinho sides he leaves. He also had tons of injuries and was changing the style of play, he was only in the job 6 months, how many trophies you expect him to have won. He was also sacked more to do with his challenge to Moratti than on field reasons.
I just did a calculation based on the ever reliable transferleague.co.uk, I did not obviously include any players still at the club (who look like quality signings, Agger £5.8mill, Reina £6mill, Kuyt £9mill, Lucas £6mill, Skrtel £6.5mill - Johnson at £17.5mill maybe not value and Aquilani at a reported £17mill defo not) I did include players sold after he left if they were players that he bought, so it is slightly skewed with the sale of Torres but is only fair. Total: A grand profit of £9.7mill
Managers that have been linked to us that are all of suitable age to be considered in my opinion: AVB - 34 years old Jurgen Klopp - 44 years old Didier Deschamps - 43 years old Frank Rijkaard - 49 years old
Rijkaard is 49? That made me feel a bit old! What about Max Allegri from AC? Hear that he is in contract talks? won the league with them, young, ambitious, savvy, etc. Handled Ibra well who is a pain in every teams backside!
Ian Ayre. "We haven't made any contact with anyone yet, but we have had plenty of contact. There has been lots of interest immediately after Kenny went out." So it looks like more than one person has put their name forward. I wonder who they are? Other than Rafa of course I'm sure he would have been one of them.
