Lets be clear on this, Chelsea fans are lying ****s, they didn't like Rafa because he got one over Jose more than once. God bless their misplaced malice, some of it even comes from putting them out of the CL and Garcia's good valid goal. Not all of it is the things Rafa said, they just say that cos they don't want to admit their ******ed ****s
Cheque mate Rafa's going to be rolling in it all the Chelski boys season ticket money paying for his big fat pay off There is a god after all.
There was a odd few slating Rafa on radio but most seemed to understand and even agree with what Rafa's said.
has anyone mentioned that De Mattio had made a real **** up of the defence of the champions league? or was the one match Rafa won 6-1 the reason they went out?
What 'pay off'? He has a temporary contract and is leaving at the end of it. He gets wages like any other manager but there certainly won't be a pay off. So you're right, there is a god after all!!
RDM was sacked for primarily his C.L 'failure'. However a rational person could put it down to a tough group. I think some of the results Rafa has had since have been much worse. No shame getting beat by Juve away but QPR, West Ham and Swansea....
Chelsea were 4 points behind United when the 'genius' landed at the Bridge, they're now 19 points adrift. He's now following his usual MO when put under pressure i.e. blame everyone else barring himself. He's a bell end, always has been imo & lol at Billy taking the piss about his 'pay off' seeing as he won't get one & he wandered off from Anfield with around £6M stuffed in his bulging wallet.
I awlays thought he rode off the back of what was, a very fortuitous CL win, delivered with what was in essence, Houlliers team. He was tactically astute, but was also a control freak who seemed incapable of any form of self awareness.
Not many people, including his ex-players and other managers, have many nice things to say about the guy. Not sure bell end is the right word but he doesn't seem to be very likeable. I understand why the Liverpool fans hold him in such high regard but outside of your fanbase he isn't considered to be either a very good manager or a decent bloke.
Certainly not an arm around the shoulder coach but he does know his tactics and his stuff. The CL win in the game itself was maybe a one-off but we still had to beat Chelsea, Juve, get out of the group, etc to get there. Also made Carling cup final that year and bar a Gerrard own goal would have won that as well. FA cup the next year and then we were consistently good in the CL, just the league he still couldn't quite get right. I will always hold him in high regard but I think he needs a fresh start at a Marseille, Lyon, Stuttgart, Sevilla, Malaga, someone who is in or around the CL but the pressure is maybe not as high and let him get his name back.
Fair enough. However I would disagree that people don't say nice things about him. The only people who seem to bad mouth him were players on the fringe or were on their way out (Riera and Yossi). These same players who left the club have hardly played since they left or have failed to recapture their best form (Alonso aside). Players like Mascherano, Torres, Kuyt, Agger, Reina have all complimented Benitez and you could argue that these are all top class and are still performing at a high level. I don't believe that being a great man manager is simply someone who has a laugh and a joke with you. Rafa certainly isn't that type but if you had the right desire and attitude to improve, then he would give you all the time in the world. Gerrard may have questioned Rafa's techniques but Gerrard's best playing days were under Rafa (goals and assists wise). With regards to opinions outside our fanbase, Rafa is highly regarded around Europe. It's only in England where he doesn't get the respect he deserves - our country would rather kiss the arse of someone like Moyes and Pulis, 2 men who haven't achieved anything tangible.
If we had won a single game, then we can say it's 'fortuitous'. However, we beat Juventus (Italian Champs at the time), Bayer Leverkusen (were the 2nd best team in Germany at the time), Chelsea (PL Champs at the time) and AC Milan who were arguably the best club team around at that time. Don't get me wrong - we weren't the best team there (on paper) but to win that many matches against quality opposition shows you how good he is tactically and 'good luck' and 'fortune' shouldn't come into thought. Houllier's team wasn't that good so he didn't 'inherit' a great squad. Big clubs need a figure head who doesn't bow down to fan and player pressure. I can't really think of a top class manager who doesn't have a lot of control at their respective clubs?
