Are you seriously saying that this is bile? ; If you want bile, check out your own posts! I'd say that's a fairly reasoned assessment and, as I clearly state, it depends which hat you're wearing if you consider him a success. One is how you see it, as described above, and the other is that their league position deteriorated from the one De Matteo had them in while he also failed in the domestic cup competitions, which were essentially as his mercy. He won the europa league. Big deal. I genuinely do not see that as the work of genius, that's how I see it. He could hardly fail to get top four given how weak the oppostion to this were and how good the players at his disposal are.
Interesting comment to make, given that Benitez' Valencia side was good at best for 75 and 77 points in its league winning seasons. So under the same logic, Valencia under Benitez were about as good as Liverpool under Houllier - good at best for 75-80 points a season and a UEFA Cup.
did you really just compare the points of teams in completely different leagues at completely different times to make some sort of irrelevant link between the two? come on Swarbs, you're usually better than that
You were the one who compared the points of Liverpool teams in completely different situations and at completely different times. Trying to make out Benitez somehow did better in the league than Houllier when in fact he achieved exactly the same best result in the league (arguably worse as Benitez never finished above Utd), and won fewer cups in the same length of time. And you are right - completely different leagues. Valenica's league titles were won at the nadir of La Liga, when Real and Barca were having their worst seasons in decades. As soon as Benitez came to the PL he was found out as a manager who couldn't win titles when faced with good teams, a record he has maintained ever since.
no one could have won the title with Liverpool in those years. No manager on earth. That's as absurd as expecting Moyes to have won trophies at Everton I think you're just looking for a windup
Absolute bollox. If Wenger could win the title with Arsenal spending very little in 98 and coming from a long way behind, then a similar manager could have done it with Liverpool after Chelsea had fallen off the pace. Mourinho or SAF could certainly have found a way to take Liverpool from 2nd in 2002 to 1st in one of the next few seasons. Besides which, the point is not whether or not Liverpool could have won the league, the point is that Benitez did not improve them in the league at all. They finished second a couple of years before he arrived, and they finished second after he'd spent five years and lots of money to build the squad he wanted. I'm not sure why you're so upset about the assertion that Benitez is more of a cup manager anyway. It's hardly a criticism - Mourinho is also more of a cup manager and he's one of the best managers around.
Rafa certainly. Took the Champions of europe 2012 to the laughing stock of Europe 2013. Europa league hahahahaha, rather win a free gang rape
That's not the point really is it? Swarbs said he's a cup manager which is utter bollocks as he's won titles wherever he's been. Only in 3 seasons has he not won a title.
I said he was more of a cup manager. He's been a great manager in the league and the cups, but imo his achievements in the cups have been better. Winning a couple of titles with Porto was good, but winning the UEFA Cup and CL back to back was far more impressive. Similarly at Chelsea and Inter - he had the best squad in the league by a long way, so whilst titles at those clubs was a great achievement it was hardly on a par with winning the CL with Inter. And at Real I'd say three CL semi finals in a row is a more impressive achievement than one league title, given the record of the club before he arrived. It's not a criticism - by the same measure I'd say SAF is more of a league manager. He's got a great record in the cups, but three European trophies and five FA Cups in 25 years is hardly as impressive as 13 league titles, often when competing against clubs with more money and better teams. It was honestly not meant as any sort of insult or belittlement, just a recognition of where Mourinho's main strength lies - getting the tactics and motivation right to win the big games.
We knew what you meant Swarbs. Being a good cup manager doesn't mean you are a poor league manager. Personally I'd rate Mourinho as 10/10 for cups and 9/10 for leagues... While Fergie for example would be a 10/10 for league where he is so good at motivating his squad throughout the season and rotating his squad... But his cup record would probably only be a 8/10.
I would go with is, but dont forget SAF get 10/10 for man management, Jose gets 8/10 (look at the RM players, they are happy he is leaving
At least somebody did! Quite impressed I got three bites from Chelsea fans on something that wasn't even a wind up!
Then how can it possibly be a bite if you meant it? All the responses were just contesting your strange view that someone who's won 7 titles in 11 years is a cup manager. But you later explained which is fair enough.
