Rafa Benitez

[Chief]

Not a wind up, just genuinely interested.

He is viewed by many a Liverpool fan as some sort of messiah and tactical genius and I've seen more than a few advocating his return to you at some point.

So, what do you think of the utter pigs ear he is making of the Chelsea job?

He's been given the tools, he just can't operate them and it is as plain as day that he just is simply not up to the job. No way could anyone say that Chelsea don't possess the players.

Th(o)ughts, reasons and excuses please.

 

[mighty_stevie_g]

Not a wind up, just genuinely interested.

He is viewed by many a Liverpool fan as some sort of messiah and tactical genius and I've seen more than a few advocating his return to you at some point.

So, what do you think of the utter pigs ear he is making of the Chelsea job?

He's been given the tools, he just can't operate them and it is as plain as day that he just is simply not up to the job. No way could anyone say that Chelsea don't possess the players.

Th(o)ughts, reasons and excuses please.

Well no one has ever had such a hostile welcoming have they? I think it's pretty obvious that the players don't know what to think about the fans reaction and are nervous when they play.

RA has made some crazy decisions in his time but appointing Rafa will always be his worst.

Why are you looking for us to defend him?

 

[jenners04]

why is it always the managers fault and not the players?

 

[Page_Moss_Kopite]

Couldn't give a flying one Ruff what/how he does at Chelsea.

Will obviously be fondly remembered here for the CL win and the charitable work he and his wife do and have done in the Mersyside area and his contributions to the Hillsborough families fighting fund.

Cant see him ever managing LFC again in the future tbh.

 

[Magic Ted]

It's interesting to see that it's the home form that are letting Chelsea down - The negative attitude spreads throughout the stadium and surely on to the players?

Still though, he's admittedly not getting on to well. Seen them play a good few times under Rafa and on their day they can be immense (the Villa game) and terrible in others. I think there's more that meets the eye with the present Chelsea team, after all he's not the only manager who has failed over the last few years (although there is still time to turn it around).

Rafa is a good manager, I just think it's plainly obvious that him and Chelsea were never going to be a good fit, especially after being boo'd in his first game.

 

[BCR]

I have heard ( Interview the other day with Materazzi) that he is very fickle and picky with the tactics. Things veterns know, he treats them as if they have never seen a corner kick, etc and it ticks them off. I think this job is similar to Inter in terms of not really being wanted, good team but older team ( granted he has hazard, mata, oscar, ramirez to use). Think this just mirrors the Inter job and wrong place and time.

I think he could do with going to say a Sevilla, Marseille, Benfica type team where they are still in the big comps or he can have a better rebuilding job in his image.

OR, he is agent Rafa and he is doing a great job for LFC.

 

[Super G Ted'inho]

I think the Chelsea job is a difficult one. Rafa isn't the first and won't be the last to fail at Chelsea. The players are ****s that aren't prepared to play unless they like the manager and Rafa's never been a people person.

Rafa certainly hasn't done his self any favours going to Inter and then Chelsea though


Edit: that is not to say that Rafa's not made mistakes, he clearly has IMO. He has clearly lost his swagger after these two jobs along with the An Shambles at Liverpool before being replaced

 

[Chief]

why is it always the managers fault and not the players?

Why are managers even employed then?

 

[Chief]

Not a wind up, just genuinely interested.

He is viewed by many a Liverpool fan as some sort of messiah and tactical genius and I've seen more than a few advocating his return to you at some point.

So, what do you think of the utter pigs ear he is making of the Chelsea job?

He's been given the tools, he just can't operate them and it is as plain as day that he just is simply not up to the job. No way could anyone say that Chelsea don't possess the players.

Th(o)ughts, reasons and excuses please.

Well no one has ever had such a hostile welcoming have they? I think it's pretty obvious that the players don't know what to think about the fans reaction and are nervous when they play.

RA has made some crazy decisions in his time but appointing Rafa will always be his worst.

Why are you looking for us to defend him?

I'm not, I was wondering if anyone had an opinion.

General consensus seems to be it's the fans and players fault.

 

[jenners04]

Why are managers even employed then?

i said why is it ALWAYS the managers fault, and you haven't given me an answer.

i have seen Chelsea batter teams in games, but the players haven't performed good enough or taken their chances, how is that Rafas fault?

 

[Chief]

You haven't seen his substitutions and selections then?

Or are you suggesting that the players pick themselves and substitute themselves.

If so, go back to my question above.

 

[Ze]

I still think Rafa is a really good manager, sure there are aspects of his management style that could do with tweaking - his ability to work with owners and backroom staff being the main one, and his communication with players definitely needs work. However, I don't think there is a better micro manager out there. The roles he's taken recently (Inter and Chelsea) have a history of getting rid of managers who can't produce immediate results. Rafa needs to know a club inside out before he can do his job to the best of his ability.

I think he was cursed as soon as he went into the Chelsea job, the fans didn't want him there, I doubt the players wanted him there either and thats sure to dampen not just his spirit but the players' too. He has organised them well, but they just don't know how to keep a lead which I think is down to complacency. We suffered from Complacency under Rafa too with regards to smaller clubs.

I'd take him back yeah, perhaps not right now but if Rodgers fails. The owners would need to be prepared to fork out some cash though, and if I were owner I'd make sure we had someone who could make a deal in the staff, Rafa paid over the odds far too many times.

 

[jenners04]

of course Rafa has made odd decisions, hasn't every manager.

Again why is it always Rafas fault, but players can do no wrong?

obviously something going on at Chelsea we don't get to ear about, Ancelotti a respected manager couldn't get the best out the team, so maybe players ego is the problem or an owner who has too much say in things is the problem, certainly not all Rafas fault is it.

 

[DirtyFrank]

Chief: You must be reading into the comments here more than me or dispapointed with what your perception of what answers you thought you would get. I see various suggestions as to what is going wrong at Chelsea. The manager, the players, the owners, the fans. Most likely a toxic mix of all 4.

IMO?

1)No matter what type of manager RB is, the owner has made it clear he's not the long term placement. That immediately hinders his relationship with coaching staff, players and fans.

2)Because of the manager merrygoround that has occurred at Chelsea it is very clear to the players at that club that they will not be held liable for failure. This provides an instant negative balance of power in the players direction against any manager.

3)It is also clear that Abramovich's rule is law. This does not sit well with RB's personality or even flaws if you want to call it that. He's a control freak. Control freaks will not do well under the conditions set out in these 3 points.

4)The fans: While the trophies keep coming despite, rather than because of the manager, the plastics can ignore the fallacy of Abramovich's reign. Lets see if they are as agreeable when it stops working.

5) what is failure at Chelsea? managers have been sacked for winning one thing (or even two) but not another.

As for Rafa himself. He brought success to our club when here, always grateful of that but whether he fails or succeeds at Chelsea is of no importance to me unless it is at our expense.

 

[Chief]

I haven't actually said 'it is all Rafa's fault' and no doubt the crowd on his back will not have helped.

But, his handling of Demba Ba has been poor to the point of he's played a man in form out of form by not selecting him.
His regular substitutions of like for like, right back for right back v Swansea for instance in a game they needed to win by two goals, and his lack of any tactical nous so far, when this is supposed to be his strength, does beg the OP question.

His man management skills also leave a lot to be desired and that's half the battle.

 

[luvgonzo]

Rafa is very good at building a club from the bottom up, putting a youth structure in place and implementing a system throughout the club.

Tactically he is very good but likes his sytem and zonal marking at the back so even though he has good players at Chelsea he may not have the right players.

So why did RA appoint a manager who is next to useless for a short term fix? I have suggested that the short term thing was so that the Chelsea fans dont go completely mental and that RA will give him the job in the Summer. However with the fans attitude toward him getting worse RA may not go ahead with this.

If Rafa is given time I think it will be a good thing for Chelsea as the structure and long term future of the club will improve.

 

[jenners04]

"But, his handling of Demba Ba has been poor to the point of he's played a man in form out of form by not selecting him."

i sort of half agree with that in BA should be ahead of Torres, but we don't know if Rafa is told by the owner(who paid a lot of money for him) to play him ahead of BA as his ego has been dented a bit by signing a massive expensive flop.

or could be Rafa has to play him to try and put him in the shop window so to speak to soften the blow if they get rid and get some money back, know its all speculation but Rafa could be managing with one hand tied for all we know so bit unfair for all of Chelseas failings to be put at his door.

of course if we know for sure he really thinks Torres is better than BA or will rediscover his old form then he may be a bit clueless as don't see it ever happening.

 

[moreinjuredthanowen]

Not a wind up, just genuinely interested.

He is viewed by many a Liverpool fan as some sort of messiah and tactical genius and I've seen more than a few advocating his return to you at some point.

So, what do you think of the utter pigs ear he is making of the Chelsea job?

He's been given the tools, he just can't operate them and it is as plain as day that he just is simply not up to the job. No way could anyone say that Chelsea don't possess the players.

Th(o)ughts, reasons and excuses please.

this is the probelm with non wind up wind ups... they are more transparant than a sheet of glass.

the thing is most reds fans are looking at chelsea with glee... so your wind up falls flat. Roman ambramovich made a sows ear out of his club once again and hire don benetiz when guardiola wasn't coming. the fact that chelsea are dire is mostly down to that.

NOw if you want a straight answer I think you ought to think about how disasterous that club is period.... then forget dangling benitez as a wum effort cos most realise he's a spent force and lost the plot

 

[Chief]

Well if RA is ordering managers to pick Torres then it's pretty much the impossible job.

The thing about it being an interim job does not help but Benitez will have gone into this thinking '**** interim, I'm going to make this job mine' (or Spainish words to that effect) so I really expected him to make a better shot of it. Also, as Luv says, that was probably the plan on Chelsea's side too.

By the sounds of it, if what's been said is true, they're now just asking him to make sure he gets 4th and that'll be that.

Bit sad if it ends like that and would hardly put him top of most employers list.

 

[The artist JerryChristmas]

You're a rubbish fisherman Ruff Did you really expect everyone to jump to his defence??

He's managing one of the ****est clubs in the history of football. He took the job because he needs to work but I'd be surprised if he didn't realise there would be exactly the reaction he got. He'll take Romans cash and the pay off when he gets the boot.

Basically no temporary manager would succeed at the chavs without a seriously laid back attitude (lend Terry your wife and allow Cashley to shoot people at will). De Matteo did well because he let them do what they want. Rafa was never going to do that. Do the players care? No, because they'll still be there when Rafa's gone.

What the chavs need is a long term manager who'll suck the players holes whilst mouthing off to all and sundry about how great both him and the club are. A complete **** like Maureen...but then I suspect he might end up somewhere else soon enough (at another club with no class whatsoever)