Another strong rumour emerging that Rafa is on the shortlist ... Furthermore, apparently Pep has ruled himself out!
I hope this is true; been hoping he doesn't get another job for too long whilst at the same time wondering how somebody with his ability is getting overlooked. Not at all suprised about Guardiola!
I would welcome Rafa back, i thought we were going forward under him till the yanks pulled the rug from under his feet. I think he has the club at heart, and has unfinished business.
if kenny made a mistake going back wouldn't rafa be making one? In the end he could very easy be the bes tof a bad lot but the other rumours about structure mans he'd not accept the role surely? he left as despot of all he surveyed and would come back as first team coach told to "train and coach" As i said he could very well be the best of a bad lot depedning on who's on the list honestly. but again unless the guy coming in gets 300mil not 30mil to spend its all moot cos they'll never get cl from no investment
Yeah I don't see how we can possibly compete for top four with 30mil! If thats the money we have then we should have kept Kenny; at least he wanted these players and brought them to play a certain system. A new man coming in is going to have to sell before he buys to make any difference; the trouble is apart from Suarez I don't see anyone bringing in more than 15mil. Thats another or should I say main reason I think Rafa is the man because he has worked with the majority of the squad already. I think your point about control of the team affairs is very valid!
Absolutely spot on the other thing to add is that the suggestions Rafa could come back in another role also seem a tad strange to me. Surely having him looking over the shoulder of a new manager would lead to yet more madness within the club...power struggles, media stirring etc.
H&G ultimately ruined Rafa's reign. They cut off his funds. He had to sell in order to buy, he didnt want to sell, but had to buy. This lead to him falling out with Alonso, and then when Alonso wanted out he dealt with it all wrong and strained relationships further. He also never got the Keane money back. I think Rafa would get on very well with the current owners.
Jk you are 90% right. the thing is rafa got his 20mil players. he bought keane and aquilani and they cost him his job... now i think they sold his team from under him but had rafa simply dug in and kept his players he'd not have had such an issue... did he just like a deal? risse for dossena... trying to replace finnan every year, the mad bad and sad bargain bucket frees that made zero sense on massive wages. In actual fact G&H let rafa pay mad wages too... they didn't seem to care once they could steal money left and right. I do think rafa looked at alonso and saw two season of injuries and thought to replace him by himself. I think he wanted to move him on. he fell out with lots more than alonso but then those favoured loved him like a father. honestly i think rafa would not be "ideal" but i think rafa would be able with say 150mil to bring in several top spanish players with potential like javi martinez and trun the thing around. I do think he needs to be controlled tightly cos he's a wheeler dealer. Harry very nearly ruined his season (and did really) buy buying madly, nelson and saha!!!! wheeler dealer... if chelsea had any sort of bottle and jt didn't take over and get someoen sacked they'd have had 4th... hell 3rd was gotten with 70points = terrible... i think we also killed oursevles by not bothering. anyway... rafa could well be a good choice as if he's up against martinez or rodgers there is NO contest
He never bought Keane in the first place either. I'm not so sure, I loved Rafa, he always wanted to win and hates Fergie, but I am not sure on going back a manager again. Having said that, I would have him a million times before Martinez, at least Benitez can bring big names in and very good talent.
hold on... he admitted that he wanted keane.. he said barry first then keane in an interview. but i have already agreed with the point that rafa can bring in the big names and would be much more desirable than martinez.
With all due respect, Barry just won the league with City. Who is to say that he wouldn't have made the midfield better?
Benitez only wanted Keane if he got Barry he had some system he wanted to play but would only work with both.
Barry was to provide more balance in our team as our left wing was pretty weak. Then we brought Riera in and we looked a lot better
In fairness: Krul free, Simpson 0.5, Steven Taylor free, Williamson 1m, Santon 4m, Gutierrez free, Tiote 3.5m, Cabaye 4.5, Marveuax free, Ben Arfa 4m, Cisse 10m Ba free: £30m You already have a top keeper and a decent defence (surprised they didin't feature much in the team of the season) a class CM in Gerrard and Suarez...If you spent £30m on well scouted players, you could easily push for the top 4! Reina Santon, Skrtel, Agger, Enrique Cabaye, Tiote, Gerrard Ben Arfa, Cisse, Suarez That's an incredible team!
Lucas has had two decent 'halves' of a season and been shocking for the rest, personally I'd have Tiote in as a bit of a destroyer and have Cabaye and Gerrard pinging diagonals or letting the men in front run the lines...Either way, as you said, the point remains. Having a bag that cost £200, and one that cost £20 might give the illusion of quality but if they both do the same thing, why spend 10x more?
