He also built the best defense we have had in the premier league era on a shoestring. The platform is there, over to you now Mr Bruce.
I mean, conceding less than three goals a game would register as our best ever premier league defence. I didn't list Rafa as our worst manager, of course he isn't. I am stating my personal distate for him and his version of football.
That's the 9 at the back defence right? And he spent over £180,000,000. That's a lot of string. The centre-forward Mitrovic was not a good enough defender for Rafa. I could go on.
I don't get this retroactive knocking of Rafa - I thought he was a wonderfully likeable manager who would have saved us from relegation if the club hadn't delayed sacking McLaren by a month or so, dismantled a losing team and rebuilt a strong defensive unit that had us challenging in most games. I like that Bruce has recognised this and has just given them the remit to go and play a bit higher up the pitch and with a bit more freedom. We still need to work on holding the ball better as its hard to control games when you don't have it.
Im referring to the money he spent on the defense. I think we can all agree that Yedlin, Schar, Lejeune, Fernandez and Clark have been good signings cant we?
Except the games we seemed to proactively seek defeat in. In my defence it's not retroactive for me, his brand of football is clinical and sterile. I detest it. And I found he often acted like he was bigger than us, a better job right around the corner. He'll wish he never left when these Chinese fellas sack him
Certainly agree there were times against some of the better teams, particularly at the beginning of the season, where he seemed to set up to ensure that we didn't get beaten heavily hoping that we might just sneak a lucky goal. It invariably didn't work but another way of looking at it could be that we came through those games with our confidence intact - heavy defeats early on in the season could have caused problems even when the easier games came up. i don't agree that the football was sterile - but then I appreciate defensive performances just as much as attacking play. Our statistics for the last two full seasons and this current one to date indicate that we scored more goals while creating a similar number of big chances and conceded less goals per match under Rafa than we are currently doing under Bruce. We also played more passes per match which suggests we held the ball better.
Just to be clear Ritchies, I'm not a Rafa hater, fair play to the bloke if he can earn money when well past his sell by date. It's all about his tactics and his PR team for me. Secondly, it is absolutely risible that so many fans think he was the second coming. The final insult for me was the way in which he left the club. As i said at the time, Bruce would not have been my choice, but 'fans' were on his back before he even arrived. We can trade stats all day long, but the harsh reality is that despite no pre-season, despite a high injury list, despite the failure of the forwards to score, We sit in a much healthier position than this time last year. Of course, much of the play is very similar to the Rafa kick and rush of last year, but clearly things are changing. Bournemouth have scored more goals from set pieces than anyone this season because they try things in training. We scored Saturday with a rehearsed routine. OK it was not a pretty finish, but it wasn't an entirely Rafa tactics predictable cross. Bruce has a reputation for encouraging his players to be creative. There are clear signs of that happening. Possession and passing stats will much improve as the first team takes shape, especially the midfield. At this moment, it might be more relevant to look at the number of times the goalkeeper ends up with a pass back to him which is then lumped up the the other end. I will stop talking about Rafa, the moment all of his 'fans'do the same. No Rafa, no relegation, organic growth.
Agree with all. I was hoping for Gerrard, someone young and attacking to come in. But Bruce said yes, his previous premier job with Hull was admirable and I believed he would keep us up. It's about giving them time and respecting them as people (some of the comments about Bruce not understanding basic training were horrid.) At the end of the day, for Rafa we were a route back into prem football, he always had an excuse ready, pre-established a narrative of us being a championship club just in case he relegated us. He from day one felt like a temporary loan, and that's how he conducted himself. Thank you for cleaning us up, securing our premier league football. I think Rafa would make a fantastic manager for West Ham after Pellegrini, and I heard some rumours of Everton before he went to China.
Rafa had years of austerity and imo minimal say on many of the purchases. They were mostly probably 4th choices. But he kept a squad with limitations in the prem. Rarely had a heavy defeat under Rafa. Did he manage any other club without winning silverware? Ashley left him with no choice but to leave.
You see, this is the narrative that needs to move on. He failed miserably at both Real Madrid and the treble winning Inter Milan. He has rarely built a team that won stuff. Here he was given credit for the one or two players who did well, and it was Ashley's fault for all those who didn't. Longstaff the elder (who still does not convince me), got in the side because of an injury crisis, he brought Atsu, go look at his previous loans, he wanted to waste millions on Kennedy (as did many on here). Chelsea finance department must love Rafa! He asked for a 50% pay rise, and god knows how much of a transfer kitty. He was always going to China, long before he announced it. Read about his exit from Liverpool. Ask yourself why most of his players have never liked him. Ask yourself why the class players at Madrid and Inter thought he was a joke. Everton, West Ham, who do you think is touting Benitez? He has lost his last six games in China, his team currently sit one place above where they were when he joined. How much do you think that has cost his Club? I could go on, but if you rate him, that is your choice.
As Jak the Lad said I also am amazed at how history is re-written in regard to Rafa. He’s gone. People should get over it and support Brucie. Brucie has started better than I expected and long may that continue. Would accept the current crew are playing a less defensive style than last year’s crew but to suggest the players we signed were all signed at Rafa’s request just ignores the reality of our recruitment system.
Dalglish was truly ****ing awful. More so than Sounness for me because I had high hopes he would be good and fml he wasn't.
Me too. I feel like a potato but some part of me was saying "he'll come good, just chose clubs poorly" I'm a retard, he's ****.
Easier question would be: How many managers over the past 50 years could be regarded as having been a success? For me, just three unequivocally - KK, SBR and Joe Harvey. Chris Hughton and Arthur Cox would pass the test. For all the uninspiring style of football, Rafa gets a pass, too, One or two, like Roeder would be in neutral territory. As for Jackie Charlton, it could have been so different if he'd had Chris Waddle on side.
For JC it would also have helped if he hadn’t moved Waddle and Beardsley from an inter changing front 3 (with KK) to wing men and supply men for the great George Reilly.
Why on earth did you have hopes for McClaren? Dalgliesh was a legendary manager for Liverpool and had then won the league for Blackburn, so at the time he was a massive coup for us and expectation were high. McClaren though? Fresh from being sacked at Derby, the wally with a brolley for England, the clown who lasted 4 months at Forest, the dick doing stupid accents on TV? I fully expected him to be **** and would have been shocked if he was anything else.