A Critical Evaluation of Rafa

[redblood]

OK then. In three years we have come nowhere near winning the league with Rafa Benitez as manager. I don't care how many points we may have had blah blah, you only win the league by getting more points than anyone else, I really can't understand this point totals argument. I just don't understand why some people are so sure we are ready to do something that in three attempts at trying we haven't come close to doing.:bird:

Rafa inherited a side that was seriously going backwards and was struggling to hang onto the coat-tails of the mancs, the chavs and even the arse - we had Smicer, Biscan, Traore, diouf, cisse on the books ! With an inferior manager I honestly think we could have been looking at a slide into the second/third tier of the premiership. The istanbul win (thanks largely to Rafa) gave us the finances to re-build, his purchases in the main have been good...xabi, luis, reina, agger, mascherano, crouch. Not all signings have been good but the bulk certainly have. Your argument that he has not achieved in the first three years mean he wont any time soon is flawed as you have to take into account what he inherited and the funds he had to start with. Whether he can push on and bring us no.19 is debateable but to indicate that he has not re-established the club from the mess he inherited is doing the man a dis-service

Your wasting your time mate this lad doesn't listen to reasoned logical arguments.
He probably slated GH when he was in charge for the crap he bought but won't accept it as a reason why Rafa has had such a hard job to do.
I don't mind reasoned debate but guy doesn't come into that category.
Rafa is an exceptional manager he will come good once he can get his players into his team.
I have faith that we will challenge for the title, last season wasn't as far away as the points suggest.

[akjs123]

Your wasting your time mate this lad doesn't listen to reasoned logical arguments.
He probably slated GH when he was in charge for the crap he bought but won't accept it as a reason why Rafa has had such a hard job to do.
I don't mind reasoned debate but guy doesn't come into that category.
Rafa is an exceptional manager he will come good once he can get his players into his team.
I have faith that we will challenge for the title, last season wasn't as far away as the points suggest.

Totally agree mate. Whether we challenge this season or not will depend a lot on how quickly our new signing adapt because they are supposed to be improvement on our first team. For our own sake I hope they adapt fast or we will have to go through another year of Reds08's ranting.
Last season, as Gerrard recently said, our key players were tired because of no rest for two summers and as Rafa/Paco had said at the start of the season, they would reach proper fitness levels only by november and by then most of our key away games had been played.
We have already come within 9 points of eventual champions and 1 point off second place yet some people are moaning how we cannot get better than 3rd place under Rafa.

[zinedine cheyrou]

Totally agree mate. Whether we challenge this season or not will depend a lot on how quickly our new signing adapt because they are supposed to be improvement on our first team. For our own sake I hope they adapt fast or we will have to go through another year of Reds08's ranting.
Last season, as Gerrard recently said, our key players were tired because of no rest for two summers and as Rafa/Paco had said at the start of the season, they would reach proper fitness levels only by november and by then most of our key away games had been played.
We have already come within 9 points of eventual champions and 1 point off second place yet some people are moaning how we cannot get better than 3rd place under Rafa.

despite Red08's ranting, can rafa take us to no.19 is a justified question. I have no doubt he is a top class manager (as mentioned earlier in this thread)but I do worry at times about his negativity. Our ability (or lack of it) to break down weaker teams has cost us many points in the past. We need to step up this season in the creative stakes if we are to make a serious challenge to the top two. Yes, we are hard to beat but thats not enough to bring us to the holy grail.

[Joe Le Toff]

Personally i dont think Rafa is the man to lead us to No. 19.
I think he is a fantastic manager who is the best we have had bar none, post-Dalglish.
My concerns are over the constant rotations that he enforces which does not allow for players to generate any kind of momentum with their form, regardless of how well they are playing, they are rotated.
I wonder if Rafa has ever truly got to grips with the english game and english mentality for winning games. In the EPL, if you are winning, the way to continue that is to play the same settled side, especially one that has a nucleus of home grown players, but Rafa seems unwilling to do that which i think is his achilles heel.
I dont think that Rafa is flexible enough in his thinking and approach to the domestic game to ever get us to No. 19.
This is in no way a derogatory post as i love the man and want nothing more than to be proved wrong next season.

[akjs123]

Personally i dont think Rafa is the man to lead us to No. 19.
I think he is a fantastic manager who is the best we have had bar none, post-Dalglish.
My concerns are over the constant rotations that he enforces which does not allow for players to generate any kind of momentum with their form, regardless of how well they are playing, they are rotated.
The idea that rotation does not work was started by the same morons who thought that zonal marking is not good. While journos sensationalised Rafa's rotation in 99 games during a period of bad results, they forgot to mention that majority of those 99 games were played in the season before, the one in which we ended up with 82 points and an FA cup.
I wonder if Rafa has ever truly got to grips with the english game and english mentality for winning games. In the EPL, if you are winning, the way to continue that is to play the same settled side, especially one that has a nucleus of home grown players, but Rafa seems unwilling to do that which i think is his achilles heel.
I dont think that Rafa is flexible enough in his thinking and approach to the domestic game to ever get us to No. 19.
This is in no way a derogatory post as i love the man and want nothing more than to be proved wrong next season.

[Neil Young]

Rafa plays with 6 defenders and four attackers (two DMs in a 442) and that system worked well for him in Spain but you need more points (on average over the last five years 8 more points) to win the league in England and that means he needs to play 5 defenders and 5 attackers (either 352/343 or one DM in a 442) - a system that is alien to him. Until he demonstrates a more adventurous strategy - 'must win' rather than 'do not lose' - I will have my doubts about his ability to win the league in this country.

We will continue to be good in cup competitions with Rafa's style - because the emphasis is on 'not losing' rather than 'must win'.

Rafa needs another couple of years of being well supported in the transfer market before it is possible to know 'for sure' if he can deliver No.19.

6 defenders and 4 attackers? I'm trying to think of the last time we played with two defensive midfielders in the League.

Of course, you're not actually suggesting that Alonso is a defensive midfielder, are you?

I completely agree with your last statement.

[AFII]

Rafa won number five with a "****" team.

If you look at the players Rafa have missed out on because he couldn't afford them, then you will discover that he is very good in scouting attacking players but they are more expensive so he hasn't been able to afford them.

Some names Rafa missed out on, not only attacking players...

Aguero, Denilson, Walcott, Villa, G.Milito, Eto'o, Alves and Simao.

So if Rafa would have had the money then most of them would probably be playing for us now.

[lfcruleus]

I think he has the knowledge and ability to do it but unfortunately at the moment the club doesnt have the clout to give him what he needs.

[Morph]

OK then. In three years we have come nowhere near winning the league with Rafa Benitez as manager. I don't care how many points we may have had blah blah, you only win the league by getting more points than anyone else, I really can't understand this point totals argument. I just don't understand why some people are so sure we are ready to do something that in three attempts at trying we haven't come close to doing.:bird:

Well thats me told then, isn't it :whatever:

Correct we haven't come very close to winning the league under Rafa, his second season was the closest we've come but still not good enough.

The points total argument is still a fair one, Rafa built up our highest points total in his second season, of all managers who've managed us in the PL, now obviously thats still not good enough considering our previous totals still weren't enough to win it, but it shows progress. Also in that second season we were 1 point behind the scum and they've gone on to win it season just gone , which goes to show what one or two players can add to your side.

I see no reason at the moment why with the proper players we can't be a hell of a lot closer, we had something like the best home record in the league and practically the best defense bar the last few games of the season when we were looking more to the final. I think it's safe to say we've got the best back 5 in the league and the best central midfield selection. We've got a couple of good second strikers, so all we need are a few attacking players to round our first team off. Which Rafa hasn't really been able to afford hopefully until now.

I'm not sure it's has Rafa got what it takes, but more has the board got what it takes, because I feel that if Rafa got his first choices like Mourinho and Slur Alex we'd be up there already.

[cochyn]

you will always find someone who does not like what the manager does, when we are not hitting the mark that we all crave. I think the fact that there are so many rumours flying around that he is unhappy with the amount of money to spend just smacks entierly of rumours being created by those that wish to only ever create trouble and discourse

[Redlife]

We will only ever finish third with rafa at the helm. He doesn't have what it takes to when the Premiership, three years have made that obvious enough. Sad fact. And before all the abuse starts coming my way, look at what Rafa HAS ACTUALLY DONE in the league, not what you want him to do. I can comprehensively prove the point, so don't start arguing.

So if you don't win the league on your first, second, or third goes, that's it? You never will?

[reddragon]

a critical evaluation of Rafa: ****in ace

[Dero]

I am going to say Rafa will never bring us no.43.
The reason the mancs have to play more attacking is that they have a ****e defence, we don't. Conversely i don't think that we can be relied on to score 3+ goals a game at the moment hence having to sit tight a get the goals without having to chase the game to much.

[Reds08]

Well thats me told then, isn't it :whatever:

Correct we haven't come very close to winning the league under Rafa, his second season was the closest we've come but still not good enough.

The points total argument is still a fair one, Rafa built up our highest points total in his second season, of all managers who've managed us in the PL, now obviously thats still not good enough considering our previous totals still weren't enough to win it, but it shows progress. Also in that second season we were 1 point behind the scum and they've gone on to win it season just gone , which goes to show what one or two players can add to your side.

I see no reason at the moment why with the proper players we can't be a hell of a lot closer, we had something like the best home record in the league and practically the best defense bar the last few games of the season when we were looking more to the final. I think it's safe to say we've got the best back 5 in the league and the best central midfield selection. We've got a couple of good second strikers, so all we need are a few attacking players to round our first team off. Which Rafa hasn't really been able to afford hopefully until now.

I'm not sure it's has Rafa got what it takes, but more has the board got what it takes, because I feel that if Rafa got his first choices like Mourinho and Slur Alex we'd be up there already.

We clash quite regularly don't we Morph. I must re-iterrate, I have absolutlely no respect for your opinion.

Reina, Finnan, Agger, Carra, JAR
Van Der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra
Cech, Ferreira, Carvalho, Terry, Cole

We do not have the best back 5 in the league, only Reina would get in the scums and only Finnan would get in Chelskis. Go on, try and look at it from an unbiased perspective and be realistic for once.

[reddragon]

We do not have the best back 5 in the league, only Reina would get in the scums and only Finnan would get in Chelskis. Go on, try and look at it from an unbiased perspective and be realistic for once.

I'd say we're not far off the best back line in the league. You're being too player specific here - the key to a good defence is how they play as a unit.