Rafa and his substitutions

[Pablo]

top 1 for me

Knew it wouldnt be long before you posted that, I agree

[Kenneth]

Having quality on the bench makes a massive difference. Rafa does leave his changes late, sometimes too late imo, but I know jack in comparrison to the great man himself.

[dww]

Having quality on the bench makes a massive difference. Rafa does leave his changes late, sometimes too late imo, but I know jack in comparrison to the great man himself.

I think he has done that in the past but that it was partly as he had little faith in the players he had to bring on. This year people have stepped up and as a consequence he seems more willing to make changes earlier.

[Nicey]

top 1 for me

Me too mate but I did not want to come across as my Usual Rose tinted self ..

[paulcooper4]

Me too mate but I did not want to come across as my Usual Rose tinted self ..

I have no such qualms

Rafa Rafael Rafa Rafael Rafa Rafael Rafael Benitez

[Argathi]

Lucas for Stevie at Everton did the trick too

[disco]

The beauty about his substitutions is that they almost always make absolute sense, and reflect what we’re all seeing ourselves.

Last night our 3 weakest players were Voronin, Benny and Babel.

It was absolutely crying out for Kewell and Crouch, and given our available options it was correct to bring a slightly better defender at right wing (Kuyt ). The last time I couldn’t predict a substitution was Gerrard vs Everton….

Compare this with Newcastle where Fat Sam just didn’t have a clue, and the complete idiocy was evident to his players and the crowd.

[Pablo]

I have no such qualms

Rafa Rafael Rafa Rafael Rafa Rafael Rafael Benitez

You remind me of that Alan Partridge episode with Alan's biggest fan. I could just imagine you forcing him into the back of your car and taking him back to your place, and showing him your Rafa shrine and not letting him out when he tries to flee.

Rafa

[friedk]

Babel x 2 - Besiktas
Torres - Fulham (decided the match)
Babel assist for the Crouch penalty - Fulham
Babel - Newcastle
Kewell assist for Torres goal - Porto (decided the game)
Crouch - Porto

Babel - Bolton

Also means we are continuously scoring goals in the final few minutes, even when we are drubbing sides