I think he should go

[Craig_H]

IMO it wont come to that but yes I think we should back him all the way.

IMO clubs need stability. You don't become a bad manager over night and I personally think Rafa is a world class manager. This season has been awful I'm not going to disagree with anyone who say's that however clubs get rid of managers all to easily and I think he deserves at least another season.

Just my opinion.

So quite simply, you think he should be backed WHATEVER happens...

Quite literally, Rafa Can Do No Wrong...whatever happens, however bad it gets, you say he should still stay.

Fair enough...

[Pacman]

So quite simply, you think he should be backed WHATEVER happens...

Quite literally, Rafa Can Do No Wrong...whatever happens, however bad it gets, you say he should still stay.

Fair enough...

I never said that

Stop making something of nothing DJS.

IMO I think he is a world class manager and we should give him another season.

Easy enough to understand?

[CAD]

So quite simply, you think he should be backed WHATEVER happens...

Quite literally, Rafa Can Do No Wrong...whatever happens, however bad it gets, you say he should still stay.

Fair enough...

We are stuck with him until the end of the season, Syd.

[carheex]

Who would you replace him with CMS?

Maybe he should be replaced with any manager who is above him and has spent less - or has improved the team more with fewer resources. Redknapp, O'Neill and Moyes (british manager who know the league and appreciate it's importance over any other competition) spring to mind......and I don't even know if I'm joking!!!
Mourinho is simply out of the question - too many people hate him and he'd be faced with the same problems as he did at Chelsea, ie not being allowed to spend 25m on a player because someone in the squad has stubbed their toe.

[Frank Leroux]

Agreed

Number one , He should tweak Kewell's arm up his back and straight out the door. And to think we let Garcia go....

It stands out like a moment of fun at a Cliff Richard Concert that team selection is letting Rafa down. Kuyt needs a spell in reserves to discover some form, Torres needs a partner and Babel needs to play. We need more crosses into the box and Pennant is the best we have to do it.


Rotation the problem ?...

Gerrard
Alonso
Masher
Lucas

Ok which two do you play regularly? and who do you leave out ?

Not easy is it.

It's very easy in hindsight.


And I'd play Lucas every game.

...play Kuyt in the box. That's all. That should be his job.

Okay, a little Rush-like defending from the front too but don't go harrying players down the flanks. Don't go shaggin' yourself out so that if an opportunity arises you haven't the energy, let alone concentration, to take it.

Question is, is his playing style down to himself or the manager?

I'd play Lucas every game . I'd not spend the money on Macherano. I'd play Gerrard either on the left or in Spain/Italy

[FatTony]

I'd like to change my vote to wait until the end of the season before making a decision, but to be honest, I don't think it'll make much difference. We shouldn't be sat below some of the teams we are, not with the money he's had to spend.

I want progress, and I don't think we'll have a realistic chance of winning the premiership until we have the right amount of backing, but we should be closer to 2nd than we are and we should be still in with a fighting chance at this stage of the season.

13 points from the last 10 games is poor with our spending power.

Its not only that but the manner in which we're playing. Its scruffy football, no cohesion and very little fluidity and after reading recently that Rafa doesn't tell the players who's playing until an hour before kick off maybe explains it.

He's too cautious and too defensive, and IMO its easy to make a team that defends well, but extremely difficult to make a team that defends and attacks with a purpose, and this is what Rafa has failed to achieve since he arrived. His transfers are very questionable, he's not a man manager (players have frequently said that he barely speaks to them), and his players are not performing. He's loyal to players who work hard but have little ability when we have some better options on the bench.

[dmulla]

The question and the answers dont even match............it doesnt make ****in sense

[Alpha]

IMO it wont come to that but yes I think we should back him all the way.

IMO clubs need stability. You don't become a bad manager over night and I personally think Rafa is a world class manager. This season has been awful I'm not going to disagree with anyone who say's that however clubs get rid of managers all to easily and I think he deserves at least another season.

Just my opinion.

I'm with you Pacman.

Give Rafa a supportive board and competitive warchest and I believe we'd be right up there. Infact. if it weren't for the trouble and strife off the pitch, I don't think we'd be that far away now. It's no coincidence that our season started to unravel when Hicks started rocking the boat.

And I don't have any major problem with Rafa's methods, I just think we lack the squad depth to execute them.

[IrishCop]

It makes depressing reading of the league table this morn that we sit 7TH, 4 points better off then at the turn of the year. Thanks for the memories Rafa but It's not the next game we need to focus on it's the next manager. Durk Kuyt must know some v dark secret abt the manager cause there's no other way he'd get into any premier league team

[JohnDoe]

Rafa should be backed all the way, regardless of the results this season.

He's been put in an impossible position, nobody would do better than him in this situation, the players have clearly been affected by things off the pitch. We were playing well up until the bust up with Hicks. It isn't a coincidence.

Get rid of the Yanks, give Rafa a new contract and hand him the money to buy players without settling for 2nd best. Last time it happened, he got us the best striker in the world today. We need another couple of match winners and just a few inexpensive tweaks in the back and the team has what it takes to challenge. We're not talking about a huge budget, we're not as far away as it looks.

The whole difference between us and the other three is our ability to force results our way even when not playing well (and in some cases, even when we DO play well). Match winners is what's it's about, that Ronaldo bloke is the difference. The brilliance that turns a good team to a great one. You don't calculate your transfer budget when you go for these players. Ferguson didn't think about money when he bought Anderson and Nani.

We're not far away. Back Rafa.

[FatTony]

I'm with you Pacman.

Give Rafa a supportive board and competitive warchest and I believe we'd be right up there. Infact. if it weren't for the trouble and strife off the pitch, I don't think we'd be that far away now. It's no coincidence that our season started to unravel when Hicks started rocking the boat.

And I don't have any major problem with Rafa's methods, I just think we lack the squad depth to execute them.

If we gave Rafa £50m to spend, he'd end up buying 3 defensive midfielders, 1 mediocre spanish winger and a new defender.

[Guest]

If we gave Rafa £50m to spend, he'd end up buying 3 defensive midfielders, 1 mediocre spanish winger and a new defender.

So be it.

[CAD]

If we gave Rafa £50m to spend, he'd end up buying 3 defensive midfielders, 1 mediocre spanish winger and a new defender.

[Alpha]

If we gave Rafa £50m to spend, he'd end up buying 3 defensive midfielders, 1 mediocre spanish winger and a new defender.

Well he had about that much to spend in the summer and bought 2 strikers, 1 atacking midfielder and a central midfielder.

[slimbimjim]

We have some great players who can replace the ****e that affects our team right now.

What about Nemeth, Lucas, Insua? Surely they can't be that bad that they don't warrant a start or a chance in the first team?