Rafa - I'm here to stay

[Vermilion]

So you admit rafa isnt great in the PL - and yet you want us to keep him...

The CL is easier to win than the PL...and a manager who can win the PL is more likely to suss the CL IMO, than vice versa - how much longer do you think the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea will fail to win the CL? It wont take much longer. Then what?

As far as how long it will take for the 3 named above to win the CL, if they all won it one at a time on the trot that's 3yrs, I doubt that will happen, so your talking anything from 3-6 yrs. Plenty of time for Rafa to win the Prem.

[Guest]

Why arent they 'used to it' after 3 years?

You dismiss 'poor starts' as if they're out of our hands, as if to say 'oh well, it was a poor start, nothing we could have done about it'...and the same goes for the blip at the turn of the year, as you describe it. How about Rafa does things in a way that MINIMIZE the chances of such blips? It IS in his control, you know.

No, not everything is under his control. We have more pressure than any other team to win this league and that's a fact and that has got to affect certain players.

He mad a mistake in confronting Hicks in public and this probably has cost us some valuable points, but I can't see anything on the footballing side which tells me he ain't up to it in bringing back the title here.

We've been very very consistent in the past in the same league, going on runs such as 19 wins in 23 matches. This shows that he knows what he's doing. There are other teams to contend with, which add it's own difficulty.

It's not as cut and dried as you make it Syd. It would certainly help if we had more quality players in forward areas. Half of our transfer budget has gone on Torres, with Babel being an excellent signing but he's still raw. We need more of the same next season. Another top class forward + another exciting right winger in the Babel / Nani mould.

[Craig_H]

As far as how long it will take for the 3 named above to win the CL, if they all won it one at a time on the trot that's 3yrs, I doubt that will happen, so your talking anything from 3-6 yrs. Plenty of time for Rafa to win the Prem.

Rafa wont win the PL in 3 years, 5 years or 50 years, unless he realises you have to have a settled system, team and style and makes the necessary adjustments.

[Craig_H]

No, not everything is under his control. We have more pressure than any other team to win this league and that's a fact and that has got to affect certain players.

He mad a mistake in confronting Hicks in public and this probably has cost us some valuable points, but I can't see anything on the footballing side which tells me he ain't up to it in bringing back the title here.

We've been very very consistent in the past in the same league, going on runs such as 19 wins in 23 matches. This shows that he knows what he's doing. There are other teams to contend with, which add it's own difficulty.

It's not as cut and dried as you make it Syd. It would certainly help if we had more quality players in forward areas. Half of our transfer budget has gone on Torres, with Babel being an excellent signing but he's still raw. We need more of the same next season. Another top class forward + another exciting right winger in the Babel / Nani mould.

Fredo, i didnt say everything is in his control, but as far as influencing our chances of having a blip and not having one - that IS in his control, of course it is!! You'd have us believe that he doesnt have any control, everything is out of his hands. Bizarre.

More quality players? Yeah they'd help. Consistently using the ones we HAVE would also help.

[Guest]

Rafa wont win the PL in 3 years, 5 years or 50 years, unless he realises you have to have a settled system, team and style and makes the necessary adjustments.

Again it's not the 'settled' team which is important. Rafa plays his senior players all time, barring a couple of games where they'll be rested.

It's a settled system, one which is consistent and which the players accept. I think he's been pretty consistent since he's been there, notwithstanding the agenda in the media against his so called rotation policy.

Chelsea under Mourihno rotated as much. Lampard, Terry and Drogba probably played every game, but the rest were chopped and changed.

[carlton]

No, fergie does it differently. He rotates more intelligently - for example, fulham away on saturday, he rotated - fulham are ****e and craven cottage isnt a tricky place to win. Portsmouth away IS a tricky place to win - so you dont drop your two best players for games like that. Why did rafa do it? CL game 4 days later, perchance?

And changing 2 or 3 players per game is fine. Rafa will change 5 or 6. That disrupts things.

For 4 games in 10 days, it's essential. You do it intelligently and you can be ok. What you dont do is rest them for Pompey away and then pick them for Reading in the carling cup. You just dont.

Fergie has a much better calibre of player at his disposal so given that fact you dont have to be a genius when it comes to rotating players.

[kopdan]

That's not in question. Some of us would like to think we're a contender in the PL too. Sadly, under rafa, we never have been and there's little to suggest we will be.

I do disagree on that. I think we have been in and about but then fallen quicker than Bella Emberg on a bungee rope.

Its consistency in my opinion. And the managers tinkering

[Vermilion]

Rafa wont win the PL in 3 years, 5 years or 50 years, unless he realises you have to have a settled system, team and style and makes the necessary adjustments.

So now your saying Rafa CAN win us the prem, all he has to do is follow your above advice.

[nbryan1764]

So you admit rafa isnt great in the PL - and yet you want us to keep him...

The CL is easier to win than the PL...and a manager who can win the PL is more likely to suss the CL IMO, than vice versa - how much longer do you think the likes of Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea will fail to win the CL? It wont take much longer. Then what?

Tell Fergie that, tell Wenger that, christ tell your beloved Jose that, all have won more leagues than Champions League. Its not harder nor easier to win, its different. It requires different tactics, different qualities, different players even

[Craig_H]

Again it's not the 'settled' team which is important. Rafa plays his senior players all time, barring a couple of games where they'll be rested.

It's a settled system, one which is consistent and which the players accept. I think he's been pretty consistent since he's been there, notwithstanding the agenda in the media against his so called rotation policy.

Chelsea under Mourihno rotated as much. Lampard, Terry and Drogba probably played every game, but the rest were chopped and changed.

Mourinho played Cech, Terry, Carvalho, Lampard and Drogba basically whenever they were available. If rafa did likewise with Pepe, Carra, Agger, Stevie, Mascher and Torres, it'd be a start. Maybe he'll start doing it. God willing...

[Craig_H]

So now your saying Rafa CAN win us the prem, all he has to do is follow your above advice.

I've always said that my greatest frustration with rafa isnt that he is incapable of winning the title (or challenging), it's that he refuses to ditch the obstacles.

[Dalglish]

Do you get bored of this Sydney? Genuine question

[kopdan]

Mourinho played Cech, Terry, Carvalho, Lampard and Drogba basically whenever they were available. If rafa did likewise with Pepe, Carra, Agger, Stevie, Mascher and Torres, it'd be a start. Maybe he'll start doing it. God willing...

he does to be fair, or has started to. My issue is the rest of the changes he makes. Keep Babel and Benni playing. Keep a steady back four

[Craig_H]

Tell Fergie that, tell Wenger that, christ tell your beloved Jose that, all have won more leagues than Champions League. Its not harder nor easier to win, its different. It requires different tactics, different qualities, different players even

They all get to the latter stages usually. Fergie's won it, as has Mourinho...

It's easier by the sheer fact that, as a cup competition, you can probably lose half your games and still win it. Try that in the league and see where you end up.

[Guest]

Fredo, i didnt say everything is in his control, but as far as influencing our chances of having a blip and not having one - that IS in his control, of course it is!! You'd have us believe that he doesnt have any control, everything is out of his hands. Bizarre.

More quality players? Yeah they'd help. Consistently using the ones we HAVE would also help.

Not everything is under his control doesn't mean he hasn't got control of what he's doing. He just can't be spot on and faultless all the time, that was my point.

Well, he plays his best players consistently often. Kuyt is more consistent than Pennant if you ask me. He hasn't got any preference for a player (as like some would have us believed earlier Re: Alonso as he was rightly dropped when he was in poor form).

Why is Babel flying now ? Maybe it's the fact that Rafa used him intelligently at the start ? I think that's a real possibility. He was used sparingly and now he's showing his quality.