Rafa's Last Season?

[Roboklopp]

context, you mean excuse for failure - i'd rather never learn it!

Or the basis for a meaningful & well-grounded viewpoint...

[rage]

If we have a seriously bad season then of course a lot of people will be calling for his head. Im of the opinion that we are still moving forwards and thats despite our ****ing owners and ceo ****ing everything up thats humanly possible. As such I dont want to contemplate Rafa leaving and im 99.9% that he will be the one to guide us to No.19, be it this year or 5 years down the line. If we continue to progress we will do it at some stage. As soon as we start falling back and Rafa loses the plot then sack him.

I dont think anyone should be calling for his head in July before the season even starts though, its just wrong.

i wasn't calling for his head - rather what is expected as a minimum.

[Roboklopp]

well then when do you draw the line? come on he's yet to have ever competed in the league. i want this to change along with everyone else but we cannot let this carry on forever. being out of the title race by xmas this year will be inexcusable imo.

When we drop away from the Gooners repeatedly. They are our benchmark, not the Scum or Chavs as we cannot afford to compete with them.

[Red Chilli]

Points gained means **** all, it;s all about where you finish. The fact that all top 4 teams are scoring more points per position indicates that the gap is getting wider.

[Mattshark]

context, you mean excuse for failure - i'd rather never learn it!

No i mean context, as I said you are myopic.

[Reece]

Who me? I was only telling you like don't be so touchy.

Furry muff, my bad

[G]

I worry that the fact the scum are so close to our record will mean a lot of peoples patience to stick with Rafa will be seriously reduced,as wrong as that is IMO.I hope the board aren't one of them

He's building a great team and it'll take time cos were not minted.Anyone can see(except Rage,)were making progress.

[Whelan5]

You are missing the point of my post- it isnt about our progression in the CL, it is about that of our peers. They are doing much better, which indicates our league is much stronger.

I've indicated my position about us "challenging"- namely, we shouldnt be too far away, but I firmly believe that no manager would be able to win the league with the financial resources Rafa has at his disposal. Wenger is a proven manager in the Prem, but the Gooners are struggling as mauch as we are in the league. The only person I can see doing significantly better is Fergiscum & that int gonna happen.

Therefore, barring disasters (ie finishing outside the top 4 2 seasons running without extenuating circumstances), I do not think we should even consider getting rid of the legend that is Rafa Benitez.

You mention Ferguson as one manager who could win within Rafa's constraints. it took him 7 years to win the league and 6 years before he challenged (i know he was 2nd in his second year but he was miles off the league winners, us ) This was despite him outspending Liverpool over his first 4 - 5 years at the club, think of the likes of ince, webb, pallister, wallace, all bought for big money at the time.

Anyone can see that Rafa is building a big squad with a lot of quality young players coming in for the future. Even if we finish 4th this year he should still be kept as we are undoubtedly making progress and btw i expect we will be a lot closer to the top this year.

[Whelan5]

When we drop away from the Gooners repeatedly. They are our benchmark, not the Scum or Chavs as we cannot afford to compete with them.

Would this be the gooners who we finished ahead of the year before last?

[bysants]

http://www.redandwhitekop.com/forum/...topic=225239.0

A warning. This is a long, but exellent reading about why Rafa must stay for years.

[Dessy]

When we drop away from the Gooners repeatedly. They are our benchmark, not the Scum or Chavs as we cannot afford to compete with them.

Regardless of scum/chav spending power we should always be looking to compete with them.....whats the point of playing if your not playing to win and ultimatley be the best?

[Jan-Erik]

It might be, but it shouldnt. No manager could compete truly for the title with the Scum & Chebs without vast investment. Even Wenger.

Agreed

[Sarb]

If we continue to miss out on the title due to a lack of width, a problem recognised when Rafa first took over...if he hasn't managed to sort that problem out and challenged this upcoming season then he should be gone.

He's spent big money on central midfielders who are defensive minded and wants to spend some more on another. For me, if a manager can't recognise a problem when it's staring him straight in the face and continuosly wastes money going after the likes of Barry then he's got to go if he doesn't deliver

Someone said last week that the Barry signing should be make or break for Rafa. I agree totally

If we don't get a quality winger this summer I'm not even going to bother starting up my Sky Sports subscription again as we'll have the same problems come the end of December, January. Whether we like to admit it or not, we'll have three creative players next season, Gerrard, Torres and Keane....maybe Agger. 4 creative players just isn't enough I'm afraid

[-V-]

Whether we like to admit it or not, we'll have three creative players next season, Gerrard, Torres and Keane....maybe Agger. 4 creative players just isn't enough I'm afraid

So basically you don't rate Babel, Lucas and Kuyt as being able to create at all? You don't think Babel and Lucas are developing into good creative options for us?

[Sarb]

V, how many games do you think Babel and Lucas will get next season? Might play here or there but they aren't going to perform at a consistently high level to win the Premiership....still learning their stuff to be honest.

Reina, Degen/Arbeloa, Carra, Agger, Dossena, Kuyt, Mascherano, Gerrard, Barry, Keane, Torres

That's going to be our main 11 probably, and for me the right wing and the left wing will be problems again, just like the past 5 seasons odd