Rafa: "I can guarantee we will finish in the top four."

[ronanm]

Ho does it work?

Ho ho ho it does!!

[Nicey]

yeah no worries mate ...although i was gonna go all Harry potter on you

Mate i was just over the moon to be able to use the word pejorative today

[Nicey]

and yet another honeymoon period comes to an end.

Lasted a week

[Kenneth]

Ho ho ho it does!!

[Bender]

Mate i was just over the moon to be able to use the word pejorative today

[calvoboy]

What are we short of at the moment? Confidence.
How do you instill confidence in the players? By showing that you are confident in them.
What has Rafa done? Exactly that.

Can't believe anyone with a brain bigger than an amoeba would criticise him for this.

[Kenneth]

What are we short of at the moment? Confidence.
How do you instill confidence in the players? By showing that you are confident in them.
What has Rafa done? Exactly that.

Can't believe anyone with a brain bigger than an amoeba would criticise him for this.

Or, what do the players have too much of at the moment? Pressure. How do you instill yet more pressure? Buy garanteeing to the fans that we qualify.


Either way, it's an odd thing to do, to further put his reputation on the line like this. Especially when 4th place is so unlikely.

[Vermilion]

Or, what do the players have too much of at the moment? Pressure. How do you instill yet more pressure? Buy garanteeing to the fans that we qualify.


Either way, it's an odd thing to do, to further put his reputation on the line like this. Especially when 4th place is so unlikely.

Disagree, the pressure is on as much as it can be, that's why their manager showing confidence in them is the right thing at this time. imo.

If the pressure was only mildly on, then adding more may as you say be a bad thing, but i just don't think it can get much worse really, can it ? this run is unprecedented since this club became great, so this is the right thing for Rafa to do, telling them behind closed doors that he believes in them is all well and good, and i'm sure he's doing that, but going public, that's a bigger demonstration to the players that he has faith in them.

He's trying whatever he can at the moment to snap them out of this lull of confidence the bad results have instilled in them, he knows, like i do, that they ARE better than this, they believed it when they kicked off against Arsenal, but along comes a knock and confidcence just ebbs away, he's telling them THEY CAN AND WILL SNAP OUT OF THIS, and to prove to them he believes it, and believes in THEM, he's even told the world.

[BillobShaisley]

If Maureen or Scots Piss-Head did something similar the press and more than half of this site would be asking why we didn't have a character like Shanks still at the club.

[BillobShaisley]

4th is still very likely, probable i'd say.

City, Villa and Spurs all drop lots of points regularly and will continue to do so. We wont continue to drop as many points as we have done.

[lickedlollipop]

don't worry about villa. they'll become **** after christmas^^

[Kenneth]

4th is still very likely, probable i'd say.

City, Villa and Spurs all drop lots of points regularly and will continue to do so. We wont continue to drop as many points as we have done.

I would say that's too optimistic. 4th is unlikely, and I don't expect we will do it.

[red g]

don't worry about villa. they'll become **** after christmas^^

[BG1973]

He's confident I'll give him that much.

Think it's going to backfire on him to be honest, bit of a silly thing to say. I am really starting to worry about Rafa now, would much rather he didn't come out with things like this.

Fair enough coming out with it about Fergie because he's a co*k but to come out and say something like this is daft.

If he had come out with a statement like this last year along the lines of "We'll win the league I'll guarantee it" then maybe we would have won the league instead of finishing second.

I agree with you that I worry about him when i hear this kind of thing - smacks of desperation - but I think our biggest problem right now is lack of confidence and he is doing what he feels he can to address that.

[Kinell]

Off the back of maybe two wins in a row I would expect this but the timing is well out. I see it as a way of securing his own position rather than the club's, cleverly disguised.