Rafa Watch

[Pablo]

Quite a lot of guys with Rose tinted specs on this thread.

Rafa made Liverpool invincible at times but we also had some dreadful runs under him too that always undermined us when challenging for the league.

he had two good results, 2nd place an Champions League winners.

Pretty Good and I'd take that from Roy, but not really good enough over all.

No matter how nostalgic you get, last season was shocking and he was responsible.

I doubt he will be invited back.

too much conflict.

**** off with that WUM **** again! This thread is for keeping an eye on how he's doing at Inter, not for needlessly slagging him off yet again.

[5europeancups]

**** off with that WUM **** again! This thread is for keeping an eye on how he's doing at Inter, not for needlessly slagging him off yet again.

your inability to deal with a point of view which does not totally match your own is both disturbing and a sad reflection on yourself.

Look at the tone of the email and read it again you muppet.

[Pablo]

your inability to deal with a point of view which does not totally match your own is both disturbing and a sad reflection on yourself.

Look at the tone of the email and read it again you muppet.

What email?

[Shaggy]

your inability to deal with a point of view which does not totally match your own is both disturbing and a sad reflection on yourself.

Look at the tone of the email and read it again you muppet.

Pablo is right though, the original post says "Those of us who are keeping on eye on Rafa's progress might as well do it all in here".....not to debate the same old ****e.

You say there's "quite a lot of rose-tinted specs on this thread", so if you're qualified to comment on the contents of the entire thread then you'll have seen this issue crop up already. Spare us the Benitez critiques.

[mick the click]

New from the Telegraph


Rafael Benítez takes a swipe at Liverpool owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett
Rafael Benítez says he is glad to be working with someone who understands football in Inter Milan President Massimo Moratti after spending his last year at Liverpool with directors who "knew nothing" about it.

The Spaniard joined the European and Italian champions in July season having left Liverpool after six years in charge of a club where he endured a strained relationship with its owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Having previously stayed silent about his Liverpool, Benítez took a swipe at the club when asked how he was enjoying working Moratti after such a turbulent few years on Merseyside.

"The last year at Liverpool I had directors who knew nothing about soccer and you couldn't talk about soccer with them," he said without specifying who he meant by "directors".

"My relationship with president Moratti is good, he is a man who knows his soccer."

Benitez's time at Inter has not started badly with the club currently joint top of the Serie A, but the 50-year-old has been criticised by Inter striker Diego Milito.

The Argentina international is said to feel uncomfortable under Benitez's leadership and unhappy with constantly being substituted.

"Diego doesn't feel the trust from his new coach," the agent told Il Corriere dello Sport. "The Portuguese [Mourinho] made him feel indispensable. He made him feel secure and he would transmit tranquillity.

"These things don't happen now. In fact he is always under scrutiny. And when it's time for a player to come off it's always Milito."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/8015992/Rafael-Benitez-takes-a-swipe-at-Liverpool-owners-Tom-Hicks-and-George-Gillett.html

[dww]

your inability to deal with a point of view which does not totally match your own is both disturbing and a sad reflection on yourself.

Look at the tone of the email and read it again you muppet.

Pablo is right though, the original post says "Those of us who are keeping on eye on Rafa's progress might as well do it all in here".....not to debate the same old ****e.

You say there's "quite a lot of rose-tinted specs on this thread", so if you're qualified to comment on the contents of the entire thread then you'll have seen this issue crop up already. Spare us the Benitez critiques.

I'm with Shaggy on this one and any further off topic posts will be deleted or moved.

Also could people leave out the insults please (that includes calling someone a WUM). If you feel someone is causing a problem it would be appreciated if you could report a post so we can think about doing something constructive about it.

[RedReet]

And I suppose the other CL runs count for nothing? Same with the FA cup too?

Even though some people criticise his brand of football, I'm most thankful for bringing football lightyears ahead of Houllier's teams. Getting players like Alonso, Luis Garcia etc which made us a genuine passing team again.

I do agree things needed some freshening up, and not defending his last season but there's a hell of a lot of work which he put in which gets overlooked. I'd be delighted to see him manage us again some time down the line.

What pains me is that Rafa got us to no.1 ranked team in Europe, G&H took over, and look where we are now. It could be just a coincidence, and people might argue we have a better team now with Torres et al, but even before the money issues were brought to light Rafa had other issues to content with such as the Klinsman fiasco, which clearly couldn’t have helped. The earlier poster mentioned rose tinted glasses, but conversely, certain people are quick to forget just how massive an achievement Rafa’s success was here, even in such unfavourable circumstances.

In relation to ‘his brand of football’, we played some lovely stuff under Rafa. Two of the main criticism about his style was deploying zonal marking, and playing two ‘defensive midfielders’ in Xabi and Masch. Oh, and lets not forget how he ruined Stevie G by taking hi out of his ‘best position’ and making him into one of the most prolific goal scoring midfielders in Europe. Terrible, terrible times.

[little dave hedgehog]

What pains me is that Rafa got us to no.1 ranked team in Europe, G&H took over, and look where we are now. It could be just a coincidence, and people might argue we have a better team now with Torres et al, but even before the money issues were brought to light Rafa had other issues to content with such as the Klinsman fiasco, which clearly couldn’t have helped. The earlier poster mentioned rose tinted glasses, but conversely, certain people are quick to forget just how massive an achievement Rafa’s success was here, even in such unfavourable circumstances.

In relation to ‘his brand of football’, we played some lovely stuff under Rafa. Two of the main criticism about his style was deploying zonal marking, and playing two ‘defensive midfielders’ in Xabi and Masch. Oh, and lets not forget how he ruined Stevie G by taking hi out of his ‘best position’ and making him into one of the most prolific goal scoring midfielders in Europe. Terrible, terrible times.

this.

[The_weatherman]

Quite a lot of guys with Rose tinted specs on this thread.

Rafa made Liverpool invincible at times but we also had some dreadful runs under him too that always undermined us when challenging for the league.

he had two good results, 2nd place an Champions League winners.

Pretty Good and I'd take that from Roy, but not really good enough over all.

No matter how nostalgic you get, last season was shocking and he was responsible.

I doubt he will be invited back.

too much conflict.

Wow. Don't really know where to begin.

Yes, Rafa made us invincible at times - no-one is forever.

He had one amazing result, followed with some other good results and a total makeover of the club - he probably single handedly increased the club's value and reputation.

I'm afraid you'll never see Roy finish 2nd or win a major competition with us, sorry.

Last season was shocking, but there mitigating factors and he would have pulled us through with support - at Valencia he had a bad second season which he followed up with a title.

I had my doubts over Roy and I see nothing to dispel them, everything points toward an awful season to be honest - if he proves me wrong fine but I think the signs are there and we should look at the signs for once instead of talking bull**** all the time (me included).

[RedReet]

this.

Eh?

[The_weatherman]

In relation to ‘his brand of football’, we played some lovely stuff under Rafa. Two of the main criticism about his style was deploying zonal marking, and playing two ‘defensive midfielders’ in Xabi and Masch. Oh, and lets not forget how he ruined Stevie G by taking hi out of his ‘best position’ and making him into one of the most prolific goal scoring midfielders in Europe. Terrible, terrible times.

:applausesmiley:

Hodgson is trying to get us to hoof it more...is that his tactical acumen there? And playing Meireles in attacking mid and Gerrard in the middle is IMO but he probably had his reasons. Konchesky is pure downgrading on Insua as well and don't get me started on the man to man marking.

[Alex]

I miss him. I think Sundays game would have gone differently. If not differently, he definatly would have said something to Slur Alex

[Shaggy]

'rift'


ETO`O ADMITS RAFA RIFT

Posted 21/09/10 16:03


Samuel Eto'o admits he clashed with Rafa Benitez upon his arrival at Inter Milan, but insists the issue has since been resolved.

The Cameroon international believes Inter are yet to get the best out of him, having often deployed him out of position.

Eto'o claims he had no qualms in taking on more defensive duties under Jose Mourinho, as the club swept the board when it came to major silverware, but he is keen to revert back to a central striking role under Benitez.

He is still being asked to play much wider than he would like at the moment, but he is happy to compromise as he is no longer expected to track back quite so often.

"Benitez? It is true when he arrived that we had a slight clash," Eto'o told L'Equipe Mag.

"I told him I have to score more, come closer to the box and the centre of the field. He told me he will do everything he can for that to happen.

"I am still playing on the flank, but with a lot less defensive work."

Eto'o has also revealed that he came close to quitting international football after this summer's World Cup.

Cameroon flopped badly under Paul Le Guen in South Africa and their talismanic skipper admits the setback hit him hard.

"I must admit I thought about it (quitting) during the World Cup," said Eto'o.

"But only for a short time because I love my country too much. The Indomitable Lions mean everything to me.

"I want us to have a good team for the 2012 African Cup of Nations and a very strong team for 2014.

"I want to have success at the World Cup. To achieve that we have to unite, support the young players and turn to the future."

Eto'o is also keen to play down any suggestion that he is a troublesome influence for club and country, having been tarnished with an unfavourable reputation down the years.

He added: "My personality? I played and had success with Ronaldinho, (Lionel) Messi and a lot of great players. If I could not stand big names, why would I have helped Thierry Henry to join Barcelona?

"All my past coaches will tell you that I am a great professional."

http://www.football365.com/story/0,17033,8652_6391970,00.html

[Alex]

'rift'


ETO`O ADMITS RAFA RIFT

Posted 21/09/10 16:03


Samuel Eto'o admits he clashed with Rafa Benitez upon his arrival at Inter Milan, but insists the issue has since been resolved.

The Cameroon international believes Inter are yet to get the best out of him, having often deployed him out of position.

Eto'o claims he had no qualms in taking on more defensive duties under Jose Mourinho, as the club swept the board when it came to major silverware, but he is keen to revert back to a central striking role under Benitez.

He is still being asked to play much wider than he would like at the moment, but he is happy to compromise as he is no longer expected to track back quite so often.

"Benitez? It is true when he arrived that we had a slight clash," Eto'o told L'Equipe Mag.

"I told him I have to score more, come closer to the box and the centre of the field. He told me he will do everything he can for that to happen.

"I am still playing on the flank, but with a lot less defensive work."

Eto'o has also revealed that he came close to quitting international football after this summer's World Cup.

Cameroon flopped badly under Paul Le Guen in South Africa and their talismanic skipper admits the setback hit him hard.

"I must admit I thought about it (quitting) during the World Cup," said Eto'o.

"But only for a short time because I love my country too much. The Indomitable Lions mean everything to me.

"I want us to have a good team for the 2012 African Cup of Nations and a very strong team for 2014.

"I want to have success at the World Cup. To achieve that we have to unite, support the young players and turn to the future."

Eto'o is also keen to play down any suggestion that he is a troublesome influence for club and country, having been tarnished with an unfavourable reputation down the years.

He added: "My personality? I played and had success with Ronaldinho, (Lionel) Messi and a lot of great players. If I could not stand big names, why would I have helped Thierry Henry to join Barcelona?

"All my past coaches will tell you that I am a great professional."

http://www.football365.com/story/0,1...391970,00.html

HA HA, were the hell in that does say he has a rift. Journos will read anything into anything.

Eto'o seems to be flourishing under Benitez

[Neil Young]

This can't be right. We all know Rafa is **** at man management so there's no way the problem can have been resolved. It must be a festering sore that not only is poisoning Benitez's relationship with Eto'o but at any moment will infect the morale of the entire Inter squad. In fact, it's probably not going too far to suggest that this threatens to bring northern Italy to its knees and will probably engulf the Eurozone and bring down Western civilisation, while sparking a runaway greenhouse effect resulting in weeks in the world becoming a desert devoid of life.