Rafa Watch

[shanks69]

Why Rafa's name keeps being mentioned as a DOF candidate is bewildering, and is yet another sign of obsession with the man.

He's a club manager who is trying to win things. He has not shown any indication or willingness to give up the daily workings of club coaching to take such a position.

Maybe when he's 60+, and has managed Spain, he'd consider it.

spot on no way would rafa want to be a DOF he is to obsessed with club management it is like a drug to him,as you say maybe when he is 60+ he would do it but not now.

[danperkins]

Why Rafa's name keeps being mentioned as a DOF candidate is bewildering, and is yet another sign of obsession with the man.

He's a club manager who is trying to win things. He has not shown any indication or willingness to give up the daily workings of club coaching to take such a position.

Maybe when he's 60+, and has managed Spain, he'd consider it.

[McDermotX]

Why Rafa's name keeps being mentioned as a DOF candidate is bewildering, and is yet another sign of obsession with the man.

He's a club manager who is trying to win things. He has not shown any indication or willingness to give up the daily workings of club coaching to take such a position.

Maybe when he's 60+, and has managed Spain, he'd consider it.

Because people need Rafa.............but they cannot bring themselves around to admit it to everyone.........more importantly, to themselves, that they need his guidance and control.
They need him........they want him.......they 'desire' him.

They can't come out and say, 'Get rid of that Rodgers bum and get the right man back in charge', so they'll entertain dreams of Rafa 'in control' at Anfield in an all-encompassing role, little knowing that, subconsciously, they want the big man, the head honcho, the big cheese, back 'in charge', calling the shots.




P.S.
Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa ! Rafa !

[meffin]

There was a snippet from Rafa's book about signing Torres in one of the threads a few days ago- does anybody know which book it was from- can't seem to find his autobiography?

[Roboklopp]

Nope, soz.

[CJ]

I see that the BBC have his facts speech on their website under when managers lose it. Have people actually watched it? He didnt seem to have lost from what I saw

[dww]

There is some interesting discussion going on at the minute I can see on Twitter about how Sports journalists can't handle discussion of tactics from managers. I think they have much broader problems of not being able to see anything other than the pervading narrative.

All to much of sports journalism comes down to the ability for each story to be an intro to a piece on either managerial sackings or player transfers.

[CJ]

The pervading narrative doesnt ever seen to change does it.

[Shaggy]

Crouch on Rafa:

It is no secret that his relationship with Rafa Benitez soured to the extent that he felt no option but to leave Liverpool in the summer of 2008, three years after Benitez had signed him and then kept faith through an 18-game goalless run. In January 2013, when Benitez was being barracked by some Chelsea fans as the teams came off at half-time during a game at Stoke, Crouch, a sub that day, put an arm around his former manager.

“I do like him,” Crouch says. “He was brilliant for Liverpool. He had some strange ways, like when I came back from England having scored he wouldn’t play me for three games. Rather than just letting a forward go out full of confidence and score goals he was trying to bring me down a peg or two. I just didn’t need that. I am not the sort of character to get carried away. His rotation was a bit mental but I still think he lived and breathed football. He is a very good manager and a good man.

“I felt like I had to leave because I was told that Benitez was maybe looking to get rid of me but if I had dug my heels in a little bit… [Fernando] Torres was playing up front and [Steven] Gerrard was just behind and they were on fire. No one was going to displace them.

“I was always going to play second fiddle and I understood that happens at a big club. Then Torres got injured, [David] Ngog and [Andrei] Voronin were playing and I was thinking if I can't get a game ahead of those two…**** me. You’re playing for such a big club and that doesn’t come round often. Even now when you look back it is very hard to replicate what you have at that kind of club. Maybe I should have hung around a bit more and maybe I would have got my chance.

Rest of it's here:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/peter-crouch-interview-i-would-be-proud-to-join-the-100club-10123991.html

[Rigadon]

Crouch on Rafa:

“Then Torres got injured, [David] Ngog and [Andrei] Voronin were playing and I was thinking if I can't get a game ahead of those two…**** me.

Love your edits

[RedReet]

Tough draw in the Europa. Win that and they have to be favourites for the competition.

[Bender]

Napoli coach Rafa Benitez was mystified by the first red card of his managerial career in Sunday's 1-1 draw with Atalanta.

Benitez was sent off late on for complaining to the officials, having been angered by Mauricio Pinilla's earlier goal where he appeared to shove Henrique.

"I have never being cautioned by a yellow card in my career as a manager and I cannot explain how they could have ruled me out for misunderstanding," he said.

"After having managed more than 600 matches, I have never being shown a yellow card, If I get angry there is a fair reason. The result was influenced by an event that cannot be considered a fair football decision.

"Maybe six referees are not enough. It should be better to have eight indeed, some decisions could not be explained otherwise."
BBC

[McDermotX]

[Shaggy]

Their league campaign seems to be unravelling. Knowing Rafa he'll probably **** it up and they'll come 5th or 6th and then go and win the Europa.

[Liverpel]

Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez could return to the Premier League as a replacement for Sam Allardyce.

Huge uncertainty surrounds Allardyce's future with the Hammers and a departure at the end of the current term has been mooted.

The Daily Telegraph understands that Real Sociedad boss David Moyes is the top of the wanted list by the West Ham board, but should they fail to entice the former Manchester United boss to London, co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold are believed to have earmarked Benitez for the hot seat.

It remains unclear if Moyes is interested in ending his time in Spain so early after his disastrous Old Trafford, although West Ham would suit his ****house tactics, and Benitez is expected to leave Napoli at the end of the season and is keen on a return to England. The 54-year-old could be tempted by the project on offer at West Ham who are planning to break into the Premier League top six.

At Liverpool, Benitez won the Champions League and the FA Cup, and won the Europa League in his brief spell in temporary charge of Chelsea.

http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/rafa-benitez-set-for-premier-league-return-31124927.html