I’m still more surprised that he ever contacted us to sign up to this shitfest. It’s not like Ashley has done to Rafa something he didn’t do to other managers before. I love Rafa as much as the next fan, but in an odd way his presence possibly set the club back by taking the pressure right off Ashley. Fans might have given up on their season tickets by now, after three more years of the likes of Carver, McClaren and Bruce. I don’t blame Rafa obviously, but he can’t claim he didn’t know how Ashley operates before he joined and if he thought he might persuade him to change his ways he was sadly mistaken. I’m sure the likes of Keegan and Shearer would have been happy to explain that to him beforehand if he didn’t. Sadly I will always look back at the Rafa era with some regret for that reason, as brilliant a manager and a man as he is. I’m certain Ashley will have loved playing with his and the fans’ emotions.