Frazzle

Letting everyone know he's going nowhere. Yup. Hope the stand collapses due to his weight and nee one else is injured, he lives long enough to have to pay for the damages and then dies from his injuries. 👍

Agreed. It's not as bad as the "first five games" bollocks that was being spouted but it's so annoying. That's maybe fair if everyone played the exact same fixtures each season. Comparisons with the start of last season are largely irrelevant anyway. Bruce didn't take over Rafa's team from the start of last season, he took over a well drilled team that was 7th or 8th or something in the form table. Rafa didn't have Almiron or Rondon barely at the start of last season either. Comparisons with last season are just journos being thick or deceitful. We should IN THEORY be improving from last season given that money was spent but its obviously clear why we aren't.

The fans CAN do a lot, the problem is the fans have never fully come together to do anything.

Carroll got so many that West ham couldn't afford to keep him.

Over the last two Premier League seasons, Joselu has a goal every 383 minutes and Carroll has one every 401 minutes. Any assists? Didn't check to be honest just wanted to add to context to the idea that joselu is the worst player to have ever stepped on a football pitch or that Carroll is the same player that left in 2011 According to whoscored, the source for the goal stats, Joselu has one assist in the last two PL seasons and Carroll has none.

Over the last two Premier League seasons, Joselu has a goal every 383 minutes and Carroll has one every 401 minutes. Any assists? Didn't check to be honest just wanted to add to context to the idea that joselu is the worst player to have ever stepped on a football pitch or that Carroll is the same player that left in 2011

Over the last two Premier League seasons, Joselu has a goal every 383 minutes and Carroll has one every 401 minutes.

Shame he didn't ask Shearer, Keegan, Jonas, Rafa or Hughton for their views, rather than just people currently employed by Ashley

Scored less league goals than joselu last season and less than joselu over the last two years. Well that speaks volumes for Joselu seeing as Carroll couldn't play due to injuries. At least he scored or looked like scoring when he was fit unlike Joselu who never looked threat to the opposition goal. Even if Carroll only plays 5 games but scores the winner in those games that's 15 points in the bag. That's kind of the point though isn't it? He rarely plays these days. And he didn't score when he was fit last season, at least not in the league.

Scored less league goals than joselu last season and less than joselu over the last two years.

What period are you referring to?

Stats-wise, we've scored 14 (league goals) in the 1050 mins that Shelvey hasn't played and 13 in the 1470 mins that he has.

Why are people so bothered about what the name is? They aren't selling anything, you all know what it means and who they are, so what difference does it make? Who cares if other people don't understand what it means? They don't need to. Does anyone know the name of any groups who organise flags for Dortmund or Milan or Besiktas?

I completely disagree with the bit in bold but using this logic, shouldn't we be saying the same thing about Southampton and us? Burnley and us? Brighton and us? Bournemouth and us? We're the 7th or 8th richest club in the league, those clubs should not be 'entitled' to rival us then?

Hell of an appointment that, I'm sure he's been linked to much bigger jobs than that in the past

Ignoring the fact that A LOT (not all!) of those were the same ones who sat on their arse and said nowt when Pardew and Carver and Kinnear and Ashley turned us into a mess, I think his mind was made up already, it all came down to agreements with Ashley, which it looks like he's got now. He knew how big the club was and how good the fanbase can be before arriving. I do think the positive atmosphere, coupled with Spurs giving up meant we won comfortably on Sunday though. As for Rafa, him getting full control of transfers will be massive, hopefully he gets a budget and can do what he wants with it, that way he can buy for success and not just for re-sale value. Be good to see players arriving who's first thought is not 'who's my next club going to be?'.

Definitely a very special manager.

That doesn't read too well. :/ SKY interview is encouraging, to me. It's all about "the meeting with Charnley" by the sounds of it. Isn't that the problem part?

Gone completely unnoticed with Leicester doing what they did but Southampton are a very impressive club and have had a very good season.

Which is a fair point to make. What's not fair is to suggest that I want to keep Ashley in the here and now based on a point I made in a hypothetical debate. It's not a fair point to make, as I've pointed out by stating that there aren't enough owners worse than Ashley to justify saying it's a 'massive gamble'. It's just not. I'm not even suggesting you said anything, your quote says it all. You said everyone wants Ashley out but blatantly said, in your opinion, that it's a 'massive gamble', that indicates you do not want Ashley out 100%, irrespective of whether Rafa stays. Ok I'm done, you won't even take it when I say you made a fair point I misinterpreted what you said then, thought you meant what you said was a fair point. Fair enough

'2-0 to the Championship?' f*** off, gallows humour or not. We've been relegated only a few times in our history and one happened this very week. You'd think we were a yo-yo club.

Which is a fair point to make. What's not fair is to suggest that I want to keep Ashley in the here and now based on a point I made in a hypothetical debate. It's not a fair point to make, as I've pointed out by stating that there aren't enough owners worse than Ashley to justify saying it's a 'massive gamble'. It's just not. I'm not even suggesting you said anything, your quote says it all. You said everyone wants Ashley out but blatantly said, in your opinion, that it's a 'massive gamble', that indicates you do not want Ashley out 100%, irrespective of whether Rafa stays.

It's not a 'massive' gamble at all. I've asked people to list the owners worse than Ashley, there's a handful, at the very most.

There's a real inferiority complex going on within our support judging by posts like this. Expectations have been smashed to bits over the last ten years. Says a lot that posts like this are being made, yet also concern over whether he'll take the bloody Everton job. I like the guy a lot but he is not some cast iron degree of success. No manager is in football. Why has this hypothetical poll got me going so much You'd be hard pressed to find another manager more likely to be successful with any given club than Rafa Benitez though, even with the whole fanbase against him, he delivered for Chelsea when asked to do so. A true pro and I agree that we'll never have a better manager, at least in my lifetime. Klopp maybe but that'd be 10 years down the road if at all. If Ashley sits in the back and gives Rafa the autonomy he gave the previous regimes then we get what we want - a club that tries, that is run well and there would be a chance for success. Ashley goes, and in walks in Massimo Cellino v2. It's a massive gamble, and a silent owner with Rafa Benitez running everything would be the best possible circumstance we could hope for. Voting A is just voting for revenge, which I understand, but take a step back from the 10 years of lies, s**** and comatose existence and realise what B would actually mean. Voting A is just voting for revenge? Do you think Ashley's changed or something? Rafa will be gone in two or three years at the most, and then it'll be business as usual. Elaborate. Because this will never happen. He's show time and time again that it won't. Such as ? Have you been in a coma the last nine years? The only managers he's hired who haven't just been stooges have been treated like s***, lied to, and forced out of the club. And hired by who exactly lol. Pardew was Llambias, McClaren was Charnley, Keegan is the only example of this. And this was when he had Dennis Wise telling him what to do. Llambias and Charnley were appointed to run the club in a specific way with specific targets. They've not been acting of their own accord. And if you need more evidence that Ashley's not changed, Lee Charnley still has a job. This is why if Rafa is given the job I think the only way he'd go is if he walked - there just isn't a history of sacking board members, even elevated club secretaries. If the poll were B) Rafa stays and gets screwed be Ashley in a way he hasn't messed around internally before, then obviously I'd choose A. B suggests Rafa will get everything he wants to build the club, and Ashley's history shows, Hughton aside as he was already here when he took over, that people he appoints are kept in power for as long as possible, and then some. That's because he purposefully appoints people who will do exactly as he says. Rafa does not fit into that category (but he certainly wouldn't be here if we'd had even five more points, it was sheer panic that got us asking about him) - neither did Kevin Keegan. Hughton was not at the club before Ashley arrived. My mistake - thought he came in during Allardyce. But I thought the poll would would have a semblence of realism, if Rafa would be appointed by Ashley, then a - Rafa would get all the stipulations he wanted, and b - Ashley wouldn't fire him unless something absolutely catastrophic was happening, like he'd be seen ripping SD hoardings out of the stands and trying to eat them. I don't doubt that if Rafa remains, it'll be if he's told he has control. Keegan was told the same and that quickly disintegrated. Once promotion is obtained, I would expect Ashley to revert to type. I don't see Rafa being fired either. I can very much see him walking though, and if they've been promoted by that point, Ashley won't care. I suspect he'd be delighted actually. Back to normal. Fair enough I understand your point, I just disagree End of the day, I think we all want Ashley out and Rafa in. Except you, who was worried about a Cellino coming in instead. Would you like to take a read of the online article I've written to the contrary? Back in your box please. No I don't want to read your article.

There's a real inferiority complex going on within our support judging by posts like this. Expectations have been smashed to bits over the last ten years. Says a lot that posts like this are being made, yet also concern over whether he'll take the bloody Everton job. I like the guy a lot but he is not some cast iron degree of success. No manager is in football. Why has this hypothetical poll got me going so much You'd be hard pressed to find another manager more likely to be successful with any given club than Rafa Benitez though, even with the whole fanbase against him, he delivered for Chelsea when asked to do so. A true pro and I agree that we'll never have a better manager, at least in my lifetime. Klopp maybe but that'd be 10 years down the road if at all. If Ashley sits in the back and gives Rafa the autonomy he gave the previous regimes then we get what we want - a club that tries, that is run well and there would be a chance for success. Ashley goes, and in walks in Massimo Cellino v2. It's a massive gamble, and a silent owner with Rafa Benitez running everything would be the best possible circumstance we could hope for. Voting A is just voting for revenge, which I understand, but take a step back from the 10 years of lies, s**** and comatose existence and realise what B would actually mean. Voting A is just voting for revenge? Do you think Ashley's changed or something? Rafa will be gone in two or three years at the most, and then it'll be business as usual. Elaborate. Because this will never happen. He's show time and time again that it won't. Such as ? Have you been in a coma the last nine years? The only managers he's hired who haven't just been stooges have been treated like s***, lied to, and forced out of the club. And hired by who exactly lol. Pardew was Llambias, McClaren was Charnley, Keegan is the only example of this. And this was when he had Dennis Wise telling him what to do. Llambias and Charnley were appointed to run the club in a specific way with specific targets. They've not been acting of their own accord. And if you need more evidence that Ashley's not changed, Lee Charnley still has a job. This is why if Rafa is given the job I think the only way he'd go is if he walked - there just isn't a history of sacking board members, even elevated club secretaries. If the poll were B) Rafa stays and gets screwed be Ashley in a way he hasn't messed around internally before, then obviously I'd choose A. B suggests Rafa will get everything he wants to build the club, and Ashley's history shows, Hughton aside as he was already here when he took over, that people he appoints are kept in power for as long as possible, and then some. That's because he purposefully appoints people who will do exactly as he says. Rafa does not fit into that category (but he certainly wouldn't be here if we'd had even five more points, it was sheer panic that got us asking about him) - neither did Kevin Keegan. Hughton was not at the club before Ashley arrived. My mistake - thought he came in during Allardyce. But I thought the poll would would have a semblence of realism, if Rafa would be appointed by Ashley, then a - Rafa would get all the stipulations he wanted, and b - Ashley wouldn't fire him unless something absolutely catastrophic was happening, like he'd be seen ripping SD hoardings out of the stands and trying to eat them. I don't doubt that if Rafa remains, it'll be if he's told he has control. Keegan was told the same and that quickly disintegrated. Once promotion is obtained, I would expect Ashley to revert to type. I don't see Rafa being fired either. I can very much see him walking though, and if they've been promoted by that point, Ashley won't care. I suspect he'd be delighted actually. Back to normal. Fair enough I understand your point, I just disagree End of the day, I think we all want Ashley out and Rafa in. Except you, who was worried about a Cellino coming in instead.