rgk_lfc

Based on form Henderson and Wilshere shouldnt be in the final list. Given the fact that there is only one defensive midfielder, Dier, who could be used as a central defender also, Drinkwater should have been on the list. Townsend should have gone. Especially since when England are chasing the game against good opposition, their best strategy has been taking long distance shots. He also is a great weapon against tired legs. I saw some reservations against Milner but he is a great asset to have in the squad. Easily one of our best players in the second half of the season especially in the Europa cup run. Doesnt do anything flashy but provides assists when played wide. Also a great utility player - can play both full backs, wide attacking midfielder, and a central midfield player to a reasonable level.

He is going to stay. The delay is probably because Rafa is an incredibly detail oriented manager. There are rumors among the LFC media that Frank McParland and some of the other youth coaches he trusts are about to move to Newcastle. Most likely he has identified the nutritionist for the Newcastle U11 squad and has asked Ashley and Charnley's lawyer for a cast iron legal commitment to hiring that person built into his contract. He is a very smart and sharp person who is not afraid to walk away. If he had the slightest inclination that Ashley and Charnley are not 100% serious in their commitment towards him, he would have walked away by now.

Anfield HQ ✔ ‎@AnfieldHQ The Benitez family are once again stumping up around £12,000 to send 39 disadvantaged children to Disneyland Paris this autumn. #lfc Anfield HQ ✔ ‎@AnfieldHQ @AnfieldHQ Montse Benitez has also pledged to repeat the gesture every 12 months having been buoyed by its success.

No f******* way. If you are impressed with how Rafa has performed with your players in the premier league, wait till you get to Europe. He is the maestro there. 8 semi finals in 11 attempts.

He does things like that. Make substitutions or start players which make fans like us scratch our head wondering why. But after a few games, you notice it gets result. There is a reason why he is a world class manager. He sees things most of us dont. And it is all about the system for him, how the different pieces fit together. Glad to see him getting so much love at Newcastle. I have always wondered he was particularly targeted when he was LFC manager by fans of other clubs. Outside of his managerial acumen, he is a perfectly decent bloke, does a lot of work for charity and is wonderful with the fans. I think the decision for him to stay or leave will be in the hands of Ashley and Charnley. Given him the resources and show him they are as committed as him and he will stay and build your club. And it is not like Rafa expects 100 million war chest every season. His demands will be reasonable and achievable with the Newcastle budget. As long as Ashley and others give him the impression that they are as committed to the project, he will stay, no doubt about it.

Which one are you referrng to, Klaus

I have posted this earlier - If Rafa stays at Newcastle for 3-5 years you will win trophies. No doubt about it. If Ashley and Charnley wants him to stay, is willing to provide him with the resources he needs to build Newcastle - he will stay at Newcastle whether it is in the premier league or in the Championship. The money is important but I dont think Rafa is 100% about the money. After Istanbul he was the hottest manager in Europe. He could have left us and gone to far more easier jobs in the continent where he would have earned twice the money. The project is as important to him as the salary he earns. He will build your footballing infrastructure - youth team coaching, scouting, diet, physical fitness. For the first time since Sir Bobby Robson - you will have serious technical footballing people (Borrell, Segura) handling all aspects of your club. It will rival or be on par with any other team you see on the continent. Not past players coaching based on reputation and all. He gives 200% and the big question is are the owners willing to match his intensity and passion.

“Rafa will be welcomed back with open arms and rightly so,” said Dalglish. “It isn’t just about the trophies that Rafa won as Liverpool manager, although they are testament enough to the service he provided to the club, it is also about his legacy and we’re still reaping the rewards of that today,” added the Scot. “I was fortunate enough that Rafa invited me to help out at the academy in whatever way I could and I will always be eternally grateful for that. “The benefits of the changes he put in place at that time are still being seen, you only have to look at some of the players in the first team squad to recognise that. “Sheyi Ojo, Jordon Ibe and Jerome Sinclair were both brought in at that time while others including Jon Flanagan, Connor Randall, Ryan Kent, Cameron Brannagan, Ryan Kent and Jordan Rossiter had the benefit of working with the staff that Rafa put in place. “All of those players have played for Liverpool’s first team this season having been given opportunities by Jurgen Klopp and I am sure that Jurgen will appreciate the contribution that Rafa made in that respect. “The staff that Rafa brought into the Academy, especially Frank McParland, Rodolfo Borrell and Pep Segura, all made a positive difference and the work that they put in is bearing fruit and I’m sure it will continue to do so. “So Rafa can rightly be proud of his contribution to Liverpool and I’ve no doubt he will be given the kind of welcome he deserves tomorrow.” I am happy to see Kenny Dalglish acknowledge Rafa's contribution. In 2004, when he joined the LFC academy and youth team was not at all good. Loads of money was being spent on players who couldnt even have a career in the championship. Rafa completely restructured the academy, got in people like Borrell who was from the Barcelona youth team, appointed high quality technical coaches at the youth level, changed the emphasis from winning youth FA cups to producing players for the first team and we are starting to see the benefits of them. I mean we have not yet produced a class of 92 but there are plenty of decent players now coming through who are good enough to have a career in the premiership and play an important squad role.

He has won tactical battles with an inferior team against Del Bosque, Capello, Ancelotti at Madrid, San Siro, Nou Camp. Broke the Madrid Barca hold on the La liga not once, but twice. Only Simeone has come close to matching that achievement and he has not won it twice yet. I think you have go all the way up to Ferguson at Aberdeen to see such an achievement. There is also a stat along the lines of - whenever his team qualified for Europe they reached the semifinals 8 out of 12 attempts. Two CL finals, Two UEFA cup finals within a space of 10 years. It could have been two more UEFA cup finals if not for a last minute goal by A. Madrid against us and if Higain had his shooting boots in the semi final and not squandered chance after chance. He is considered damaged goods by the media but if it works out, the potential for Newcastle is limitless.

Thank you for some of the love you have shown to my previous post. Here is some more information. Rafa's preferred formation is 4-2-3-1. He may not play that during the next 10 games but over the summer and the next few transfer windows expect him to buy players which fit within a 4-2-3-1. when he was at LFC, he made even the youth teams (U15 onwards) play the 4-2-3-1 so that everyone is comfortable with their roles as a youngster. Striker: I have seen him play two type of strikers: first is Peter Crouch/Mista (at Valencia) type who serves as a focal point and their main role is to hold the ball and bring the 3 attacking midfielders into the game. The second is Torres style who works the channels, plays on the shoulders of the last defender and can destroy defenses on their own. A Rafa striker must relish the physical aspect of the game and be able to battle defenses with the ball. I dont think Rafa ever player Sturridge as a striker when he was at Chelsea. And when he came to LFC, Owen was moving to Madrid and from many rumours, Rafa did not do much to discourage the move. Same thing, when Owen was coming back from Madrid and you guys outbid us, lot of rumours that the LFC interest was primarily driven by Parry, Moore and Rafa wasnt too keen. I dont think he rarely played Bellamy as a striker too. 3 attacking midfielders: All 3 players must be interchangeable and fluid. He sometimes plays strikers on the right or left side of the 3 (Kuyt, Bellamy). When 2 attack the center and support the striker, sometimes he instructs one of the three to remain wide to give width. His best team at LFC had Riera, Gerrard, and Kuyt forming the three. His best team at Valencia had Vicente, Aimar, and someone else( dont remember maybe Rufete). 2 central midfielders: One of them is going to be a old school agricultural defensive midfielders in the Mascherano/Albelda mould -"Either the ball passes me or the player passes me but never both". Rafa loves his defensive midfielders. They are the fulcrum of his team. He is flexible with his second midfielder. From what I have heard Baraja used to join the attacks, runs into the box and score goals. But for us Alonso used to patrol the midfield and act as a pivot. Central defenders- Again he prefers one of them to be old school defenders in the Ayala, Carragher mould. When in doubt, launch it. None of this new age let us build the attacks from the back. Safety first. The triumvirate of defensive midfielder and central defenders is very important in a Rafa team. He makes them repeat drills over and over and over again till everything is second nature to them. The existing defenders and midfielders at Newcastle better have patience as he is very demanding in terms of positioning and maintaining offside lines. FullBacks: Again he is a safety first guy. So he rarely plays two attacking fullbacks. Normally one of them if not both will be more defensively oriented. Clarification on owners: He does fight a lot with owners and managing directors. He has balls made of highest grade titanium. He has high standards and tries to control every aspect of the club - diet of U 14 teams to signings. He works 14-18 hours a day and if he feels the directors/owners do not share his vision or passion, he does throw the toys out. Judging by your opinion of Ashley, Charnley - expect fireworks in the future. He would rather be fired than toe the party line and work in a compromised manner. Have to admire him for that. Media - hates the media. Hates Shreeves, Gray, and the general British media. And the feeling is mutual. VEry few reporters get along with him. Part of the reason why his reputation is poor in England. Doesnt worship traditional media heroes like Ferguson, Mourinho and makes that very clear. After Mourinho got fired: "The key to them is Abramovich. The only difference I see between Mourinho and [Avram] Grant is in their press conferences! I watched the game at Everton and they were playing the same as they always did. The media might miss Mourinho, but not me." "If Chelsea are naive and pure then I'm Little Red Riding Hood." He loves poking rival fans, So expect some brilliant quotes about Sunderland. Chelsea Fans "We don't need to give away flags for our fans to wave." He called Everton a small club ) Expect some nice WTF quotes like ""I was hoping for a sofa and they've brought me a lamp". On Roy Hodgson: "Every single press conference is even worse than the last one. Some people cannot see a priest on a mountain of sugar." His thoughts on the Luis garcia ghost goal controversy after Sky showed a complex all angle camera view. "After the game, Sheila, who was sitting right in line, said to me that the ball had crossed the line. She is a very honest person and that was good enough for me. It was a goal." and then walks off.

If Rafa Benitez is at Newcastle for the next 6 years, I am confident that you will win one of the UEFA cup, FA or Carling cup. I have no doubt about that.

Pool fan here. I come in peace. I am a bit of a Rafa fan and thought would share my views on positives and negatives of Rafa. Style of Play: Functional. Hates loosing more than loves winning. Players will be drilled, day in day out. You will have the best defense seen at the club for ages. It can grate fans who like the attacking style of football but I can guarantee one thing - Newcastle United will never let the fans down in terms of effort. He will demand every player to cover every blade of grass 10 times over in each game. Once his tactics take shape, expect Newcastle to suffocate the opposition. One of the reasons he is unpopular in the media is that he never bows down to others. His attitude towards Mourinho "F*** you", towards Ferguson " F*** you", towards Allardyc " F*** F*** F*** you". You will go to Nou Camp, Madrid, San Siro and play with the "F** you we are Geordies, this is how we play attitude". His Valencia and Liverpool teams never bowed to anyone. Ayala used to say about how Rafa wanted him to kick players in the shower and create fights in the dressing room when someone was giving less than 100%. Expect the same at Newcastle. Player management: He is not the best at managing egos. He views each player as a chess piece. If he believes the team performance improves after drinking tea which Alan Shearer makes, he will ask Alan Shearer to make tea. He is all about drills. Players come in repeat the drills over and over again till it becomes second nature. He is from the Sacchi school than Cryuff. Attention to details: Obsessive. He will spend hours analyzing every bit of detail about the opposition. Stop him on the street and ask about next weeks game, he will be able to recite the height and weight of all opposition players from memory. He will give you 400%. When he got fired from Inter he started coaching the U 10 or U 8 football team his daughters played for, and apparently parents got bewildered when he stood at the sidelines and started shouting at 8 year old girls for not following his instruction. Relationship with owners: Not the best at maintaining relationship with owners. Frequently gets into fights. Relationship with fans: Dont listen to the media who portray him as a cold person. You will love him. He embraces the city, the culture and when you loose you can see the hurt in his eyes. He will give you his everything. Him and his wife Montse Benitez are wonderful human beings who will do a lot for charity. When he left he gave the HJC a check for $96000. I know he makes millions but having the presence of mind to pick that number shows everything about him. Other incidents: Google for Montse Benitez charities. She and Rafa have done a lot. Tranfers: A bit of a mixed bag. His transfers initially were brilliant. He loves choir boys than mavericks. But when he gets it right, he really gets it right - Alonso, Torres, Mascherano, Reina. The right type of players love him. "Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano has expressed his gratitude to Rafa Benitez and feels the Real Madrid coach saved his career. Mascherano has not forgotten about his former mentor and has stressed he will always be grateful to Benitez. He's a great man, and a diligent and excellent coach," Mascherano told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has thanked Rafa Benitez for helping him to a reach a level he never expected to hit." Bellamy: "I have gone on record recently and I will say it again now that I have learnt more from Rafael Benitez than any other coach I have worked with. I am a much better player for the time I've spent working with him and if I do go on to manage at some point in the future he's the model I'll use in my career. I can't make my respect for him any clearer than that." Football infrastructure: He builds the long term football infrastructure along with the first team. His coaching staff are serious technical people - not people who get jobs because of their playing career. He revamped the youth setup at LFC and Sterling, Ibe, Flanagan - not exactly class of 92 but still the best youth setup LFC had in ages. Expect some personnel from Sevilla, Barcelona, Madrid youth setup to join yu guys in the future. Will Newcastle win the Premier League if Rafa is the boss for the next 10 years? Not sure. But you will definitely win cups and most likely nice shiny European ones. If my life depended on the outcome of a two legged European tie, there is no one on the planet I would pick to manage my club other than Rafa Benitez. Loose to Reading on Saturday and then go to Nou Camp and defeat reining European champion Barcelona on their home turf. Expect a lot of weeks like that. Good luck. Wonderful manager, great person. You will love him