thenige Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Don't really have too much of a problem with the selection today, credit to Oxford, they stayed in the game and took their chances when we were determined to waste ours. Biggest concern is we're still far from comfortable dealing with setpieces. That's got far more potential to fuck up our season than not having a cup run. Don't get me wrong, not making the next round is pretty jarring, but given our priorities this season the Hull loss on penalties probably hurt us more as we were much closer to making a final. Especially being ahead in extra-time. Concentrate on the league, use this loss as an extra excuse to bring some squad/first-team players in before the window closes and this could turn out to be a blessing in disguise. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amir_9 Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 I suppose in hindsight think the radical change in line up ended up being too much. If anything should have perhaps started with a more recognized one with more senior names and then subbed in the second half ideally when we have got a good hold of the game and a goal or two up. However, despite all those changes I thought we had enough in that team to win here. A bad day at the office, will probably be one of his worst this season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 DAVID JONESVerified account @DavidJonesSky Touch of class from Rafa Benitez coming in post match to congratulate and share a quiet moment with Michael Appleton. ? Journalists love calling good manners a touch of class don't they Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
YNGLEGIONNAIRE Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 The size of his task to turn this club into anything like a reflection of his ideals is huge . Whether he is given the financial backing to do so is obviously debatable , but it's also obvious that the fans will need to be patient . Rafa's mantra is winning by control , and uniformity throughout his playing staff so as not to disrupt his blueprint . Alarming when recently we cannot adapt to losing one key player in the Championship . Worrying that we lost so heavily to a team from a lower league . Given time and the right support Rafa can reinvent this club , but we must be patient , there's a long way to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinho lad Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnNUFC Posted January 28, 2017 Share Posted January 28, 2017 The size of his task to turn this club into anything like a reflection of his ideals is huge . Whether he is given the financial backing to do so is obviously debatable , but it's also obvious that the fans will need to be patient . Rafa's mantra is winning by control , and uniformity throughout his playing staff so as not to disrupt his blueprint . Alarming when recently we cannot adapt to losing one key player in the Championship . Worrying that we lost so heavily to a team from a lower league . Given time and the right support Rafa can reinvent this club , but we must be patient , there's a long way to go. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shintonsghost Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Its never Rafas fault Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
YNGLEGIONNAIRE Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Its never Rafas fault Periods like we've endured without Shelvey are painful , and tbh avoidable with a more radical shift in setting up our team , and losing like we did yesterday is probably the result of selecting too many fringe and "struggling to make it " players. But Rafa needs to learn about the merits of his charges and it'll be much more painful to do so if he waits until /if we go up . He has an unquestionable history of success with his methods . He's learning all the time about how gargantuan the task is here , and the shortcomings that exist here make it painful for us all at times..... and frustrating . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tisd09 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 He got it wrong yesterday in my opinion. Too many changes while we all knew Oxford would be up for it at home. Maybe we would have got away with that team at home? Obviously he had one eye on the next league fixture and he believed that team sent out were good enough to cope. Maybe he overestimated how sharp Mitro would be after a lay off or he thought here's my chance to get him up to match speed before the final run towards the end of the season. Like many have said though it's clear our squad is nowhere near ready enough for the Premiership and a few key injuries could see it more of a limp over the line to get back there. Hopefully the lack of transfer activity is more about not being able to find the players that are not good enough to transition to the Premiership than our owner playing funny buggers. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
YNGLEGIONNAIRE Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Is it not Rafa KNOWS what is required for his plan ..... as opposed to a Pardewesque hope that "x" can pull it off for me purchase Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nufc4eva Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 It's a transition at the moment and promotion matters most. Rafa will and has got it wrong at times but needs patience. I was frustrated yesterday but over it 5 mins later. By the sounds of it we would have won if Mitro bothered finishing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp40 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Yesterday was shit- but not significant as there is far bigger business on the go this season. will be a different story next season, IF we are safe-ish and do the same thing. At that point it would suggest those above are telling him to bin off the cups. This is my only fear now- that Rafas ambition is curtailed by Ashley. Whatever happens, results wise, Ive made my mind up, that Rafa is by far our best hope, and Im going with his methods for as long as he is here and willing to try and make it work. (reserve the right to bitch and moan after loses tho) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Yesterday was shit- but not significant as there is far bigger business on the go this season. will be a different story next season, IF we are safe-ish and do the same thing. At that point it would suggest those above are telling him to bin off the cups. This is my only fear now- that Rafas ambition is curtailed by Ashley. Whatever happens, results wise, Ive made my mind up, that Rafa is by far our best hope, and Im going with his methods for as long as he is here and willing to try and make it work. (reserve the right to bitch and moan after loses tho) i think the most likely scenario is that rafa and the club have agreed to try and get promoted within a certain budget thus ensuring that we don't end up in the PL in august with a squad full of players we can't shift...this would be my reading of it personally; we want a couple of players in but want them to be of sufficient quality or loans for obvious reasons if rafa thinks he can get there with what we've got and isn't agitating against the owner/charnley then i'm content to let him get on with it and keep my mouth shut i know ashley has previous but it does seem highly unlikely to me he agreed a contract and strategy with rafa in may/june or whatever...everything is going exactly to plan and then he just decides to tear it up and hamstring our chances of promotion for no apparent reason Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki679 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 i know ashley has previous but it does seem highly unlikely to me he agreed a contract and strategy with rafa in may/june or whatever...everything is going exactly to plan and then he just decides to tear it up and hamstring our chances of promotion for no apparent reason Seems exactly like something he would do actually Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
themanupstairs Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Some of the bed-wetting is quite unbelievable. So Benitez makes mistakes. Big f***ing deal! No one will give a f*** about getting to the 6th round of the cup and finishing 3rd in the league, losing in the playoff final. There is only one objective this season. Some people forget the dark days this club has seen as a footballing entity. Rafa can't change all that in one season. So he starts Shelvey, Ritchie and Yedlin for example, and one of them gets knacked and it would have been: Rafa useless w***** should be resting our better players against Oxford ffs. Three points against QPR are far important than an unlikely cup run iyam. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Its never Rafas fault Periods like we've endured without Shelvey are painful , and tbh avoidable with a more radical shift in setting up our team , and losing like we did yesterday is probably the result of selecting too many fringe and "struggling to make it " players. But Rafa needs to learn about the merits of his charges and it'll be much more painful to do so if he waits until /if we go up . He has an unquestionable history of success with his methods . He's learning all the time about how gargantuan the task is here , and the shortcomings that exist here make it painful for us all at times..... and frustrating . I think he used yesterday as a chance to give the fringe players a chance to stake a claim for regular first team action. You could say he wasn't bothered about losing, but then you would expect most of those picked yesterday to be capable of at least getting a draw against Oxford United rather than losing 3-0. Shame we are out of the cup, but in hindsight this squad was never going to go much further anyway. We are still a mediocre team relying on a few key individuals. We will need a massive injection of quality in the summer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Howaythetoon Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 He's got a big squad and to keep it happy you have to give players minutes and cup games are the best matches in which to do that. That team should have still beaten Oxford and while Rafa can be blamed for his selection, use of subs and tactics etc. I personally would not hold the defeat against him. This isn't Pardew level shit who was probably responsible for 70% or more of our defeats under him. Also, we have to accept that under Rafa we will suffer some very odd losses and against weak teams, but the upside to that is coming back from 2 down to draw at Anfield or hammering Spurs 5-1 etc. Furthermore, promotion is the priority and I don't think our team are mentally capable of sustaining league and cup progress. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hog Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 People are bashing Rafa unnecessarily, he should have free reign this season as long as we're doing well in the league (by that I mean keeping in the promotion spots). Next season, if he's still with us (bearing in mind he doesn't get as much love as he could), if we don't perform in the Prem then I'll start getting twitchy. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shintonsghost Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 People are bashing Rafa unnecessarily, he should have free reign this season as long as we're doing well in the league (by that I mean keeping in the promotion spots). Next season, if he's still with us (bearing in mind he doesn't get as much love as he could), if we don't perform in the Prem then I'll start getting twitchy. i don't see anyone bashing Rafa , look my point is he seems and always has been beyond criticism, when he get's it wrong like yesterday, like Klopp he will come in for stick, and rightly should because if we fuck this up ( promotion) we want shooting and so does Rafa if we don't go up. Rafa is doing a decent job, i'd have taken this at the start of the season, time to ramp it up, show some class , be professional and get the task finished. i think we will do it, i have faith in him and the squad if it stays fit.........but Rafa bashing? No, just a reminder that he isn't all that at times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 A decent job Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shintonsghost Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 A decent job many on here had us walking the league, we are two defeats away from crisis, you watch on here if it happens so yes he is doing a decent job a team like Oxford, in a league below us has just thumped us 3-0, do you think all those 1800 fans yesterday will be chippa this morning ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Well I was one of them and it doesn't mean Rafa isn't doing a fantastic job. Everyone can think what they like but this seam of negativity is baffling to me given the club is in the best position it's been in for well over a decade and Rafa is essentially the sole reason. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danh1 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Well I was one of them and it doesn't mean Rafa isn't doing a fantastic job. Everyone can think what they like but this seam of negativity is baffling to me given the club is in the best position it's been in for well over a decade and Rafa is essentially the sole reason. Totally agreed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shintonsghost Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Well I was one of them and it doesn't mean Rafa isn't doing a fantastic job. Everyone can think what they like but this seam of negativity is baffling to me given the club is in the best position it's been in for well over a decade and Rafa is essentially the sole reason. i don't think its negativity, just folk reacting to a defeat and trying to find out why. Rafa has us all behind him in truth, you know that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrmojorisin75 Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 Well I was one of them and it doesn't mean Rafa isn't doing a fantastic job. Everyone can think what they like but this seam of negativity is baffling to me given the club is in the best position it's been in for well over a decade and Rafa is essentially the sole reason. Totally agreed. results like yesterday should highlight to us just how horrific the squad was and is tbh, it's something you'll never be able to quantify but a lesser manager than rafa and we'd be nowhere imo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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