54 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 From Rawk: Rafa vs Fat Sam in a Tyne Wear derby. That'll be good. Plus a return to Anfield. Rafa Benitez vs Jurgen Klopp. Newcastle are in a terrible place. Its a league of 3 where the winner stays up and the rest get relegated. I wouldn't call it 3 nil down at half time to AC milan but its up there What they need right now is a footballing manager. This isn't a time for arm round the shoulder. This is a time for listening to the managers plan and executing it to the exact standards. There's no better at doing that than Rafa. What their fans need to do now is get behind him and show him the respect he deserves and he'll keep them up Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 My friends, family and colleagues have seemed genuinely surprised by how giddy I've been about all this news today. They're seemingly so used to how downbeat and negative I am about the club that they've been taken aback by my optimism and excitement. I'm sure the wife thinks I'm putting it on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 The biggest endorsement of Rafa is that to this day Liverpool fans still love him even though he didn't win the title. Winning the CL probably helped, but more than that, they became a feared team again under his watch. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest neesy111 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 My friends, family and colleagues have seemed genuinely surprised by how giddy I've been about all this news today. They're seemingly so used to how downbeat and negative I am about the club that they've been taken aback by my optimism and excitement. I'm sure the wife thinks I'm putting it on. A few people at work noticed how happy I was talking about football today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parky Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Let's face it, even two days ago we all thought this was impossible. He didn't say, "Let's do our best or see what happens"...He said, "Let's win that game"...Referring to Leicester. If anyone can pull this off it is Rafa. The 3/4 quality players we have will respond immediately because he knows how to make small adjustments to get the extra 10% and with the others the drills will help them over time become more solid. Rafa Benitez. Wow! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtype Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 My friends, family and colleagues have seemed genuinely surprised by how giddy I've been about all this news today. They're seemingly so used to how downbeat and negative I am about the club that they've been taken aback by my optimism and excitement. I'm sure the wife thinks I'm putting it on. I totally get this. I went from genuinely hoping the club folds as soon as possible to eagerly anticipating the match on Monday. Everyone who I usually talk to about nufc thinks I've gone mad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varadi Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 That interview is fantastic, such calm authority, can already see how much difference there will be between him and McClaren. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
r0cafella Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 My friends, family and colleagues have seemed genuinely surprised by how giddy I've been about all this news today. They're seemingly so used to how downbeat and negative I am about the club that they've been taken aback by my optimism and excitement. I'm sure the wife thinks I'm putting it on. I totally get this. I went from genuinely hoping the club folds as soon as possible to eagerly anticipating the match on Monday. Everyone who I usually talk to about nufc thinks I've gone mad. First time my colleagues have ever seen me excited about NUFC as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
relámpago blanco Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Probably Giggs as it's obvious but; Johnson wont fool the children of the Rafalution Johnson wont fool the children of the Rafalution Johnson wont fool the children of the Rafalution Johnson wont fool the children of the Rafalution Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parky Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 It was like a day dream watching his first interview. I know it's a cliche but it still hasn't quite sunk in. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mick Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 We woke up this morning and McClaren was our manager, we'll go to bed tonight and Benitez is our manager, life doesn't get any better than that. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Got that legitimate fear of losing again, it's like the olden days. This really could be the start of something, and it very probably all goes to shit if we go down. Already feel nervous about Monday night. Amazing the impact a little bit of ambition can have. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 The threat of impending relegation can be forgotten about for a few days while I enjoy this. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
54 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Reading that Rawk thread, why do they hate Villa so much? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leazes_End_Mag Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Just finished the mrs. My heart belongs to Rafa. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaKa Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Can't wait to see his first team sheet man. Love to see how he envisions setting us up. From his interview it seems he has watched us play and is familiar with the team somewhat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weznufc Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Still smiling with this news. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shush Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 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 Loved reading this. I've fallen in love with football again. We've finally done something right.and worthy of being excited about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 I've not been this happy about anything football related in years. I was dead inside with regards to NUFC. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Reading that Rawk thread, why do they hate Villa so much? He was gonna go there and a load of them turned their noses up at him, by the looks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cp40 Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 fucking fools- Ive always looked on him as one of them Top managers- managing the champions league clubs- way out of our league- a place we once under SBR tasted but long since left us behind. The top end of football we could watch but not be involved- so to get a manager from that caliber here is just .... fucking pinches myself, Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Venkman Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 You know he'll have been devising a plan all week to get something on Monday, no way did he just start thinking about it today. This sort of thing unites a fan base. One of the worst things about the last few years for me is how estranged from my fellow NUFC fans I've felt. Now we can all unite in support of Rafa and get on with loving the club again as a collective. Who knows, if we stay up and Ashley keeps his promises we might even see the return of a lot of fans who had walked away from SJP for a while, and get a real atmosphere back. We've all seen it before, this club is a juggernaut once it gets rolling. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Idiot Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 He didn't say, "Let's do our best or see what happens"...He said, "Let's win that game"...Referring to Leicester. Yeh, totally noticed. What a refreshing change. The talk of a winner. No relegation experience...because he's a winner. Wants 3 points in every game...because he's a winner. If we lose trying to win, then fair enough. It's the losing while not trying that has been killing me for years. And losing before we even kick-off. Mr P's favourite approach. We have a proven winner leading us! He's also zero-bullshit in his interviews, which will make a far refreshing change from the recent incumbents. Note that this is not always a positive, since he's a bit tone-deaf from time to time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 Probable giggs but: http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/what-newcastle-supporters-can-expect-7540681 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mag_in_NZ Posted March 11, 2016 Share Posted March 11, 2016 "One of the worst things about the last few years for me is how estranged from my fellow NUFC fans I've felt" So much this, it's really strange here as the association is with so many who follow different clubs and the remoteness of things black 'n' white - yeah the platitudes flow but the reaction the morning is generally "how the fuck did you pull that off"...spring in the step and (even if it's only for a few days) immense pride Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts