Guest MDD Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Another thing worth noting is that I believe Gerrard didn't like Rafa because the Spaniard undermined his influence in the dressing room. There's a telling story in Jerzy Dudek's new autobiography about an episode that occurred during Houllier's time. Liverpool were playing in Eastern Europe and the weather was wet and freezing, and coach Sammy Lee ordered the players at full time to go out and do their stretches. Gerrard refused to do so, and said the whole team will stretch in the dressing room instead - much to the dismay of Sammy Lee who argued with Gerrard. Sammy Lee was then ordered out the room by Houllier, who then proceeded to support Gerrard's claim and allow them to do their stretches in the dressing room. It struck some players as weak management by Houllier and showed the power of influence of Gerrard. This is only a theory, but with Rafa, in no way whatsoever would this have been allowed to occur. I can only assume that Gerrard did not like Rafa's authority and disciplinarian position because he undermined his power in the dressing room - quite right too. It's interesting to note that Gerrard was full of praise for Rodgers in his autobiography - and quite interesting that Gerrard was privy to knowledge on transfer deals and almost had an 'insider' status that Brendan allowed him. Again, player power had returned with regards to Gerrard under Rodgers (possibly due to Rodgers not having the high status that someone like Rafa had when he came in so perhaps needed 'allies'), and it was only when Rodgers undermined this and admitted that he was going to have to decrease his playing time (obviously sensible for a player of 35 years old) that he decided enough was enough and was to leave Anfield. He would most probably have disliked Jurgen Klopp's approach - particularly considering that the German has banned wives and girlfriends from Melwood training (big question as to why this was allowed?). Something I presume Gerrard was all in favour of as it occurred prior to Klopp's arrival when Gerrard was still present. By having control of players egos and keeping a lid on everything, Rafa never allowed player ego to run wildly around the club. As was shown with Liverpool and Gerrard, if the egos were given what they wanted, it only proved to be destructive. With Newcastle, there will be no uncertainty as to who is in charge at the club. From the outset and with little knowledge, it looks like control freakery but it is only like that as there's a hell of a lot of control needed to stamp out malign influences. For those who accuse Rafa of this, all you have to wonder is what Liverpool would have turned out like if mass egos in the squad and Hicks and Gillett had run riot around the club with no scrutiny. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shearergol Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Stevie G in being a massive bell-end shock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinho lad Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Another thing worth noting is that I believe Gerrard didn't like Rafa because the Spaniard undermined his influence in the dressing room. There's a telling story in Jerzy Dudek's new autobiography about an episode that occurred during Houllier's time. Liverpool were playing in Eastern Europe and the weather was wet and freezing, and coach Sammy Lee ordered the players at full time to go out and do their stretches. Gerrard refused to do so, and said the whole team will stretch in the dressing room instead - much to the dismay of Sammy Lee who argued with Gerrard. Sammy Lee was then ordered out the room by Houllier, who then proceeded to support Gerrard's claim and allow them to do their stretches in the dressing room. It struck some players as weak management by Houllier and showed the power of influence of Gerrard. This is only a theory, but with Rafa, in no way whatsoever would this have been allowed to occur. I can only assume that Gerrard did not like Rafa's authority and disciplinarian position because he undermined his power in the dressing room - quite right too. It's interesting to note that Gerrard was full of praise for Rodgers in his autobiography - and quite interesting that Gerrard was privy to knowledge on transfer deals and almost had an 'insider' status that Brendan allowed him. Again, player power had returned with regards to Gerrard under Rodgers (possibly due to Rodgers not having the high status that someone like Rafa had when he came in so perhaps needed 'allies'), and it was only when Rodgers undermined this and admitted that he was going to have to decrease his playing time (obviously sensible for a player of 35 years old) that he decided enough was enough and was to leave Anfield. He would most probably have disliked Jurgen Klopp's approach - particularly considering that the German has banned wives and girlfriends from Melwood training (big question as to why this was allowed?). Something I presume Gerrard was all in favour of as it occurred prior to Klopp's arrival when Gerrard was still present. By having control of players egos and keeping a lid on everything, Rafa never allowed player ego to run wildly around the club. As was shown with Liverpool and Gerrard, if the egos were given what they wanted, it only proved to be destructive. With Newcastle, there will be no uncertainty as to who is in charge at the club. From the outset and with little knowledge, it looks like control freakery but it is only like that as there's a hell of a lot of control needed to stamp out malign influences. For those who accuse Rafa of this, all you have to wonder is what Liverpool would have turned out like if mass egos in the squad and Hicks and Gillett had run riot around the club with no scrutiny. What's your opinion on Rafa taking the Chelsea job? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John P Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Every weekend, I seem to start liking this man a little more. I know he keeps brushing it off, as he doesn't want to talk about going down. But if the club and Rafa, were to release a statement before the end of the season. Stating that he will remain at the club, regardless of which league we are in. Then I honestly don't think I'd care too much about going down. Getting relegated and then appointing someone like Nigel Pearson, would be a massive kick in the bollocks. Me neither. If Rafa agrees to stay if we get relegated then by all means bring relegation on. I would have absoutely no doubts that Rafa would bring us back up straight away and would have cleared out all the players and staff that aren't good for the club. In a strange way, it might actually be beneficial for the big clear out if we were relegated, everything could be practically started again and done the right way from the start. If Rafa is going to leave if we're relegated though, then relegation can fuck off please. I think we'd be stuck down there for a long time. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinho lad Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Stevie G in being a massive bell-end shock. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
last_monetarist Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 What's your opinion on Rafa taking the Chelsea job? Yeah, I'd be interested to hear this as well. I seem to remember reactions among Liverpool fans were fairly mixed with some being disgruntled that he'd choose to work for that classless lot, while others were pragmatic enough to realize that Rafa couldn't twiddle thumbs sat at home waiting for the right offer. He had not worked for two years before that opportunity came along and he'd have been mad to decline it. The Chelsea job gave him a risk-free audition in the shop window so to speak, as he didn't really have much to lose by going there. I reckon he actually came out with it with his professional reputation enhanced in the face of the squalid treatment meted out by the Chelsea supporters. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallace Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Every weekend, I seem to start liking this man a little more. I know he keeps brushing it off, as he doesn't want to talk about going down. But if the club and Rafa, were to release a statement before the end of the season. Stating that he will remain at the club, regardless of which league we are in. Then I honestly don't think I'd care too much about going down. Getting relegated and then appointing someone like Nigel Pearson, would be a massive kick in the bollocks. Me neither. If Rafa agrees to stay if we get relegated then by all means bring relegation on. I would have absoutely no doubts that Rafa would bring us back up straight away and would have cleared out all the players and staff that aren't good for the club. In a strange way, it might actually be beneficial for the big clear out if we were relegated, everything could be practically started again and done the right way from the start. If Rafa is going to leave if we're relegated though, then relegation can f*** off please. I think we'd be stuck down there for a long time. Can't bear to think who we would get if Rafa leaves. Whoever it is will feel like a massive come down and it will be a tough job for them as I think we will be constantly comparing them to what we could have had. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinho lad Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 What's your opinion on Rafa taking the Chelsea job? Yeah, I'd be interested to hear this as well. I seem to remember reactions among Liverpool fans were fairly mixed with some being disgruntled that he'd choose to work for that classless lot, while others were pragmatic enough to realize that Rafa couldn't twiddle thumbs sat at home waiting for the right offer. He had not worked for two years before that opportunity came along and he'd have been mad to decline it. The Chelsea job gave him a risk-free audition in the shop window so to speak, as he didn't really have much to lose by going there. I reckon he actually came out with it with his professional reputation enhanced in the face of the squalid treatment meted out by the Chelsea supporters. I genuinely can't remember that he was out of management for the two years. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Between Inter and Chelsea. Fairly big gap. Then another fairly big gap to get the Real job. All bad experiences imo despite winning some trophies. It's been a long time since he's been given the chance to build a club in his image. After Liverpool it looked like he should get a string of top jobs he could settle with but he's not that type of manager. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parsley Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Between Inter and Chelsea. Fairly big gap. Then another fairly big gap to get the Real job. All bad experiences imo despite winning some trophies. It's been a long time since he's been given the chance to build a club in his image. After Liverpool it looked like he should get a string of top jobs he could settle with but he's not that type of manager. Eh? He got the Real job almost directly after leaving Napoli didn't he? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Ah totally forgot about Napoli Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The College Dropout Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 That didn't go too well did it? Spent shed loads on players from La Liga. Knocked out CL qualifiers a few times or didn't even make it that far. Thinking about it that would be his biggest 'failure' imo. Don't follow that league at all bur from what I gathered he didn't push them on and this season they have improved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmoset Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Even the best managers do underwhelming jobs sometimes. There are a lot of factors involved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Without knowing much about Napoli at all, it feels like it might have just been another bad fit for Rafa, same with Real. Remember Napoli playing some great football in the CL, very attacking and fast paced, might have been a bad idea to go from that to Rafa's more tactical approach. Feels like everyone knew that the Real Madrid job was never going to suit him, was such a bad appointment by the Real Madrid board. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reefatoon Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 If by some miracle we do manage to keep hold of Benitez in the championship, if he also manages to keep a good lump of players who are now performing for him, god damn, it's going to be a fun season. 10-0 each game, bliss. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexumaster Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 If by some miracle we do manage to keep hold of Benitez in the championship, if he also manages to keep a good lump of players who are now performing for him, god damn, it's going to be a fun season. 10-0 each game, bliss. I feel like the opposite might happen, it would be a big scalp for Champo teams to take down Benitez, so they'd up their game against us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest chopey Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 The good thing about Rafa is that the fans have a lot more respect for him rather than any of the players, his name has been sung constantly since he arrived and player power is non-existant. I'm at the stage now where i'm not bothered which league we play in next season so long as Rafa is in charge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reefatoon Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 If by some miracle we do manage to keep hold of Benitez in the championship, if he also manages to keep a good lump of players who are now performing for him, god damn, it's going to be a fun season. 10-0 each game, bliss. I feel like the opposite might happen, it would be a big scalp for Champo teams to take down Benitez, so they'd up their game against us. They tried that the last time, but the teams were absolute shit. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leazes_End_Mag Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rafa-benitez-newcastle-13-stats-11237489 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallace Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 The good thing about Rafa is that the fans have a lot more respect for him rather than any of the players, his name has been sung constantly since he arrived and player power is non-existant. I'm at the stage now where i'm not bothered which league we play in next season so long as Rafa is in charge. This is what I have been saying. The players can no longer use the manager as the reason for their failings because the fans are 100% behind him. Makes a change from the recent charlatans we have had managing us in recent years. I just hope that is something that the board have also noted. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulie Walnuts Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 i don't think we'll stay up which is heartbreaking as Rafa is the best thing that's happened to us since Sir Bobby. IF we were to stay up would Ashley back him? We know Keegan was promised investment but was lied to. I can't see him being any different here, and he's already said theres no money left. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRC Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 We would ship a lot of players out though. I'd imagine we could get 10 mill for Wijnaldum, 8m for Sissoko, the Cabella fee is agreed. Janmaat 5 mil. Looking at 25 million in the Championship, even more if we flog Shelvey, Perez and Mitro. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thomas Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 The good thing about Rafa is that the fans have a lot more respect for him rather than any of the players, his name has been sung constantly since he arrived and player power is non-existant. I'm at the stage now where i'm not bothered which league we play in next season so long as Rafa is in charge. Noticed that for a while. Hope it's pissed off some egos on the pitch tbh. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliottman Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 We'll get more than that for sissoko and janmaat. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubestationatmidnight Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 8 million pounds for Sissoko man hajaha no chance Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts