Rafael Benitez

[DJ_NUFC]

One good thing with Rafa is he actually likes the politics and likes to ruffle some feathers. If anyone can convince Ashley to splash the cash and concede control its Rafa and Ashley would be dumb as fuck to ignore Rafa who represents his best chance of success with NUFC. Lose Rafa and its the end or should be...

 

I want to know what changed from last summer when he was clearly allowed to do that and January when it looked like Carr was back in the game.

We weren't twenty points clear at the top.

 

Ironically if we'd signed a couple, I reckon we'd be approaching that now.

 

I think it highlights how reactionary and short-sighted Ashley, Carr and Charnley are. Neither of them have a vision that transcends 6 months, it seems. Sack'em all.

[stoli]

Stan Collymore has a radio show in the States.  He says he has a good source inside West Ham saying Rafa is interested in the manager's position there.  Sure seems like a lot of smoke over the past couple of weeks.  It doesn't look like Bilic he'll last. Would be a major setback to lose Rafa.  I'm biased, but I don't see the upside for Rafa at West Ham. How many more times can we shoot ourself in the foot?

[Mole_Toonfan]

It's obviously bollocks man, the season isn't over yet ffs.

 

If you are going to believe everything said and written by clueless morons you'll not going to enjoy the summer as there's going to be a lot of bullshit.

 

Ignore it, most if not all things written and reported before June are BS.

[madras]

It's obviously bollocks man, the season isn't over yet ffs.

 

If you are going to believe everything said and written by clueless morons you'll not going to enjoy the summer as there's going to be a lot of bullshit.

Ignore it, most if not all things written and reported before June are BS.

and that's just this place.

[rgk_lfc]

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.

 

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

 

I posted this on page 111 of this thread. Now that you have had a year of Rafa, I wonder how many of you agree with my assessment of him. Are there parts which you disagree?

 

Also unless Ashley does something major to piss Rafa off, I absolutely do not see him moving to West Ham. You all can relax about that. I also think because his family is settled in England, he will not move to another European club unless he is approached by a club of the stature of Bayern.

 

 

[Shush]

I remember reading that post, was very useful and interesting. I think a lot of it is true and we've seen examples of it. I wouldn't say our team as shown the defensive drilling rewards in full yet but a lot of that is down to it being a new squad after relegation.

 

Got to love Rafa.

[Raconteur]

I remember reading that post, was very useful and interesting. I think a lot of it is true and we've seen examples of it. I wouldn't say our team as shown the defensive drilling rewards in full yet but a lot of that is down to it being a new squad after relegation.

 

Got to love Rafa.

 

It's also because our defenders are retarded, and the fact that he doesn't trust our best defender to follow instructions

[Dr.Spaceman]

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.

 

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

 

I posted this on page 111 of this thread. Now that you have had a year of Rafa, I wonder how many of you agree with my assessment of him. Are there parts which you disagree?

 

Also unless Ashley does something major to piss Rafa off, I absolutely do not see him moving to West Ham. You all can relax about that. I also think because his family is settled in England, he will not move to another European club unless he is approached by a club of the stature of Bayern.

 

 

 

I was going to disagree about us being defensively sound and then remembered that we had the second best defence in the league. The rest of it is pretty accurate tbh.

[jimmymag]

The football was certainly "functional" at the expense of entertaining, and I'll be more than happy with more of the same in the Premiership.

 

It'll be refreshing to look forward to games against the better sides not expecting a Pardewesque 3 or 4 goal drubbing.

[Paully]

Good old 'Merse'.....

 

 

'Rafa Benitez will walk away from Newcastle' - Paul Merson on why he expects United boss to depart

 

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rafa-benitez-walk-away-newcastle-12973117#ICID=ios_ChronicleNewsApp_AppShare_Click_Other

[Ryan]

Not even bothering wasting a click if it's regurgating shite spouted by Merson.

[Willow]

Merson is an utter moron, I have no idea how he gets paid to do anything.

[STM]

Remember when he said Villa were a bigger club? 

[Guest firetotheworks]

Stupid moron writes article for paper read by stupid morons.

[TRon]

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.

 

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

 

I posted this on page 111 of this thread. Now that you have had a year of Rafa, I wonder how many of you agree with my assessment of him. Are there parts which you disagree?

 

Also unless Ashley does something major to piss Rafa off, I absolutely do not see him moving to West Ham. You all can relax about that. I also think because his family is settled in England, he will not move to another European club unless he is approached by a club of the stature of Bayern.

 

 

 

A nice reminder about why it remains gripping to follow Newcastle at the moment even when the football is a bit dull. It's a novel experience to have a manager who knows the game inside out and can set a team up to play according to his methods. I suppose you could argue Pardew did that as well with eight men back and hoof it to the centre forward parked on the wing. But this is a bit better.

[Heron]

Tbh all these bitter mongs within football who have it in for NUFC will come out with this nonsense for as long as Rafa is here. Just ignore it. It will probably just fuel his desire to stay more. Top bloke and top coach is Rafa.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

That Merson bullshit is a great example of the bad side of promotion. Just going to try and ignore the media completely.

[NUFC_Chris]

Aye, haven't clicked on the article so have no idea of what he's saying. Partially because I hold no value to what Merson has to say about NUFC, and secondly because that Chronicle site is such a disease these days.

 

FWIW we're going to get these stories, particularly from bell-whiffs like Merson & the talksport crowd et al; it's best to ignore it. Most of them say stuff to be controversial.

[Yorkie]

Good old 'Merse'.....

 

 

'Rafa Benitez will walk away from Newcastle' - Paul Merson on why he expects United boss to depart

 

 

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rafa-benitez-walk-away-newcastle-12973117#ICID=ios_ChronicleNewsApp_AppShare_Click_Other

 

What are The Chronicle playing at by giving that moron any more publicity than he's already got, especially when it's so negative about us? Their coverage of Newcastle has been really excellent since Rafa came in so you can forgive em this, but for goodness sake!

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Yeah, not a good move to reprint that shit. Guess they can't resist the clicks.

[Yorkie]

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. Check.

Hates loosing more than loves winning. Check.

Players will be drilled, day in day out. Check.

You will have the best defense seen at the club for ages. This will take time.

It can grate fans who like the attacking style of football Check.

but I can guarantee one thing - Newcastle United will never let the fans down in terms of effort. Check.

 

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. Difficult to say at this point but no reason to doubt.

 

 

Player management:

He is not the best at managing egos. I don't think we have any tbh.

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. Seen nothing to suggest otherwise.

 

 

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%. Check.

 

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. I guess we'll see, but he's clearly a political manager.

 

 

Relationship with fans:

Dont listen to the media who portray him as a cold person. You will love him. Check.

He embraces the city, the culture and when you loose you can see the hurt in his eyes. Check.

He will give you his everything. Check.

Him and his wife Montse Benitez are wonderful human beings who will do a lot for charity. Check.

 

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.

 

Google for Montse Benitez charities. She and Rafa have done a lot.

 

 

Tranfers:

A bit of a mixed bag. Check. 

His transfers initially were brilliant. Check - the initial key signings have been spot on.

He loves choir boys than mavericks. Check.

But when he gets it right, he really gets it right - Alonso, Torres, Mascherano, Reina. Fully believe you.

 

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. Check. There is definitely evidence of this sort of thing taking place.

 

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

 

I posted this on page 111 of this thread. Now that you have had a year of Rafa, I wonder how many of you agree with my assessment of him. Are there parts which you disagree?

 

Also unless Ashley does something major to piss Rafa off, I absolutely do not see him moving to West Ham. You all can relax about that. I also think because his family is settled in England, he will not move to another European club unless he is approached by a club of the stature of Bayern.

 

So much of your post rings true.

[Heron]

[rgk_lfc]

The only thing which caught me off guard was your performance in the second half of the season. Rafa's team usually pick up steam in the second half. Considering your position in November, I thought winning the Championship was a foregone conclusion. The dip in the second half surprised me. Maybe it was the injuries to key players?

[cp40]

The only thing which caught me off guard was your performance in the second half of the season. Rafa's team usually pick up steam in the second half. Considering your position in November, I thought winning the Championship was a foregone conclusion. The dip in the second half surprised me. Maybe it was the injuries to key players?

 

 

Didnt surprise many of us, when Rafa identified where we needed to strengthen in January and those above 'found a way' for that not to happen.

[Guest firetotheworks]

The only thing which caught me off guard was your performance in the second half of the season. Rafa's team usually pick up steam in the second half. Considering your position in November, I thought winning the Championship was a foregone conclusion. The dip in the second half surprised me. Maybe it was the injuries to key players?

 

Off the top of my head, imo it was a combination of the following:

 

Gayle's injury,

Mitrovic being unable to score,

Gayle's injury making Shelvey far less effective,

Hayden being injured meaning that Colback got game time,

Having no really effective number 10,

Clark being injured,

Lascelles underperforming, or being kind to him having a double hernia.

Player under-performing and/or simply not being good enough. For the most part Perez, Mitrovic, Diame, and Atsu all performed below the level we thought they would.

And yes, sometimes conservative tactics and poor player choices/substitutions.

 

All compounded by not signing anyone in January, really.

 

It really can't be emphasised enough just how much Matt Ritchie dragged us through some of those games towards the end.