Rafael Benitez

[Heron]

All 16 mins of Fridays presser are on YT is anyone wants to watch it. Wasn't sure if I can put links up but here it is:

 

 

What an absolute class act this bloke is man.

 

Answers every question perfectly - gives nowt away, lets his feelings be known without saying anything that can be misconstrued and is calm and polite.

Was belter what he had to say about Lascelles I think. Makes me like both Rafa and Lascelles more knowing that they have a trust and faith in one another. We will have a really tight squad behind the scenes I reckon and I think removing Colback will probably only help that. Again, another question he answered perfectly.

 

We'll be alreet like. Just need everyone off the pitch pulling in the same direction, and to ignore the fat cunt at the top.

[Dave]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rafa-benitez-offers-strongest-assurance-13466675

Rafa Benitez says it has NEVER crossed his mind to leave Newcastle this summer.

 

And in an interview that sets out his commitment to Newcastle he says:

 

– His disappointment at the club has not dimmed his desire to turn United into a force

 

– He is ready to move on from the summer disappointment

 

– He owes it to the players who signed because of him to stay

 

– He is a man of his word, who turned down an offer from Real Madrid to stay at Liverpool

 

Benitez wants AT LEAST three more players including a striker, but he fears the Lucas Perez deal is slipping away from him as the club wait to transfer fees to drop in the final days of the transfer window. The United boss is clearly frustrated and feels that the club have lost momentum and players in a disappointing summer.

 

But ahead of the Spurs game on Sunday he offered his clearest sign yet that he will stay at Newcastle regardless of what is to come next.

 

Asked whether he ever thought of resigning he said: “No. What I said before was the truth. From the beginning I was working very hard trying to get the targets that we had and we couldn’t do it and then I was asking why?

 

“So you have to put everything together. I said, ‘We have this problem, this one, this one, this one – what do you want to do? And I said I want to stay’.

 

“I want to stay because we fought so hard to be here. We have a city behind the team, a city behind you and your team. I said, ‘Listen, it is a pity, so we will try to do our best’, and still you are pushing and trying to change things and do things in a normal way.

 

“I am not someone who says, ‘You have to do this...’ because it’s me. No, it’s because we have experience, we have been successful and we want to replicate this way to do things.

 

“If I am here and they pay me the salary that they pay me, it’s because they trust me. It’s because I have won something and we are doing things in a professional way.

 

“We are not demanding crazy things, we are demanding just to do things in the right way, like we did with Liverpool or with Chelsea or the other clubs where we have been.

 

“We are doing things in a professional way with a lot of staff working together and after, you have someone who has to make the decisions.

 

“In this case, I was expecting it could be like this – it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting – and then we have to be sure that in this case Lee, when I tell him, he understands why I am saying ‘I would like to do this in this way’.

 

“I explain things. It’s not that I don’t explain the reasons why. This way has been successful, so were trying to replicate similar things.

 

He said he OWES it to the players who signed because of him to stay.

 

Benitez said: “I will tell you something that I didn’t say before. I had two or three targets, two or three players, who wanted to come here because of me – and I don’t want to be egotistical.

 

“They wanted to come here because of me and I couldn’t let them down. I cannot leave people waiting for me to do something, I cannot let them down.

 

“I decided to stay in the Championship. I wanted to stay in the Premier League at a massive club like this one to compete at the top of the table.

 

“Can we do it now? I don’t know. Will it be more difficult? Yes, because we didn’t do exactly what we wanted to do.

 

“We are trying to improve things now in the position that we are. It’s not that we cannot – yes, we can. Will it be perfect? Difficult. But will it be good enough to give us the chance to compete and to challenge for things?

 

“Maybe, but I don’t know at the moment.”

 

Benitez is a man of his word. He has turned down big offers before.

 

“When I was at Liverpool, I received an offer from Real Madrid and I gave my word to Liverpool and I decided to stay. It was a massive offer and I decided to stay,” he said.

 

“It was a long time ago, obviously, and they were not very happy, but I was happy with my decision.

 

“A couple of players were asking me, ‘Will you extend your contract? Will you sign a new contract?’, and I said ‘I think so’. They were signing new contracts, both players, and they decided to stay because I gave them my word.

 

“In this case, you know I have my family in England. I was away and I wanted to come back to England. I decided to come to a massive club with all the potential.

 

“I stayed in the Championship – that was a massive risk also for me. I decided to stay because everything was so positive and in the end, I was right, everything was fine.

 

“Now I was expecting other things. Okay, we don’t have those things, but we have to move forward and try to do our best.

 

“Am I happy with what was going on during the summer? No, but I think we can improve and we can compete and we can do the right things – if we understand where we are.

 

“If we think we have to be in the top four and then we are fifth and we are... [shrugging] - that makes no sense. We have to be realistic and realistic means every single game for us has to be a final, we have to do our best and if we can be in the middle of the table, maybe we can see what happens at the top.

 

“But if we are at the bottom, we have to see what happens in the middle, so it depends where we are. We have to try to fight and be as high as possible.”

 

[Optimistic Nut]

Someone post this in the Rafa RTG thread.

[Dave]

No more moaning from me. It's right there in his own words. Panic over, onwards and upwards.

 

Ashley can still fuck off and die like.

[SuperFlat]

Fucking hell, man. What a guy. Nobody could have faulted him for walking away from this absolute fucking mess, but here he is. Hope the ground is fucking rocking tomorrow for this man.

[Shelveys Hair]

I absolutely love Rafa 

 

 

[Heron]

Get in Rafa. 

[Mole_Toonfan]

He's amazing.

[Dokko]

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rafa-benitez-offers-strongest-assurance-13466675

Rafa Benitez says it has NEVER crossed his mind to leave Newcastle this summer.

 

And in an interview that sets out his commitment to Newcastle he says:

 

– His disappointment at the club has not dimmed his desire to turn United into a force

 

– He is ready to move on from the summer disappointment

 

– He owes it to the players who signed because of him to stay

 

– He is a man of his word, who turned down an offer from Real Madrid to stay at Liverpool

 

Benitez wants AT LEAST three more players including a striker, but he fears the Lucas Perez deal is slipping away from him as the club wait to transfer fees to drop in the final days of the transfer window. The United boss is clearly frustrated and feels that the club have lost momentum and players in a disappointing summer.

 

But ahead of the Spurs game on Sunday he offered his clearest sign yet that he will stay at Newcastle regardless of what is to come next.

 

Asked whether he ever thought of resigning he said: “No. What I said before was the truth. From the beginning I was working very hard trying to get the targets that we had and we couldn’t do it and then I was asking why?

 

“So you have to put everything together. I said, ‘We have this problem, this one, this one, this one – what do you want to do? And I said I want to stay’.

 

“I want to stay because we fought so hard to be here. We have a city behind the team, a city behind you and your team. I said, ‘Listen, it is a pity, so we will try to do our best’, and still you are pushing and trying to change things and do things in a normal way.

 

“I am not someone who says, ‘You have to do this...’ because it’s me. No, it’s because we have experience, we have been successful and we want to replicate this way to do things.

 

“If I am here and they pay me the salary that they pay me, it’s because they trust me. It’s because I have won something and we are doing things in a professional way.

 

“We are not demanding crazy things, we are demanding just to do things in the right way, like we did with Liverpool or with Chelsea or the other clubs where we have been.

 

“We are doing things in a professional way with a lot of staff working together and after, you have someone who has to make the decisions.

 

“In this case, I was expecting it could be like this – it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting – and then we have to be sure that in this case Lee, when I tell him, he understands why I am saying ‘I would like to do this in this way’.

 

“I explain things. It’s not that I don’t explain the reasons why. This way has been successful, so were trying to replicate similar things.

 

He said he OWES it to the players who signed because of him to stay.

 

Benitez said: “I will tell you something that I didn’t say before. I had two or three targets, two or three players, who wanted to come here because of me – and I don’t want to be egotistical.

 

“They wanted to come here because of me and I couldn’t let them down. I cannot leave people waiting for me to do something, I cannot let them down.

 

“I decided to stay in the Championship. I wanted to stay in the Premier League at a massive club like this one to compete at the top of the table.

 

“Can we do it now? I don’t know. Will it be more difficult? Yes, because we didn’t do exactly what we wanted to do.

 

“We are trying to improve things now in the position that we are. It’s not that we cannot – yes, we can. Will it be perfect? Difficult. But will it be good enough to give us the chance to compete and to challenge for things?

 

“Maybe, but I don’t know at the moment.”

 

Benitez is a man of his word. He has turned down big offers before.

 

“When I was at Liverpool, I received an offer from Real Madrid and I gave my word to Liverpool and I decided to stay. It was a massive offer and I decided to stay,” he said.

 

“It was a long time ago, obviously, and they were not very happy, but I was happy with my decision.

 

“A couple of players were asking me, ‘Will you extend your contract? Will you sign a new contract?’, and I said ‘I think so’. They were signing new contracts, both players, and they decided to stay because I gave them my word.

 

“In this case, you know I have my family in England. I was away and I wanted to come back to England. I decided to come to a massive club with all the potential.

 

“I stayed in the Championship – that was a massive risk also for me. I decided to stay because everything was so positive and in the end, I was right, everything was fine.

 

“Now I was expecting other things. Okay, we don’t have those things, but we have to move forward and try to do our best.

 

“Am I happy with what was going on during the summer? No, but I think we can improve and we can compete and we can do the right things – if we understand where we are.

 

“If we think we have to be in the top four and then we are fifth and we are... [shrugging] - that makes no sense. We have to be realistic and realistic means every single game for us has to be a final, we have to do our best and if we can be in the middle of the table, maybe we can see what happens at the top.

 

“But if we are at the bottom, we have to see what happens in the middle, so it depends where we are. We have to try to fight and be as high as possible.”

 

 

Can we top acting like fannies now and roll with Rafa?

[Heron]

A repeat of the atmosphere the last time we played Spurs tomorrow and we'll be off to a flyer...

[Figures 1-0 Football]

What an interview. What a man. 

[Dave]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-4785254/Rafa-Benitez-not-happy-Newcastle-board-transfers.html

When Rafa Benitez broke his wedding anniversary to sit down with Tammy Abraham at St George’s Park in May, all seemed well with the world of Newcastle United.

 

The manager had received the assurances he needed from owner Mike Ashley to go out and do his summer business. Benitez knew that Newcastle would be working on a budget and didn’t expect £30million signings.

 

But, what he did want was to be backed when he identified a cheap player who was key to the team. Abraham was one such player, Willy Caballero another — but both slipped through Benitez’s fingers after delays in negotiations.

 

At least Newcastle now hope to agree a £5m deal with Stoke for Spanish forward Joselu and a loan deal for Chelsea wide man Kenedy this week. But Abraham, 19, was identified early after scoring 26 goals at Bristol City in the Championship last season.

 

The striker agreed to the move and told friends how excited he was to join Benitez and Newcastle. Chelsea also sanctioned the move, but a delay caused by demands for extra commission for the agent, allowed Swansea to enter the race. The Welsh club agreed everything immediately.

 

One Newcastle insider said: ‘We lost to a club that wasn’t even in the race when he first agreed to come to us.’

 

Caballero was a free agent, so Benitez didn’t anticipate problems getting the first-class keeper he wanted. The Argentine agreed wages and was looking forward to playing regularly.

 

But more delays allowed Chelsea to come in and offer bigger wages. Although he wouldn’t be their No 1, Chelsea were emphatic they wanted him, whereas Newcastle were taking their time.

 

Inquiries were also made for Manchester City’s Fabian Delph and Eliaquim Mangala, but none of the deals went through.

[U2]

Ashley, egg and that other cunt are all massive cunts.  I hope they all fuck off and die.

[SuperFlat]

Ashley, egg and that other cunt are all massive cunts.  I hope they all fuck off and die.

 

In fairness, I don't think it has much to do with Charnley. He's always appeared onside with Rafa, and he performed admirably last summer. It'll be this Barnes cunt that's asserting Ashley's influence in all this.

[madras]

Ashley, egg and that other c*** are all massive c***s.  I hope they all f*** off and die.

 

In fairness, I don't think it has much to do with Charnley. He's always appeared onside with Rafa, and he performed admirably last summer. It'll be this Barnes c*** that's asserting Ashley's influence in all this.

or agents thinking "drag it out a little, see what else comes up"

[SuperFlat]

Ashley, egg and that other c*** are all massive c***s.  I hope they all f*** off and die.

 

In fairness, I don't think it has much to do with Charnley. He's always appeared onside with Rafa, and he performed admirably last summer. It'll be this Barnes c*** that's asserting Ashley's influence in all this.

or agents thinking "drag it out a little, see what else comes up"

 

I don't think so. Can't imagine Rafa being this open and vocal if it was all down to agent games.

[madras]

Ashley, egg and that other c*** are all massive c***s.  I hope they all f*** off and die.

 

In fairness, I don't think it has much to do with Charnley. He's always appeared onside with Rafa, and he performed admirably last summer. It'll be this Barnes c*** that's asserting Ashley's influence in all this.

or agents thinking "drag it out a little, see what else comes up"

 

I don't think so. Can't imagine Rafa being this open and vocal if it was all down to agent games.

He's been vocal about not getting what he wanted. He's also been vocal in the larger piece about "Lee". I'm not sure it's the club his frustrated with and this would have been a perfect opportunity to send more coded messages that Ashley's line wasn't quite as it seemed.

[Dokko]

I hope the stadium erupts for him tomorrow. Carnival atmosphere please.

[SuperFlat]

Ashley, egg and that other c*** are all massive c***s.  I hope they all f*** off and die.

 

In fairness, I don't think it has much to do with Charnley. He's always appeared onside with Rafa, and he performed admirably last summer. It'll be this Barnes c*** that's asserting Ashley's influence in all this.

or agents thinking "drag it out a little, see what else comes up"

 

I don't think so. Can't imagine Rafa being this open and vocal if it was all down to agent games.

He's been vocal about not getting what he wanted. He's also been vocal in the larger piece about "Lee". I'm not sure it's the club his frustrated with and this would have been a perfect opportunity to send more coded messages that Ashley's line was my quite as it seemed.

 

I've read that differently then. His issue, to me, is with the way 'the club' was conducting business. No such issue existed last summer. He's specifically said that our approach to transfer business wasn't what he'd been promised, so I think it's safe to say that this beef is with the club.

[madras]

Ashley, egg and that other c*** are all massive c***s.  I hope they all f*** off and die.

 

In fairness, I don't think it has much to do with Charnley. He's always appeared onside with Rafa, and he performed admirably last summer. It'll be this Barnes c*** that's asserting Ashley's influence in all this.

or agents thinking "drag it out a little, see what else comes up"

 

I don't think so. Can't imagine Rafa being this open and vocal if it was all down to agent games.

He's been vocal about not getting what he wanted. He's also been vocal in the larger piece about "Lee". I'm not sure it's the club his frustrated with and this would have been a perfect opportunity to send more coded messages that Ashley's line was my quite as it seemed.

 

I've read that differently then. His issue, to me, is with the way 'the club' was conducting business. No such issue existed last summer. He's specifically said that our approach to transfer business wasn't what he'd been promised, so I think it's safe to say that this beef is with the club.

Yeah seems like we read it differently. Pretty sure he wouldn't be hanging around if you're reading is correct.

[Rich]

Really enjoyed that. Good to hear that he did actually think we could aim to trouble the "top" teams this season too and that Martin Hardy isn't just a big lying bastard.

[BlackandWhite]

Seems like Ashley has done his utmost to p*ss him off and make him resign, but he's standing his ground.

 

Heroic stuff from the man.

[Odear]

Love the man. He sees the potential of this club and is prepared to try and extract it from a not so ideal situation and of course, in spite of its owner.

 

He's the man of the people this club has missed since SBR.

 

All the misery of putting up with fuckwits like Souness, Roeder, Allardyce, Kinnear, Pardew, Carver, and McLaren have been worth it.

 

Even if he only stays one more season, he'll have taken this club out of its cesspit despite Mike Ashley's best efforts.

[Stottie]

I think we need more Rafa flags.

[Yorkie]

I love him so fucking much