Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)

[steve_69]

 

 

As an aside there seems to be a high correlation between criticising Rafa and having poor grammar as well.

 

 

 

So in your eyes hes basically untouchable if he takes us down whos fault is it then?

 

Great timing. This has been answered dozens of times now. Blatant WUM. f*** off back to RTG.

 

Look idiot just because I choose to question Benitez does not make me any less of a fan than you are. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and you spouting s*** like deluded is ridiculous. Im just not completely blinkered and in any operation in life if your team fails the buck stops at the manager or coach. If my team at work were underperforming and not getting the results expected it would be my fault no one elses and id likely be fired for it

 

But whether that's fair or not depends very much on the equipment you are given to do that job. If your job is digging trenches and your boss gives you a table spoon to do it with, you won't do a very good job will you? Does that mean you deserve to be sacked?

If your boss gives you a JCB to dig trenches and you still manage to do fuck all, yes you deserve to lose your job.

 

[wormy]

So irritating that quotes override the ignore function.

[geordiedean]

Been told man

 

Fucking hell Nazi N.O

Nah, if it's the same person asking the same question and getting the same answer time and time again from different people, it's not everyone else's fault that the lad's a complete dunce.

 

Your love for Rafa is clouding your judgement lad, many many people on here are so reluctant to even question his failings and inadequacies this season. Lots of things that he has done or implemented this season is open for question

 

Mike Ashley is solely at fault for false promises or providing an adequate budget to obtain quality within the team that's true. What he is not at fault for is team selection; tactics; squad rotation and motivation. So my question to you again is whos fault is this? take the black and white glasses off before you answer it

[Dave]

Sorry like but when you're posting stuff like:

 

Sack the Spanish Tony Pulis and we get that bounce

 

Then you deserve every bit of ridicule that you get.

[samptime29]

Been told man

 

f***ing hell Nazi N.O

 

Jesus Christ. 

[HaydnNUFC]

Been told man

 

f***ing hell Nazi N.O

Nah, if it's the same person asking the same question and getting the same answer time and time again from different people, it's not everyone else's fault that the lad's a complete dunce.

 

Your love for Rafa is clouding your judgement lad, many many people on here are so reluctant to even question his failings and inadequacies this season. Lots of things that he has done or implemented this season is open for question

 

Mike Ashley is solely at fault for false promises or providing an adequate budget to obtain quality within the team that's true. What he is not at fault for is team selection; tactics; squad rotation and motivation. So my question to you again is whos fault is this? take the black and white glasses off before you answer it

You either ignored or didn't see my question to you yesterday so I'll ask again.

 

You lambast Rafa at every opportunity. I assume you want him gone. Who would you like to replace him then?

[Carlito]

Spanish Tony Pulis :lol:

 

What trophies did Pulis ever win?

[steve_69]

Been told man

 

f***ing hell Nazi N.O

Nah, if it's the same person asking the same question and getting the same answer time and time again from different people, it's not everyone else's fault that the lad's a complete dunce.

 

Your love for Rafa is clouding your judgement lad, many many people on here are so reluctant to even question his failings and inadequacies this season. Lots of things that he has done or implemented this season is open for question

 

Mike Ashley is solely at fault for false promises or providing an adequate budget to obtain quality within the team that's true. What he is not at fault for is team selection; tactics; squad rotation and motivation. So my question to you again is whos fault is this? take the black and white glasses off before you answer it

You either ignored or didn't see my question to you yesterday so I'll ask again.

 

You lambast Rafa at every opportunity. I assume you want him gone. Who would you like to replace him then?

 

It’s not his job to come up with new managers, just to try and force out the existing one despite him being world class. That’s what true fans do.

[Amir_9]

People comparing Hughton first season back up last time around to Rafa now..

 

Did they not break our transfer record as well in the summer?

 

We had no marquee signing in the summer, nothing more than budget gap filling and one for the future

 

Can you criticise Rafa for not spending what he had better? Possibly. Can you criticise some of his selections despite having his hands tied with a very limited squad? Still yes, possibly.

 

However until the guy has a proper transfer budget, I can't fully be against him. Not totally devoid of the blame, but can't fully blame him.

[Heron]

Been told man

 

Fucking hell Nazi N.O

Nah, if it's the same person asking the same question and getting the same answer time and time again from different people, it's not everyone else's fault that the lad's a complete dunce.

 

Your love for Rafa is clouding your judgement lad, many many people on here are so reluctant to even question his failings and inadequacies this season. Lots of things that he has done or implemented this season is open for question

 

Mike Ashley is solely at fault for false promises or providing an adequate budget to obtain quality within the team that's true. What he is not at fault for is team selection; tactics; squad rotation and motivation. So my question to you again is whos fault is this? take the black and white glasses off before you answer it

Can you provide us with 3 or 4 games where you would have fielded different players or tactics, with utmost certainty that these tactics would have worked and we'd have had more points?

 

I'm curious.

 

Also I don't know what this un-motivated shite is. Looks like we've given 100% all season to me.

 

 

[Guest chopey]

Can we please just give Rafa a new keeper and center forward and see what happens to our results

[geordiedean]

Been told man

 

f***ing hell Nazi N.O

Nah, if it's the same person asking the same question and getting the same answer time and time again from different people, it's not everyone else's fault that the lad's a complete dunce.

 

Your love for Rafa is clouding your judgement lad, many many people on here are so reluctant to even question his failings and inadequacies this season. Lots of things that he has done or implemented this season is open for question

 

Mike Ashley is solely at fault for false promises or providing an adequate budget to obtain quality within the team that's true. What he is not at fault for is team selection; tactics; squad rotation and motivation. So my question to you again is whos fault is this? take the black and white glasses off before you answer it

You either ignored or didn't see my question to you yesterday so I'll ask again.

 

You lambast Rafa at every opportunity. I assume you want him gone. Who would you like to replace him then?

 

I don't want him gone im just not one that as every week passes with every woeful performance and every loss or failure to score thinks its fine and he shouldn't be brought up for questioning. To me in any team sport it doesn't matter who the coach or manager is and what he has at his disposal its upto him to get the best out of what he has to work with. Bobby Robson turned Aaron Hughes; Andy Obrien and Titus Bramble into champions league players FFS.

 

Rafa has had to work with inferior players but to me if hes as good a tactician/coach/manager as everyone perceives him to be then he should be able to get his team to compete win or even to score against Bournemouth; Burnley; Hudersfield; Brighton x2; Everton and Watford

 

As a fan of over 40 years im entitled to my opinion and from what ive seen this season even with meagre  resources Benitez is failing at his job.

[Dave]

Also I don't know what this un-motivated shite is. Looks like we've given 100% all season to me.

 

Aye, this stuff is really getting on my tits. The last 30mins against Everton aside, I'm struggling to think of many times when the players didn't try their absolute best. The players are still fully behind him IMO, they're just not good enough collectively.

[Hughesy]

Intrigued to know where you think we should be with this squad? Our squad is easily one of the weakest in the division. So why do you expect us to be outperforming teams with far superior squads and resources? Utterly bizarre.

[TRon]

He shouldn't be sacked because he's by some distance the best manager we could ever have, I don't even know why anyone would even contemplate the idea.

 

Even if we get relegated I wouldn't sack him although I think he'd walk.

 

So in your eyes hes basically untouchable if he takes us down whos fault is it then?

 

Mike Ashley is at fault.

 

The only clubs you can logically compare us to in terms of finance and quality are Brighton and Huddersfield, because the rest have had a head-start on us with 2 seasons to build on what they had when we were relegated. We missed out on that TV money. We then sold to buy in the Championship to get us straight back up, and Rafa was given minimal funding when we actually came back up. As of the summer window, both Brighton and Huddersfield have a net spend that is £15m higher than ours, and yet they're only 3-5 points ahead of us in the table.

 

The fact that we're not bottom is a fucking miracle, and a testament to how lucky we are to have someone like Rafa right now.

 

I said in this thread, even when we were sixth in the table that it was basically Rafa doing it with his organisation. We looked really poor even then, we had nothing going forward, and were winning games with mis-hits and bobblers.

[Gottlob]

I think the majority of Newcastle fans appreciate that Rafa was stymied by Ashley in the summer, and like and respect Rafa and realise the likely alternatives would be so much worse. But I also think it's hard to argue he's been getting the best out of what he has over the last couple of months. We know that he didn't get the money needed in the summer, and that he was misled to some extent over the budget while the other promoted clubs Brighton and Huddersfield were able to invest. On the other hand our recent history in the Premier League gave us a wage bill £30 million in excess of those clubs last season, while the sales of assets like Sissoko and Wijnaldum among others have allowed Rafa to spend almost £100 million gross, even while making a net profit for us in the transfer market. That's more money to spend on players than Brighton, Huddersfield, and even Premier League clubs like Burnley, Bournemouth, West Brom, and Stoke, and as woeful as our squad undoubtedly is, I don't think it's far and away the worst squad in the league. Half of the first team squad is made up of players Rafa signed.

 

Like others, I'm surprised that Rafa has moved away from his trusty 4-2-3-1, which seems especially unlike him because it's obviously providing us with less cover, less possession, and less control without reliably boosting our goalscoring. Our defence usually does look more organised than it did under Rafa's predecessors, and that structure extends to the attack, but we're as poor as ever when it comes to possession and movement through the midfield and in the final third of the pitch. Players like Mbemba, Mitrovic, Aarons, even Murphy have probably been underutilised. And I don't think you can always affirm the effort of the players, because against Manchester United, Watford, and even yesterday for instance, the players' heads have dropped or they haven't looked fully committed. I don't doubt the players' fondness or respect for Rafa, but the approach probably isn't hugely motivating when you're not grinding out the results. I also think that Rafa plays politics too readily without being particularly good at it or having anywhere to go, and that the takeover has negatively affected our season.

 

I'd like to see us back to a 4-2-3-1 with Perez in the hole behind the striker, Atsu and Murphy starting on the wings, and for me the priorities in January should be a striker and a central midfielder, because at the moment - with Saivet something of a wild card - we don't seem able to muster a competent pairing in the centre of the pitch. A functioning left-back and an improvement or at least competition for Perez would be next on the list. I also think Mbemba warrants a run in the centre of defence at some point, though we seem to have regained our composure at the back since Lascelles returned from injury.

[Heron]

Also I don't know what this un-motivated shite is. Looks like we've given 100% all season to me.

 

Aye, this stuff is really getting on my tits. The last 30mins against Everton aside, I'm struggling to think of many times when the players didn't try their absolute best. The players are still fully behind him IMO, they're just not good enough collectively.

Aye. It's like it's used simply to add strength to the debate when it's not valid what so ever. We might be waning in confidence, understandably, but certainly not lack of motivation or effort. I don't think any one of us think Rafa is above criticism either, I just think most of us see that he's a world class manager and the best (current) thing about our club.

 

One thing that always seemingly gets overlooked too with regards to Benitez is that he seemingly has been pulling the strings to rid us of the twat at the top. Benitez is worth his weight in gold for that alone.

[Mattoon]

Been told man

 

f***ing hell Nazi N.O

Nah, if it's the same person asking the same question and getting the same answer time and time again from different people, it's not everyone else's fault that the lad's a complete dunce.

 

Your love for Rafa is clouding your judgement lad, many many people on here are so reluctant to even question his failings and inadequacies this season. Lots of things that he has done or implemented this season is open for question

 

Mike Ashley is solely at fault for false promises or providing an adequate budget to obtain quality within the team that's true. What he is not at fault for is team selection; tactics; squad rotation and motivation. So my question to you again is whos fault is this? take the black and white glasses off before you answer it

You either ignored or didn't see my question to you yesterday so I'll ask again.

 

You lambast Rafa at every opportunity. I assume you want him gone. Who would you like to replace him then?

 

I don't want him gone im just not one that as every week passes with every woeful performance and every loss or failure to score thinks its fine and he shouldn't be brought up for questioning. To me in any team sport it doesn't matter who the coach or manager is and what he has at his disposal its upto him to get the best out of what he has to work with. Bobby Robson turned Aaron Hughes; Andy Obrien and Titus Bramble into champions league players FFS.

 

Rafa has had to work with inferior players but to me if hes as good a tactician/coach/manager as everyone perceives him to be then he should be able to get his team to compete win or even to score against Bournemouth; Burnley; Hudersfield; Brighton x2; Everton and Watford

 

As a fan of over 40 years im entitled to my opinion and from what ive seen this season even with meagre  resources Benitez is failing at his job.

 

Sack the Spanish Tony Pulis and we get that bounce

 

K then!

[Dave]

I think the majority of Newcastle fans appreciate that Rafa was stymied by Ashley in the summer, and like and respect Rafa and realise the likely alternatives would be so much worse. But I also think it's hard to argue he's been getting the best out of what he has over the last couple of months. We know that he didn't get the money needed in the summer, and that he was misled to some extent over the budget while the other promoted clubs Brighton and Huddersfield were able to invest. On the other hand our recent history in the Premier League gave us a wage bill £30 million in excess of those clubs last season, while the sales of assets like Sissoko and Wijnaldum among others have allowed Rafa to spend almost £100 million gross, even while making a net profit for us in the transfer market. That's more money to spend on players than Brighton, Huddersfield, and even Premier League clubs like Burnley, Bournemouth, West Brom, and Stoke, and as woeful as our squad undoubtedly is, I don't think it's far and away the worst squad in the league. Half of the first team squad is made up of players Rafa signed.

 

Like others, I'm surprised that Rafa has moved away from his trusty 4-2-3-1, which seems especially unlike him because it's obviously providing us with less cover, less possession, and less control without reliably boosting our goalscoring. Our defence usually does look more organised than it did under Rafa's predecessors, and that structure extends to the attack, but we're as poor as ever when it comes to possession and movement through the midfield and in the final third of the pitch. Players like Mbemba, Mitrovic, Aarons, even Murphy have probably been underutilised. And I don't think you can always affirm the effort of the players, because against Manchester United, Watford, and even yesterday for instance, the players' heads have dropped or they haven't looked fully committed. I don't doubt the players' fondness or respect for Rafa, but the approach probably isn't hugely motivating when you're not grinding out the results. I also think that Rafa plays politics too readily without being particularly good at it or having anywhere to go, and that the takeover has negatively affected our season.

 

I'd like to see us back to a 4-2-3-1 with Perez in the hole behind the striker, Atsu and Murphy starting on the wings, and for me the priorities in January should be a striker and a central midfielder, because at the moment - with Saivet something of a wild card - we don't seem able to muster a competent pairing in the centre of the pitch. A functioning left-back and an improvement or at least competition for Perez would be next on the list. I also think Mbemba warrants a run in the centre of defence at some point, though we seem to have regained our composure at the back since Lascelles returned from injury.

 

Fair post.

 

I'm with you on the formation. Despite our attack being the problem yesterday, I'm definitely in favour of a return to one up front. Perez and Diame get a lot of grief on here but they do a lot of chasing about and make it harder for the opposition to get out of their third. It also forces mistakes that we can try to benefit from. I thought it was very noticeable how easily Brighton maneuvered the ball away from their goal whenever our attacks broke down yesterday. They're a better passing side than us but it just felt too easy for them to relieve the pressure.

[Ikon]

Oh him again, I'll just enjoy some more wine.

[Odear]

Maybe teams had figured out our 4-2-3-1 system and our current squad simply aren’t sharp enough to adapt to a new one.

 

Benitez’ performance this season as a manager has been fairly average up to this point but I’ll judge him only after he’s been backed.

 

This January is the biggest month this club will likely have for a very long time and as ever with this club, it’s on a knife edge.

[Flip]

He's doing a good job. It's boring as hell but we have comfortably the worst squad in this league. Bunch of horrible players.

[GavMcEl]

Got this as a Christmas present. Got total faith in the man. Yes times are tough at the minute, but the manager and the players need our support more than ever to get through the rough times.

 

Here fucking here

[Hanshithispantz]

He shouldn't be sacked because he's by some distance the best manager we could ever have, I don't even know why anyone would even contemplate the idea.

 

Even if we get relegated I wouldn't sack him although I think he'd walk.

 

So in your eyes hes basically untouchable if he takes us down whos fault is it then?

What would be the point of sacking him if he takes us down? He brought us straight up last time with ease.

 

I don’t think he’s fucking magic, he has the worst squad we’ve ever had in my living memory and the Premiership is hardly some joke league as much as people like to take the piss out of it. Hypothesising about other managers potentially being able to do better in a different way is pointless to me, we hire a person who gets a few results and then what? We’re back to square one?

[mrmojorisin75]

He shouldn't be sacked because he's by some distance the best manager we could ever have, I don't even know why anyone would even contemplate the idea.

 

Even if we get relegated I wouldn't sack him although I think he'd walk.

 

So in your eyes hes basically untouchable if he takes us down whos fault is it then?

What would be the point of sacking him if he takes us down? He brought us straight up last time with ease.

 

I don’t think he’s fucking magic, he has the worst squad we’ve ever had in my living memory and the Premiership is hardly some joke league as much as people like to take the piss out of it. Hypothesising about other managers potentially being able to do better in a different way is pointless to me, we hire a person who gets a few results and then what? We’re back to square one?

Nobody is getting anything more than Rafa out of this squad of players imo.