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Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)


Would you have Rafa back?   

463 members have voted

  1. 1. Would you have Rafa back?

    • Yes, as manager, immediately
    • Yes, as manager, but at some point in the future (eg if relegated)
    • Yes, in an advisory or DoF role
    • No, not in any meaningful capacity

This poll is closed to new votes


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Was listening to TalkSport on the way home tonight and they were debating whether if Rafa was offered the Arsenal job, should he join them or stay with us. All the pundits (first time I've really listened to TalkSport so no idea who they were) and the majority of the fans agreed that Rafa would be mad to leave us to go to Arsenal. They were extremely complimentary about the current atmosphere at SJP and how much we love Rafa

 

 

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:lol: They're thick as fuck then. He should absolutely go there if he was offered the job. Fan adoration aside, Mike Ashley owns this club. The problem at Arsenal is Arsene Wenger. Who knows if it'd work out or not, but he'd have a significantly better chance of winning (lots of) stuff with them than us.

 

Alright if we were talking Everton or one of the other teams that loiter around 8th place, but Arsenal are a whole different kettle of fish iyam.

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Guest Howaythetoon

The thing with Arsenal is that after Wenger, it wouldn’t surprise me if they wanted a quick fix or someone who they believed might start delivering sooner rather than later. It could take Rafa a few years to get them genuinely challenging for he title. Reading other fans’ forums it seems a good number think Rafa has done a great job here and is a top manager. Mind on one particular forum, a certain Grayson is regarded much higher. Not surprisingly mind given the successes he’s had over the years...

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:lol: They're thick as fuck then. He should absolutely go there if he was offered the job. Fan adoration aside, Mike Ashley owns this club. The problem at Arsenal is Arsene Wenger. Who knows if it'd work out or not, but he'd have a significantly better chance of winning (lots of) stuff with them than us.

 

Alright if we were talking Everton or one of the other teams that loiter around 8th place, but Arsenal are a whole different kettle of fish iyam.

 

The main argument was that Rafa wouldn't be loved as much at Arsenal as he is here. Also that Rafa would have more control over transfers here than at Arsenal because they assume that if Wenger moves on he'd be moved to a sort of director of football type role

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:lol: They're thick as fuck then. He should absolutely go there if he was offered the job. Fan adoration aside, Mike Ashley owns this club. The problem at Arsenal is Arsene Wenger. Who knows if it'd work out or not, but he'd have a significantly better chance of winning (lots of) stuff with them than us.

 

Alright if we were talking Everton or one of the other teams that loiter around 8th place, but Arsenal are a whole different kettle of fish iyam.

 

The main argument was that Rafa wouldn't be loved as much at Arsenal as he is here. Also that Rafa would have more control over transfers here than at Arsenal because they assume that if Wenger moves on he'd be moved to a sort of director of football type role

 

I mean, Rafa would be plenty loved there if he did well. I don't think that would be a significant element if Rafa was in the mindset that he still wanted to compete and be the best. That absolutely will not happen here under our ownership. It could under theirs.

 

But aye, if there was some looming Arsene DoF shit going on, I could be inclined to agree. But I'm not so sure that's a certainty...

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The thing with Arsenal is that after Wenger, it wouldn’t surprise me if they wanted a quick fix or someone who they believed might start delivering sooner rather than later. It could take Rafa a few years to get them genuinely challenging for he title. Reading other fans’ forums it seems a good number think Rafa has done a great job here and is a top manager. Mind on one particular forum, a certain Grayson is regarded much higher. Not surprisingly mind given the successes he’s had over the years...

 

I've been thinking this myself. If Rafa ended up there I could see him gone within a season. We're the perfect club for him in that he could build us from the ground up. We were nothing but a husk when he arrived; no structure, nothing to tear down as multiple management regimes had already done that for him. He could mould this club in his vision with near-100% support from the fans.

 

Arsenal fans would be complaining that they want pretty football within weeks and I bet there'd be a right challenge if he tried to start changing things behind the scenes that had been in place for over two decades.

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:lol: They're thick as fuck then. He should absolutely go there if he was offered the job. Fan adoration aside, Mike Ashley owns this club. The problem at Arsenal is Arsene Wenger. Who knows if it'd work out or not, but he'd have a significantly better chance of winning (lots of) stuff with them than us.

 

Alright if we were talking Everton or one of the other teams that loiter around 8th place, but Arsenal are a whole different kettle of fish iyam.

 

... would be honoured.

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The thing with Arsenal is that after Wenger, it wouldn’t surprise me if they wanted a quick fix or someone who they believed might start delivering sooner rather than later. It could take Rafa a few years to get them genuinely challenging for he title. Reading other fans’ forums it seems a good number think Rafa has done a great job here and is a top manager. Mind on one particular forum, a certain Grayson is regarded much higher. Not surprisingly mind given the successes he’s had over the years...

 

I've been thinking this myself. If Rafa ended up there I could see him gone within a season. We're the perfect club for him in that he could build us from the ground up. We were nothing but a husk when he arrived; no structure, nothing to tear down as multiple management regimes had already done that for him. He could mould this club in his vision with near-100% support from the fans.

 

Arsenal fans would be complaining that they want pretty football within weeks and I bet there'd be a right challenge if he tried to start changing things behind the scenes that had been in place for over two decades.

 

every word out of his mouth indicates he's happy to stay as long as he's allowed to progress things how he wants, he won't even be demanding the earth...reasonable money for transfers, invest in the academy and build slowly

 

he'll stay, as long as he's not blatantly fucked over again

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Rafa's best work is at Valencia, Liverpool, and Newcastle. There is a certain type of city and environment where he flourishes. Arsenal is more akin to Inter, Chelsea, and Madrid. He would be mad to go there.

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The thing with Arsenal is that after Wenger, it wouldn’t surprise me if they wanted a quick fix or someone who they believed might start delivering sooner rather than later. It could take Rafa a few years to get them genuinely challenging for he title. Reading other fans’ forums it seems a good number think Rafa has done a great job here and is a top manager. Mind on one particular forum, a certain Grayson is regarded much higher. Not surprisingly mind given the successes he’s had over the years...

 

I've been thinking this myself. If Rafa ended up there I could see him gone within a season. We're the perfect club for him in that he could build us from the ground up. We were nothing but a husk when he arrived; no structure, nothing to tear down as multiple management regimes had already done that for him. He could mould this club in his vision with near-100% support from the fans.

 

Arsenal fans would be complaining that they want pretty football within weeks and I bet there'd be a right challenge if he tried to start changing things behind the scenes that had been in place for over two decades.

 

every word out of his mouth indicates he's happy to stay as long as he's allowed to progress things how he wants, he won't even be demanding the earth...reasonable money for transfers, invest in the academy and build slowly

 

he'll stay, as long as he's not blatantly fucked over again

 

Inclined to agree. My thoughts definitely aren't with the expectation that it happens. More in a hypothetical sense, particularly as one of my best friends is an Arsenal fan so I've had more than one conversation over the topic already.

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Rafa's best work is at Valencia, Liverpool, and Newcastle. There is a certain type of city and environment where he flourishes. Arsenal is more akin to Inter, Chelsea, and Madrid. He would be mad to go there.

 

:lol: He was mad to come here.

 

It would be a different challenge, sure, but he currently works for Mike Ashley, who repeatedly tries to fuck him over. It would be a perfectly sensible move for him. He may or may not want that kind of job, who knows, but it would certainly be reasonable for him to consider it.

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I am torn because on the one hand he must want proper money behind him and be competing for the league. But I also think Real Madrid took a lot out of him. Here he has a project that is his and players who will jump through walls for him (despite, must be said, him lamenting in public quite a lot their quality).

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Rafa's best work is at Valencia, Liverpool, and Newcastle. There is a certain type of city and environment where he flourishes. Arsenal is more akin to Inter, Chelsea, and Madrid. He would be mad to go there.

 

:lol: He was mad to come here.

 

It would be a different challenge, sure, but he currently works for Mike Ashley, who repeatedly tries to fuck him over. It would be a perfectly sensible move for him. He may or may not want that kind of job, who knows, but it would certainly be reasonable for him to consider it.

 

He was a god at Valencia. He had a great team and he quit that to take over at LFC. At LFC, he was constantly courted by Juve, Madrid, Bayern and he turned down their advances even though he was getting screwed over by our previous owners. One can argue he was mad to take the LFC job and remain there. He along with Mourinho where the hottest young coaches in Europe and he could have taken cushier jobs. But he didn't.

Rafa's decision making has always been a bit unorthodox.

 

He will not last long at Arsenal. The fans will complain about the more industrial style of play. The current Arsenal players and midfielders are the antithesis of an ideal Rafa player. Auba is a pure poacher which Rafa does not like. Ozil and Rafa - cannot see them get along. As for the central defenders - Rafa would fire all of them. He will have to revamp the entire team which will be met with resistance. Then there is the Wenger influence on transfers and other operations. Can you imagine Rafa standing on the sidelines and signalling the current Arsenal team to be compact and the entire team agreeing to his instructions.

 

 

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I understand your points, but we're making a hell of a lot of assumptions there. Unless you're actually Rafa (:wave:), I don't think you can speak for how he feels. We don't know what the current Mike Ashley relationship is, we don't know what his current thoughts are on the notion of one more try at a championship-calibre team.

 

And while we're at it, I've always disagreed with the whole 'Arsenal fans will complain if a manager isn't playing sexy Arseneball' argument. It's just conjecture. Along with the stuff about him maybe-possibly not getting on with some of their players.

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Guest Howaythetoon

One thing in our favour, and this shows you how much of a mad bastard he is :lol: he thrives on the politics and don’t be surprised if this rumour about Real Sociedad hasn’t come from Rafa’s camp as an example of that. He probably thinks he can make Ashley change and bend to his ways, that’s how he operates and thinks. I believe a kitty off 80m + money from player sales next season will see him more than happy.

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Guest Howaythetoon

My brother in law is a staunch Arsenal fan, season ticket holder, has been for decades. Club runs in his family, he’s worked for the club etc. and he said he wouldn’t be bothered by the style of football Rafa would bring, it’s all about competing and winning or at least seriously challenging for honours. I don’t know much about Arsenal fans, but I think they now know they are miles behind and have to change tact. I could see Rafa there and doing a very good job, but only after a period of time. I don’t think the fans would be that patient or their board if they were to get rid of Wenger. I don’t think they would have. Problem with the football mind. Rafa’s Liverpool were no Man City, but they were an attacking team who went out to win every game.

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I think part of arsenal's problem is they've got into their heads wenger's tiki-taka-lite football style. They can't do Pep ball that well anyway. Wenger was at his best back when there was nastiness to the team and they were winning 1-0 to the arsenal with a mean defence. They had explosive talent up front sure but he was winning the league with the meanest defence. Rafa would certainly bring that bit back.

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Guest Howaythetoon

I dont even like their style these days, they pass the ball about a bit, but no pace, aggression, tempo or real cutting edge going forward. They are a shadow of their former self and again I think this is the worst Arsenal side I’ve seen PL era. I was not bathed at all at the weekend even when one nil down. I didn’t think they had 2 goals in them and if they did, their defence has 2 goals against them or more in them. Such a soft and nothing team at the moment, just drifting along.

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