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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

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Jamaal Lascelles told me he was once walking along the corridor at the training ground and he got a shout from the gaffer, who had popped his head around a door and shouted 'man on'. He was telling him how to turn and which way he should face.

 

so good :lol:

 

love rafa

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New owners at Liverpool drove him out the door so no guarantees that wouldn't happen here.

You are aware aren't you, that all 3 offers that PCP put forward, specifically stated that Rafa must remain the manager.

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Jamaal Lascelles told me he was once walking along the corridor at the training ground and he got a shout from the gaffer, who had popped his head around a door and shouted 'man on'. He was telling him how to turn and which way he should face.

 

so good :lol:

 

love rafa

 

:lol: This is a fucking brilliant image.

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Jamaal Lascelles told me he was once walking along the corridor at the training ground and he got a shout from the gaffer, who had popped his head around a door and shouted 'man on'. He was telling him how to turn and which way he should face.

 

so good :lol:

 

love rafa

 

:lol: This is a fucking brilliant image.

 

like the fucking pink panther, rafa popping up out of bookcases and shit testing the players :lol:

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Rafa has been very clear - to keep me you have to keep moving forwards and competing. Of course a big part of that means investment, I don't think it generally means we must blow big sums like £100m+ every year, but we certainly need to do more than we have been. We need a plan that bough owner and Rafa support and stick to it. Even to stand still with the squad we have there's around £40m of spending needed to make Slimani, Debruvka and Kenedy permanent. Then we have to look at fixing the positions we are still weak in or have no suitable cover.

 

We still have a lot of dead wood to shift, some of it is so poor it maybe hard to shift, but we need those players off the wage bill to allow more resources for players that will be in Rafa's plans.

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Guest NobbyOhNobby

Think there's a strong chance Arsenal will come calling tbh. And that he'd go.

 

He's no doubt got the right profile, but I just don't think he's the right fit tactically. Under Wenger, Arsenal have developed the reputation of a team that plays glorious attacking football that's easy on the eye. That philosophy is unlikely to change with their new manager. Rafa is a pragmatic tactician and I don't think that's what Arsenal will look for, much in the same way that they won't go for Simeone. I can see Luis Enrique or Tuchel (if he hasn't already signed a contract at PSG) getting the job.

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Think there's a strong chance Arsenal will come calling tbh. And that he'd go.

 

I just can't see it (them coming calling), but if they did he would be off I'm sure.

 

Their CEO talked of them making a bold appointment - that wouldn't be Rafa and I just don't think he fits the image of Arsenal that has been established since Wenger took over. Listening to their fans on the radio yesterday as I was driving I think the majority would be very unhappy if Rafa was appointed.

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Rafa going to Arsenal would be similar to his time at Chelsea. He'd be there as a short term fix whilst they waited for the appointment they actually wanted. I doubt Rafa would throw away 2.5 years here for the sake of managing a team that don't want him long term.

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As much as it would make sense to us I doubt any of the top clubs in England will come in for Rafa, possibly ever. They're always looking for the next big name that will excite the fans, they probably won't even consider a pragmatist that has already managed two rival clubs in Liverpool and Chelsea. His name won't excite the spoiled fanbases up there, and there will always be a younger coach that is winning trophies playing a fashionable style of football elsewhere in Europe.

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amazed some think he'd automatically just leave for them, i'm not of that opinion myself

 

He would if :

a) The PCP is genuinely dead in the water

b) He doesn't get some good feedback soon from upstairs.

 

He'd be crazy to dismiss it if the alternative is another year with Ashley. We are all looking at it through rose tinted glasses because the team is performing so well but we are so close to being a shit option for Rafa. He won't stand being shafted by Ashley again.

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amazed some think he'd automatically just leave for them, i'm not of that opinion myself

 

He would if :

a) The PCP is genuinely dead in the water

b) He doesn't get some good feedback soon from upstairs.

 

He'd be crazy to dismiss it if the alternative is another year with Ashley. We are all looking at it through rose tinted glasses because the team is performing so well but we are so close to being a shit option for Rafa. He won't stand being shafted by Ashley again.

 

no of course, if the deal is dead and ashley is being a cunt then sure but if they come in now i think he'd stay to see how it plays out

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Arsenal will go for a 40 something year old foreigner who plays lush football and has a radge Mourinho-like presence. No way will they go for Rafa after being so mad at Arsene Wenger for his lack of innovation over the last few years.

 

Saying that, it's not really up to the fans I suppose.

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I wouldn't rule him out going to Arsenal and I won't relax until they've appointed someone, but as others have said, I don't see it. Having browsed their forums 24 hours after Wenger leaving was announced, I only found five mentions of Rafa. Two were throwing the question out there - 'What about Rafa?', one was saying he didn't want the 'Spanish coach driver now doing a job in Northumberland', and the other two were actively pro-Rafa. The majority were focussed on Tuchel, Rodgers (who very much split opinion) and Vieira.

 

Coupled with Arsenal's own statement it suggests he's not in the running. If he did go there it would be Chelsea all over again as they think they are better than him and the majority would be on his case from the first minute. In my opinion he'd be a fool to go there.

 

What will Rafa do? Well, if he gets assurances from Ashley I think he'll stay. He loves everything about the club apart from the ambition at boardroom level. Wenger leaving could actually work in our favour as Ashley knows how the club will tank if Rafa goes - on the pitch, off it, the works. The barrel he has Ashley over just got a little bigger at a critical time of negotiation. If he doesn't get those assurances and Arsenal do indeed come calling, I think he would (regretfully) jump ship and take a punt on them, hoping to do what he couldn't do at Chelsea and Real and win the fans over.

 

I'm just hoping Ashley pulls his finger out and makes him an offer he can't refuse as soon as possible (not holding my breath).

 

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Think there's a strong chance Arsenal will come calling tbh. And that he'd go.

 

I just can't see it (them coming calling), but if they did he would be off I'm sure.

 

Their CEO talked of them making a bold appointment - that wouldn't be Rafa and I just don't think he fits the image of Arsenal that has been established since Wenger took over. Listening to their fans on the radio yesterday as I was driving I think the majority would be very unhappy if Rafa was appointed.

 

Agree with this. It doesn't seem a natural fit to me.

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Jamaal Lascelles told me he was once walking along the corridor at the training ground and he got a shout from the gaffer, who had popped his head around a door and shouted 'man on'. He was telling him how to turn and which way he should face.

 

so good [emoji38]

 

love rafa

 

[emoji38] This is a fucking brilliant image.

 

like the fucking pink panther, rafa popping up out of bookcases and shit testing the players [emoji38]

[emoji38]
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Jamaal Lascelles told me he was once walking along the corridor at the training ground and he got a shout from the gaffer, who had popped his head around a door and shouted 'man on'. He was telling him how to turn and which way he should face.

 

so good [emoji38]

 

love rafa

 

[emoji38] This is a fucking brilliant image.

 

like the fucking pink panther, rafa popping up out of bookcases and shit testing the players [emoji38]

[emoji38]

:lol: Been thinking about that anecdote since this morning. Rafa's just ... phenomenal. :smitten:
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