Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)

[Beth]

1 hour ago, joeyt said:

 

Imagine not loving Rafa Benitez

 

 

 

 

I'm not arguing the fact he did a decent job here, 7/10 ish overall. What I really don't get about the majority on here is they seem to regard him as some kind of messiah who would have got us top 4 if he'd been given the time. No, he wouldn't and he's gone, lets all move on ffs.

[Robster]

6 minutes ago, Beth said:

I'm not arguing the fact he did a decent job here, 7/10 ish overall. What I really don't get about the majority on here is they seem to regard him as some kind of messiah who would have got us top 4 if he'd been given the time. No, he wouldn't and he's gone, lets all move on ffs.

You are forgetting, or deliberating ignoring for WUM purposes, that the reason Rafa is so loved, is as much due to what he did off the field in terms of connecting with the fans, the local area and the community.
Putting aside league points and positions, Steve 'one of us' Bruce, is a million miles away from Rafa in that respect.

 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by Robster

[et tu brute]

He’s under pressure from the go. Fans don’t want him and his statement today about waiting to see what was happening with us first; and the signings he is supposed to be bringing in, certainly won’t help swing the tide of animosity either. If he starts poorly, I can honestly see him gone by Christmas. Honestly believe it’s a disaster in the making.

 

 

Edited July 18, 2021 by et tu brute

[Dokko]

Agent Rafa in for Gayle & Shelvey for £20m and if he can raise funds by selling Richy he’ll come in for Joelinton. Everton fans demand big money signings, £50m for Joey is exactly the move they need to make. 

[LV]

14 minutes ago, Beth said:

I'm not arguing the fact he did a decent job here, 7/10 ish overall. What I really don't get about the majority on here is they seem to regard him as some kind of messiah who would have got us top 4 if he'd been given the time. No, he wouldn't and he's gone, lets all move on ffs.

[Beth]

1 hour ago, Robster said:

You are forgetting, or deliberating ignoring for WUM purposes, that the reason Rafa is so loved, is as much due to what he did off the field in terms of connecting with the fans, the local area and the community.
Putting aside league points and positions, Steve 'one of us' Bruce, is a million miles away from Rafa in that respect.

 

 

 

True, but points on the board and final league position are all that will be looked back on in years to come.

[Lush Vlad]

By simpletons like you, perhaps. 

[Robster]

14 minutes ago, Beth said:

True, but points on the board and final league position are all that will be looked back on in years to come.

They definitely won't.

[Yorkie]

I can just imagine me looking back in twenty years time trying to remember who I liked more, Bruce or Rafa. 

[St. Maximin]

10 hours ago, LV said:

‘love in’  ‘free pass’

 

The fella was head and shoulders above most managers we’ve ever had.

 

His vision for the club was meticulous if he’s only been given some resources. 
 

Had to shop in the reject bins of the bargain basement for players.

 

And still we get hot takes like this. Now that’s ridiculous. 

No that actually wasn’t even a stupid post though was it? That criticism just gets laughed off almost proves the point, though I know it’s not as simple as that. 
 

People talk about him like he’s some miracle worker who constantly had the team overachieving, when it wasn’t quite as simple. The point a lot home defeats is fair and at times in the Prem we had some dreadful runs of form. I mean we were pretty much neck on neck for safety with Cardiff one year until the closing weeks, but I’m sure we all thought our squad was much better than theirs and that Warnock wasn’t a genius. I know we won it in the end, but we were also poor at times in the Championship; hardly walking it like under Hughton despite a better squad. 
 

I’m throughly with you on his vision for the club and the shocking investment opportunities he had. His fan engagement was brilliant also and deserved better. But in the interest of balance, he always had a defence. No shots on target at hone to Fulham? Team in relegation form? Well his hands are tied so he can’t do better. Can’t say I fully support some views like that, or the reaction here to an opinion. 
 

However… I should also point out I’m deliberately creating debate when my views on the guy are pretty much the same as the majority here. If this was a forum that loved to slate him I’d be arguing differently. But I think a different perspective, whether or not you agree, is healthy. 

[KaKa]

3 hours ago, HTT II said:

More than decent squad players…

 

Agree completely. Two players with more than enough ability in pace and dribbling alone, but just poor decision making. 

 

Rafa will simplify the game for them by letting them know exactly what he wants from them in every aspect of their games and they will be far more productive for it.

 

We already saw him do it with Townsend who never looked better and more dangerous than his period with us under Rafa in a fairly short amount of time.

 

Everton really lack people that can take players on from wide positions and deliver the ball into dangerous areas. Rafa will get some very good production from Townsend, Gray and even Iwobi because they are all players that will benefit from the emphasis on details Rafa specialises in.

[LV]

22 minutes ago, St. Maximin said:

No that actually wasn’t even a stupid post though was it? That criticism just gets laughed off almost proves the point, though I know it’s not as simple as that. 
 

People talk about him like he’s some miracle worker who constantly had the team overachieving, when it wasn’t quite as simple. The point a lot home defeats is fair and at times in the Prem we had some dreadful runs of form. I mean we were pretty much neck on neck for safety with Cardiff one year until the closing weeks, but I’m sure we all thought our squad was much better than theirs and that Warnock wasn’t a genius. I know we won it in the end, but we were also poor at times in the Championship; hardly walking it like under Hughton despite a better squad. 
 

I’m throughly with you on his vision for the club and the shocking investment opportunities he had. His fan engagement was brilliant also and deserved better. But in the interest of balance, he always had a defence. No shots on target at hone to Fulham? Team in relegation form? Well his hands are tied so he can’t do better. Can’t say I fully support some views like that, or the reaction here to an opinion. 
 

However… I should also point out I’m deliberately creating debate when my views on the guy are pretty much the same as the majority here. If this was a forum that loved to slate him I’d be arguing differently. But I think a different perspective, whether or not you agree, is healthy. 

Why? Just speak the truth. Don’t ‘create’ debate 

[St. Maximin]

Just now, LV said:

Why? Just speak the truth. Don’t ‘create’ debate 

I am speaking what I feel is the truth mate. I just mean my angle on here is criticising the reaction he gets to criticism/defences he receives, because I feel they are fair points worth considering on a forum that is very pro-Rafa. If the forum hated him for some bizarre reason I’d be more inclined to defend him. Just feel there’s room for nuance and happy for you to disagree with my views also as it’s never exciting if we all agree 

[Ben]

Everton fans are not happy with Rafa's first three signings 

[Happinesstan]

11 hours ago, The Prophet said:

Dubravka

Lejeune 

Schar

Almiron 

Rondon 

 

All picked up on a shoestring budget. Of course he's not immune from the odd stinker, he certainly wasn't at Liverpool, but there was far more good than bad.

Rondon was a loan.

[Happinesstan]

10 hours ago, ATF said:

It looks good business to me. Begovic and Townsend are free agents and Gray is supposedly costing them £1.5m. They've wasted so much money on worse players in the last five or so years. Bernard's supposedly on £120k a week! They've released Bolasie. Trim down the squad of players like Bernard, Tosun, Iwobi, Delph, amongst others, then you have three improvements for a fraction of the price, whilst simultaneously cutting your wage budget.

 

Bigger problem for Everton is whether they have the resources to make three or four transfers to improve their first eleven, because the talk suggests that they don't.

you can pretty much guarantee that Rafa's tactics will improve the first team.

[Dr.Spaceman]

1 hour ago, Ben said:

Everton fans are not happy with Rafa's first three signings 

 

I wouldn't be either, but then I was properly miffed when we signed Ciaran Clark, Daryl Murphy and Grant Hanley.

[Happinesstan]

9 hours ago, Beth said:

True, but points on the board and final league position are all that will be looked back on in years to come.

Thankfully I have a memory of my own experiences.

[joeyt]

9 hours ago, Beth said:

True, but points on the board and final league position are all that will be looked back on in years to come.

[TRon]

12 hours ago, Beth said:

I'm not arguing the fact he did a decent job here, 7/10 ish overall. What I really don't get about the majority on here is they seem to regard him as some kind of messiah who would have got us top 4 if he'd been given the time. No, he wouldn't and he's gone, lets all move on ffs.

 

I think he'll get Everton challenging for top 4 if they continue signing good quality players. I know their mong fans are supposedly unhappy with his first three signings, but Townsend is vastly underrated IMO. Rafa had him doing really well in his short time here, I can see his value going up again this season. 

[The Prophet]

If dusty Steve and his merry band of apologists didn't feel the need constantly use Rafa's time here as a yardstick, then there would be far less discussion about him.

 

Frankly those who can't see the difference between the two are either being deliberately obtuse or they must not watch many games.

[St. Maximin]

7 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

If dusty Steve and his merry band of apologists didn't feel the need constantly use Rafa's time here as a yardstick, then there would be far less discussion about him.

 

Frankly those who can't see the difference between the two are either being deliberately obtuse or they must not watch many games.

I agree on the current joke of a manager but at the same time I think that was partly fuelled by the fans’ reactions at first. He’s just completely lacking in class and continued the comparisons rather than trying to make amends for being clueless. 

[TRon]

15 minutes ago, St. Maximin said:

I agree on the current joke of a manager but at the same time I think that was partly fuelled by the fans’ reactions at first. He’s just completely lacking in class and continued the comparisons rather than trying to make amends for being clueless. 

 

That's why he's a shit manager tbh, he gets triggered far too easily. He was still taking swipes at "the mighty Rafa" 18 months after he'd gone instead of getting on with the job and shutting up critics with results. 

[The Prophet]

Coincidentally, the same folk who enjoy pointing out similarities between Bruce and Rafa refuse to give Jones any credit for the part he played in keeping us up last season, weird that.

[Guest]

48 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

If dusty Steve and his merry band of apologists didn't feel the need constantly use Rafa's time here as a yardstick, then there would be far less discussion about him.

 

Frankly those who can't see the difference between the two are either being deliberately obtuse or they must not watch many games.

 

 

Didn't help when his mates in the media like Shearer came out on MOTD with, "They're 8 points better off than this stage last season under Rafa" type bollocks either.