Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)

[Sibierski]

Man must love the game loads to travel off to there. Would love to have him come back to us as part of scouting set up, because I bet he's got some list of contacts and a good eye still for a player to add to our list of targets.

[Elma]

1 hour ago, Sibierski said:

Man must love the game loads to travel off to there. Would love to have him come back to us as part of scouting set up, because I bet he's got some list of contacts and a good eye still for a player to add to our list of targets.

 

Someone I know at the club said two things in particular to me when Rafa was there:
1. He just completely immerses himself in the game 24/7 and has a contacts book second to none.

2. He's all over the detail (the small example he gave was coaching the keepers to punch and make good contact with one fist, as going for the ball with one arm gives you more reach that if you try to punch it with your hands together).

 

That first point coupled with how (like Howe) he understands the importance of the community and gets involved at all levels, make him and Howe may favourite NUFC managers in the recent era (post-Roeder who I loved as a player and who also understood the club). Appreciate that due to Ashley there's not much competition there mind!

 

Obviously Eddie has a great team and I wouldn't change a winning formula, but if I were a manager and Rafa was amenable to it, I'd certainly offer him a consultancy role.

[Paully]

12 minutes ago, Elma said:

 

Someone I know at the club said two things in particular to me when Rafa was there:
1. He just completely immerses himself in the game 24/7 and has a contacts book second to none.

2. He's all over the detail (the small example he gave was coaching the keepers to punch and make good contact with one fist, as going for the ball with one arm gives you more reach that if you try to punch it with your hands together).

 

That first point coupled with how (like Howe) he understands the importance of the community and gets involved at all levels, make him and Howe may favourite NUFC managers in the recent era (post-Roeder who I loved as a player and who also understood the club). Appreciate that due to Ashley there's not much competition there mind!

 

Obviously Eddie has a great team and I wouldn't change a winning formula, but if I were a manager and Rafa was amenable to it, I'd certainly offer him a consultancy role.

 

100% this - why he took the Everton job still baffles me! Why none of his mates didn't say to him "NO CHANCE" when they were putting those banners up outside Goodison before it was made official. He would 100% have been our number one target - not that I'm complaining mind as Eddie has done a wonderful job and I wouldn't swap him for anyone. I just wish Rafa was involved in some sort of role for bringing the takeover to the table but he's a coaching lunatic who simply wants to coach!