Paully Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 He must be totally gutted about taking the Everton job on mind just before our takeover! Well, he must be totally gutted about taking the Everton job on full stop. Lunacy to do so after thew protests by them before the deal was sealed – it was never ever going to work! Love him and always will – no Rafa, no takeover! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 4 hours ago, Collage said: No chance mate, look at the man, he's freezing his balls off. I dunno, given Norway's current crop of players and our apparent vaccination against qualifying for major tournaments since EC Spain in the year 2000, 12 EC/WC's ago - making Norway, at the very least, live up to already low expectations - has to be one of the most intriguing challenges when it comes to International management. The fact Nagelsmann made a fucking point out of having to beat Italy in the Nations League QF's to avoid having Norway in their WC qualification group makes no sense to me, but I know that's just because I'm Norwegian and therefore familiar with the fact we're so opposed to qualifying for a major tournament that the time we got closest, we decided to throw it all away because the government refused Romania's national side entry to Norway during the Covid-19 lockdowns, giving them a 3-0 victory on walkover. Pretty much all other results than fucking exactly 3-0 would've seen Norway with utmost certainty having qualified for the 2020 EC On paper, I concede our national side looks exactly like a once in a generation talent pool offensively. We have a shit keeper and a shit defense, so naturally our current manager insists on making Norway "build from the back" and focus on defense, so you know... no matter if we get Germany or Italy in our group, they'll cruise to victory in it I'd love Rafa as manager for our current crop of players though. I think his style of play has gone out of fashion in club football, but would still be all the rage when it comes to international football. The fact he, unprovoked, said he was aware that the Norwegian FA didn't operate with a wage structure anywhere near what he'd usually ask for in club management, and that he'd work within their budget if it became a reality one day, stating; "I've made enough money for three lifetimes already, money's not important - I just want to focus on football." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jinx Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 Rafa deserves a budget, he could literally take half of what Howe might get for 2 players and furnish half a squad. Since he left us, he's had a few bad moves, that doesn't make him a bad manager. He did a cracking job here with far less than what Howe has been given. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
duo Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 Unbelievable football brain Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myleftboot Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 Bring him home. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 If anything happened I’d love him back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Jinx Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 How does he work under the DoF setup? He tends to want to do all of it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wormy Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 7 minutes ago, Myleftboot said: Bring him home. Get him back in a hybrid Head Coach-DoF role. Alternate head coach yearly with Eddie and then be DoF on his 'off' season. Get Little Dan back at the centre of the wheel to alternate with Rafa when he's on his coaching season. Couldn't be simpler. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexf Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizero Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 So... the current manager of Norway, Ståle Solbakken, just gave the press some interesting quotes about the Rafa situation Apparently he confronted Rafa about it later the same day Rafa said the things he did as the Norwegian FA hosted a dinner both attended. He said Rafa told him "the press had repeated certain things without the surrounding original context they were said in". Solbakken goes on to say that he was well aware that Rafa just said the same thing as everyone else does when they get confronted about them "rocking the boat". So far everything Solbakken said had been by the book and what you'd expect a currently employed manager to say about an unemployed manager making a public play for their job. Butthen ... and this is where things start to get wicked... Solbakken starts ranting about how he believes expressing public interest in a managerial position that's occupied and unavailable should be an automatic disqualifier when the time comes to actually hire a new manager, and that the Norwegian FA shouldn't even be thinking about Rafa because of how he had acted when he (Solbakken) was under contract. Then he went on to say disparaging things about how he believes Rafa is "too defensive" a manager and that Rafa couldn't "handle" the offensive nature of the current Norway squad, so Rafa would be a horrid choice as manager for Norway. In no way, under no circumstances, should the Norwegian FA even look at Rafa, or even think of Rafa... Could anyone BE any more rattled, Solbakken?! Him saying all that, to the press, without being asked directly about the matter – bringing it up as a topic on his own volition – tells me that the Norwegian FA probably is actually considering Rafa and maybe even probably have begun early talks with him about the job. Should Solbakken get off on the wrong foot in the upcoming WC Qualifiers, he'll probably end up sacked as we've underperformed (compared to our once in a lifetime available talent pool of world class footballers in all offensive positions on the pitch) his entire tenure as Norway manager. He has a worse record than Lagerback, Høgmo and Drillo - at the same time as having generational talent available to him during their peak years playing football. I hadn't taken this seriously, or even thought it even semi-realistic, at any point in time before Solbakken seemingly just lost it and thrashtalked Rafa in an obvious attempt to make the Norwegian FA stop considering him Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Luque Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 Solbakken is such a fucking whingy, thin-skinned bitch. Unbearable at times. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toon25 Posted December 13, 2024 Share Posted December 13, 2024 Best thing since sliced bread, wor Rafa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUPERTOON Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibierski Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elma Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 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. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paully Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 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! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paully Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Big interview SSN 5pm Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paully Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Liverpool shite - wish SSN had said it was about that FFS! Wouldn’t have posted! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danh1 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 23 minutes ago, Paully said: Liverpool shite - wish SSN had said it was about that FFS! Wouldn’t have posted! Wonder if he is pundit for the final. Hope he doesn’t fawn over them bastards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUHRLYASLEEVESUP Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 BHH Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRon Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 I wonder if he still lives in Liverpool? I'm guessing probably, as much for family reasons as any. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keggy_Keagal Posted February 14 Share Posted February 14 He lives in Caldy on the Wirral peninsula. Rafa's gaff Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
54 Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 9 Years ago: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 We should all be thankful that this man managed to sell the club to Staveley. We were in a dark dark place back then, but what a ride it's been since. Thanks Rafa Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superior Acuña Posted March 18 Share Posted March 18 Two of Rafa's signings in the starting line-up. Obviously he loves Liverpool, but bet he was buzzing for us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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