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Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)


Greg

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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Guest Howaythetoon

Not entirely sure that's the politically correct term.

 

It's started to creep back into use on here recently and it needs to stop.

 

I'm not one for being overly PC, but its a crude term and I know people who have some form of disability who have constantly been called a spacker or a retard.

 

Thankfully they know I didn't mean it!

 

In all serious though, I agree 100%. N.O should be above all that like!

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Allardyce's sole point there was a home draw to one of the worst sides the PL has ever seen.

The worst PL side ever seen. They finished bottom with 11 points. They took 4 of those 11 points from an Allardyce-managed us. Including their solitary win of the season.
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One thing I'm glad about is that Rafa got a couple of decent results in before the takeover. Now we won't have to hear these football 'experts' telling us if it wasn't for the Arab money he'd have took us down.

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http://www.football365.com/news/new-years-premier-league-winners-and-losers

 

 

Rafael Benitez

 

After his Newcastle United had defended for their lives against Manchester City but lost the game 1-0, Benitez dismissed the predictable criticism of that strategy. Gary Neville was particularly strong in his censure, telling Benitez that his methods for setting up his team were “not acceptable” in the Premier League.

The flaw in Neville’s argument was obvious, and Benitez pointed it out while simultaneously holding back. “Valencia is Valencia. I won two titles with Valencia and the Uefa Cup. They are at the top of the table. Why? Because Valencia is a massive club and a massive city, but I don’t want to go this way.” ‘How did your time there go?’ was the rough translation.

If there’s one manager who you would back to create a robust defensive line with mediocre ingredients, it is Benitez. To follow that City defeat with two consecutive clean sheets and four points to transform Newcastle’s season really is peak Benitez. He has a squad packed with Championship players, but as long as they can be drilled to stay resolute in defence, Newcastle have a chance. They have conceded more than one goal in one of their last six games, and they won that match.

There is also a simple plan for surviving relegation: beating the fodder. Twenty of Newcastle’s 22 points in the league this season have come against the seven clubs below them. Benitez maintains – quite reasonably – that his team do not have the quality to compete with elite clubs. Only the arrival of Amanda Staveley can address that issue, and there is an entire city waiting behind Benitez for that news.

Until then, Benitez will continue to do all he can to make Newcastle difficult to beat and hope to capitalise on the flaws of the teams around them. There are plenty of other teams in the relegation pack who would appreciate a manager capable of delivering that same characteristic.

 

 

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