Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)

[summerof69]

Been thinking  last few weeks he seems to be modelling this team similarly to his Valencia side. Only thing is i have only been going off highlights on yt and hearsay of what his Valencia side were like as I don't think I ever watched them play. Anyone with greater football knowledge think this is a fairly good comparison ?

[Tsunami]

Bumped into the bloke I know who works on scouting/ development for the club. Had a meeting with Rafa last week and Rafa seems to be happy enough and that a lot will depend on whether a takeover happens and if not what budget he’s given. There is interest from Sociedad.

 

Nowt shattering there though it was good to hear that Rafa is happy and that takeover possibilities are still there. I should clarify that I spoke to this bloke prior to Stifler’s revelations.

[buzza]

No way he would go to La Real, they chop and change managers every season or two, have a crap stadium, weak crowd and the only good thing going for them is their basque neighbours (Athletic & Eibar).

Marca is about as reliable as a chocolate fireguard.

[Robster]

Bumped into the bloke I know who works on scouting/ development for the club. Had a meeting with Rafa last week and Rafa seems to be happy enough and that a lot will depend on whether a takeover happens and if not what budget he’s given. There is interest from Sociedad.

Nowt shattering there though it was good to hear that Rafa is happy and that takeover possibilities are still there. I should clarify that I spoke to this bloke prior to Stifler’s revelations.

 

I still expect Rafa to be shafted (yet again) by Ashley in the summer and for him to leave.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

I still expect Rafa to be shafted (yet again) by Ashley in the summer and for him to leave.

 

I wouldn't say expect, but the possibility is definitely there.

[Dave]

[Disco]

Oooo cane me arse Rafa.

[Dr Venkman]

[Guest firetotheworks]

Oooo cane me arse Rafa.

 

Ffs, man.

[KaKa]

[Si]

[TRon]

Bumped into the bloke I know who works on scouting/ development for the club. Had a meeting with Rafa last week and Rafa seems to be happy enough and that a lot will depend on whether a takeover happens and if not what budget he’s given. There is interest from Sociedad.

Nowt shattering there though it was good to hear that Rafa is happy and that takeover possibilities are still there. I should clarify that I spoke to this bloke prior to Stifler’s revelations.

 

I still expect Rafa to be shafted (yet again) by Ashley in the summer and for him to leave.

 

I think the money will be there, but I expect a lot of the signings might be blocked because of resale value. Rafa might want Slimani for example, can see our board failing to get those sort of deals over the line.

[HaydnNUFC]

"over the line"

[Infinitely Content]

Oooo cane me arse Rafa.

 

[joeyt]

Didn't know where else to put it:

 

If anything neatly encapsulated Mike Ashley’s infuriating approach to football club ownership, it was Newcastle’s winter transfer window. Of the ten sides in the Premier League’s bottom half on January 31, four broke their transfer record, and four others spent fees on at least one player. The other two were made to fight over the carcass of Daniel Sturridge.

 

At a time of desperation, when Newcastle were mired in a dogfight in which 11th and 18th were separated by four points, Ashley prioritised keeping his bank balance in the black. The Magpies signed three players and offloaded ten in January; each deal was a loan until the end of the season. Newcastle were trying to keep the relegation wolf from the door by offering mere scraps.

 

Of the six Newcastle Chronicle journalists to offer a grade of the club’s January transfer window, none rated it higher than a ‘C’. Mark Douglas crowned it ‘a difficult window’, while Chris Waugh admitted it was ‘a pass mark’, but ‘only just’. Andrew Musgrove said that Rafael Benitez had been ‘let down – again’.

 

Paul Merson gave Newcastle a ‘B’ for their efforts, but his assessment was based entirely on the deadline-day arrival of Islam Slimani from Leicester. The Algerian’s St James’ Park stint thus far comprises of 15 second-half minutes in last week’s crucial victory over Huddersfield, and yet even with his ineligibility against his parent club on Saturday, Newcastle continue to prosper.

 

The win over Leicester, inspired by goals from Jonjo Shelvey and Ayoze Perez, pulls Newcastle further clear of the relegation battle. They are in the top half of the table for the first time since October, and only Tottenham (22), Manchester City (19) and Liverpool (17) have picked up more points since the start of February. It has been an unexpected, unfathomable rise from a position of weakness.

 

Those responsible for Newcastle’s vast improvement this calendar year are clear. Paul Dummett has been excellent, while Shelvey and Mo Diame have formed the most unlikely successful midfield pairing. Florian Lejeune is following the impeccable lead of captain Jamaal Lascelles in defence, while Benitez himself deserves the utmost credit. But those unheralded January arrivals have coaxed a level of performance out of this squad that was previously unattainable.

 

In Kenedy, Newcastle have a player with attacking flair, eager to prove a point after a lack of opportunities at Chelsea. The Brazilian has been a fine addition, with two assists and two goals in eight appearances. No player created more chances for either side (2) at the King Power Stadium, and no player on either side was fouled more often (3) as Leicester looked to nullify his threat. Yet his most telling contribution came off the ball – his run to drag two defenders away from Shelvey before his goal was perfectly executed.

As Leicester dominated possession in search of two goals in the closing stages, Newcastle’s priorities switched from counter-attack to simple defending. Leicester had four shots in the final half an hour, but could only muster a Jamie Vardy tap-in against a staunch backline. The organisation of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka should not be understated here: his experience was vital in securing all three points.

 

The 29-year-old coped admirably with Leicester’s late onslaught of crosses, claiming each with an assuredness unseen under either Rob Elliot or Karl Darlow. The keeper gracefully accepted chants of ‘Oh, Martin Dubravka’ from an away support more than happy to embrace a new shot-stopping hero.

 

“He’s always talking and encouraging movement,” said Benitez of Dubravka on Friday. Where most felt the club needed to sign a goalscorer in January, the manager decided he could make a necessary improvement on his goalkeeper. The Slovakian has conceded just five goals in his first six games.

 

BBC 5 live posed the question earlier this week, and it certainly bears repeating: Did Newcastle make January’s most influential signings? The only hope is that Ashley can look beyond the end of his nose in the summer and sanction permanent deals for two players who have won over the Newcastle fans as quickly as they have changed the club’s fortunes.

 

http://www.football365.com/news/f365s-unlikely-early-winners-newcastles-january-signings

 

http://d2x51gyc4ptf2q.cloudfront.net/content/uploads/2018/04/07163000/Kenedy-Rafael-Benitez-Football365.jpg

[HawK]

Not sure how the Sociedad fans would take to him to be honest, it'd be like a good Peter Reid coming here. My wife's family hails from the area and her 2 brothers are Sociedad supporters and they never have a kind word to say about Benitez because he's a Madrid product.

 

Small cross section I know but they've usually been fairly balanced on Spanish football.

[Dinho lad]

Not sure how the Sociedad fans would take to him to be honest, it'd be like a good Peter Reid coming here. My wife's family hails from the area and her 2 brothers are Sociedad supporters and they never have a kind word to say about Benitez because he's a Madrid product.

 

Small cross section I know but they've usually been fairly balanced on Spanish football.

 

[TheInfiniteOdyssey]

beep beep here comes Rafa to take 3 points bitch.

 

[Heron]

[KaKa]

Where on earth do people find these things man

[Mr Logic]

Rafa is the man.

 

Take a look at these tables - http://www.soccerstats.com/formtable.asp?league=england

 

eg: Last 10 games (home and away) We are in 5th place.

 

Relative form (PPG last 8 matches - PPG all matches = Relative Form), we're currently the best in the league.

 

From a Chronicle article

Benitez, though, does not want his team to get carried away with the success they are enjoying. A couple of weeks ago he stopped a training session

on the eve of the Huddersfield game and told his players they had lost some of their intensity in training.

 

A similar message will be aired at the club’s Benton base this week ahead of the Arsenal game on Sunday.

 

Benitez said: “The risk here is our confidence. Everybody needs to understand the reason we are in the position we are because everybody has worked really hard.

The players, staff, fans - they have all worked really hard. Now it’s just the final push to make sure we don’t make any mistakes. After that we can enjoy it and see how far we can go.”

[cp40]

beep beep here comes Rafa to take 3 points bitch.

 

 

 

 

[Kaizero]

beep beep here comes Rafa to take 3 points bitch.

 

 

Don't know why, but the "beep beep" killed me

[Shearergol]

beep beep here comes Rafa to take 3 points bitch.

 

 

Don't know why, but the "beep beep" killed me

 

Same. Love it.

[Mr Logic]

Another Chronicle article -

 

Former Liverpool defender John Arne Riise has described Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez as the best manager he played under.

The former Norway international played under Benitez at Liverpool, winning the Champions League and the FA Cup before joining Roma in 2009.

Nowadays, the 37-year-old works as an agent and he was appearing as a guest on Sky Sports’ Goals on Sunday.

 

And when analysing Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Leicester, Riise gave an insight into what it was like working under Benitez.

Benitez is consistently praised for his tactical awareness but one thing he isn’t always given credit for is his man-management.

Liverpool legends Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher have both spoken about how Benitez wasn’t necessarily as personable as other Liverpool managers they worked under, despite being the man who brought their most notable successes.

 

Newcastle’s Jack Colback has been critical of the way he approached his exit from the club, suggesting he was ‘just a number’ to Benitez.

But Riise offered a contrary argument, revealing he could call Benitez ‘any time’ and that ‘his door was always open’ to help players improve their game.

 

“He is brilliant. I always say he is the best manager I played under,” Riise told presenters Ben Shephard and Chris Kamara.

He obviously gave me my best moments as a player but his tactics. He was always on the pitch on the training ground going through tactics.

We had 40 minutes of tactics every day and he was always there. He was dragging players here and telling other players they should be there.

He was always talking to players. His door was always open, you could call him any time at night to speak to him if you had some questions.

He is a manager who gets the best out of his players and as a player you want to work for him and play for him.”

 

Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Leicester lifted the Magpies into the top half of the Premier League table - 10 points clear of the relegation zone with six games remaining.

 

Their 2018 form has been superb but more importantly for Newcastle fans, their effort levels have never been in question.

Newcastle fans have pined for a team that tries, and Saturday’s sequence of seven 50-50 challenges in succession emphasised to the Toon Army that in Benitez’s current side, they have just that.

And it was something that caught Riise’s eye and something he was renowned for during his playing days.

 

“As a player, I didn’t have the skills like a Ronaldo or a Messi who can dribble,” Riise added.

“I was just putting in hard work, giving 100 per cent and that is what the fans want. As long as they know you will give 100 per cent they will support you.”