Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)

[ToonArmy1892]

Benitez is the best, compare honours.

[Scoot]

[HaydnNUFC]

Magedia.

[LRD]

No surprise. The media hates us in general and treat us like a joke club. We do not have many legends in the media to turn the narrative to our advantage either.

 

Plus we are truly in a mess with MA.

[HaydnNUFC]

No surprise. The media hates us in general and treat us like a joke club. We do not have many legends in the media to turn the narrative to our advantage either.

 

Plus we are truly in a mess with MA.

No one's on our side in Sky. Everywhere else, BT, BBC, most of the papers, know the craic.

[Bimpy474]

No surprise. The media hates us in general and treat us like a joke club. We do not have many legends in the media to turn the narrative to our advantage either.

 

Plus we are truly in a mess with MA.

No one's on our side in Sky. Everywhere else, BT, BBC, most of the papers, know the craic.

 

Carragher has been informative and good about us the last few times he's been on.

[TRon]

Aye, as much as I love Rafa I cant have him ahead of Robson as a coach like.

 

His coaching level is above Keegan’s though but he doesn’t have Keegan’s enthusiasm and charisma which was his main strength.

 

What would Robson have done with this bunch of players? Much as I admire him and what he did here, I don't think he could have done it without some bloody good players. Robson played a better brand of football no doubt, but you still need quality to do that. If Rafa had some decent players to work with, I think we'd be seeing much better football right now.

[HaydnNUFC]

No surprise. The media hates us in general and treat us like a joke club. We do not have many legends in the media to turn the narrative to our advantage either.

 

Plus we are truly in a mess with MA.

No one's on our side in Sky. Everywhere else, BT, BBC, most of the papers, know the craic.

 

Carragher has been informative and good about us the last few times he's been on.

True, but he's not covering our games every time we're on. And the fact that they wheel out utter bell ends like Wise et al and give them a platform to spout their lies and other utter shite kind of negates it for me.

[Newintoon]

Just seen on ssn we are 5th in least shots against, mad considering the teams we have come up against so far.

We are always in the game,that’s the thing with Rafa the hammerings 3,4,5 nil are very few and far between. I’m sure he can keep us up

[Bimpy474]

No surprise. The media hates us in general and treat us like a joke club. We do not have many legends in the media to turn the narrative to our advantage either.

 

Plus we are truly in a mess with MA.

No one's on our side in Sky. Everywhere else, BT, BBC, most of the papers, know the craic.

 

Carragher has been informative and good about us the last few times he's been on.

True, but he's not covering our games every time we're on. And the fact that they wheel out utter bell ends like Wise et al and give them a platform to spout their lies and other utter shite kind of negates it for me.

 

Aye, the pundit on our games is nearly always a pro-Ashley moron who slags our fans off and as you said, lies through their teeth.

[geordiedean]

Aye, as much as I love Rafa I cant have him ahead of Robson as a coach like.

 

His coaching level is above Keegan’s though but he doesn’t have Keegan’s enthusiasm and charisma which was his main strength.

 

What would Robson have done with this bunch of players? Much as I admire him and what he did here, I don't think he could have done it without some bloody good players. Robson played a better brand of football no doubt, but you still need quality to do that. If Rafa had some decent players to work with, I think we'd be seeing much better football right now.

 

Absolute bullshit this post, Bobby turned Andy Obrien,Titus Bramble,Nikos Dabizas,Aaron Hughes, Andy Griffin, Shola and Lua Lua into champions league players, all them players punched well above their weight and all because of one mans ability

[YNGLEGIONNAIRE]

I think Rafa is the real deal if you want to establish a continuum here. The guy gets the potential here and has tried from the beginning to establish his proven formula for success . I disagree that it necessarily has to be boring to watch , I know it would thrill me to see us defend capably and with confidence , but be ruthless on the break . No chance of him doing it if he's not backed though . I have no doubt that he , more than SBR or KK , would deliver a trophy given the right backing .

[AyeDubbleYoo]

It wouldn't be boring to watch if we had better players, quite simple really.

[TRon]

Aye, as much as I love Rafa I cant have him ahead of Robson as a coach like.

 

His coaching level is above Keegan’s though but he doesn’t have Keegan’s enthusiasm and charisma which was his main strength.

 

What would Robson have done with this bunch of players? Much as I admire him and what he did here, I don't think he could have done it without some bloody good players. Robson played a better brand of football no doubt, but you still need quality to do that. If Rafa had some decent players to work with, I think we'd be seeing much better football right now.

 

Absolute bullshit this post, Bobby turned Andy Obrien,Titus Bramble,Nikos Dabizas,Aaron Hughes, Andy Griffin, Shola and Lua Lua into champions league players, all them players punched well above their weight and all because of one mans ability

 

Really? I thought it had more to do with Shearer, Bellamy, Robert, Solano, Dyer, Speed, Woodgate and Jenas. Bobby did like to buy adventurous young players with a turn of pace, I used to love that about his teams, but if Rafa was backed properly, maybe we could be signing those sort of players as well. Bobby was given licence to sign the best young English players, can you imagine Ashley sanctioning those sort of deals now? Young English talent costs a fortune.

 

 

[cp40]

Its boring as fuck watching a club die.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Its boring as fuck watching a club die.

 

Not sure boring is the word I'd choose...

[Guest firetotheworks]

Aye, as much as I love Rafa I cant have him ahead of Robson as a coach like.

 

His coaching level is above Keegan’s though but he doesn’t have Keegan’s enthusiasm and charisma which was his main strength.

 

What would Robson have done with this bunch of players? Much as I admire him and what he did here, I don't think he could have done it without some bloody good players. Robson played a better brand of football no doubt, but you still need quality to do that. If Rafa had some decent players to work with, I think we'd be seeing much better football right now.

 

Absolute bullshit this post, Bobby turned Andy Obrien,Titus Bramble,Nikos Dabizas,Aaron Hughes, Andy Griffin, Shola and Lua Lua into champions league players, all them players punched well above their weight and all because of one mans ability

 

In the same way that Rafa turned Jimi Traore into a 'Champions League player' - Just because they played in the Champions League, it doesn't mean they've been 'changed' into a player on that level. We were in the Champions League because of the likes of Robert, Bellamy, Shearer, Dyer, Speed, Solano etc.

[Gottlob]

The original point wasn't about who has won most honours, it was a slightly absurd segue from a discussion about how Rafa keeps our goal difference down to the assertion that he's the best coach we've had in modern history. There's no doubt he's a fantastic manager with one of the best résumés in the game, and I'm delighted we have him, and of course he doesn't have anything like the resources Keegan and Robson had and works in a more difficult environment. But for all the trophies he's won he has never transformed a team in the way that Keegan and arguably Robson too transformed us: from the verge of the third tier to Premier League title contenders in Keegan's case, and from a bottom-half rabble to the Champions League places in Robson's.

 

What does coaching mean in the original context? Is it the banal reduction of tactical competence to defensive solidity? It's much harder in my view to build a coherent side that plays attacking football. How many players have markedly improved for us under Benitez? Keegan turned relative journeymen like Lee, Beresford, Venison, Sellars, and Fox into some of the best players in the country in their respective positions, brought on youngsters like Clark, Elliott, and Watson, helped Howey in his transformation from Newcastle reserve centre forward to England international centre back, and allowed a young Andy Cole to fulfill his enormous potential.

 

If a proper comparison isn't possible, perhaps it's best not to make one, but I find it baffling how some fans enduring our current situation can find it within themselves to downgrade the great times and the great managers of our recent past.

[Guest ElCid]

The original point wasn't about who has won most honours, it was a slightly absurd segue from a discussion about how Rafa keeps our goal difference down to the assertion that he's the best coach we've had in modern history. There's no doubt he's a fantastic manager with one of the best résumés in the game, and I'm delighted we have him, and of course he doesn't have anything like the resources Keegan and Robson had and works in a more difficult environment. But for all the trophies he's won he has never transformed a team in the way that Keegan and arguably Robson too transformed us: from the verge of the third tier to Premier League title contenders in Keegan's case, and from a bottom-half rabble to the Champions League places in Robson's.

 

What does coaching mean in the original context? Is it the banal reduction of tactical competence to defensive solidity? It's much harder in my view to build a coherent side that plays attacking football. How many players have markedly improved for us under Benitez? Keegan turned relative journeymen like Lee, Beresford, Venison, Sellars, and Fox into some of the best players in the country in their respective positions, brought on youngsters like Clark, Elliott, and Watson, helped Howey in his transformation from Newcastle reserve centre forward to England international centre back, and allowed a young Andy Cole to fulfill his enormous potential.

 

If a proper comparison isn't possible, perhaps it's best not to make one, but I find it baffling how some fans enduring our current situation can find it within themselves to downgrade the great times and the great managers of our recent past.

 

Agreed

[geordiedean]

The original point wasn't about who has won most honours, it was a slightly absurd segue from a discussion about how Rafa keeps our goal difference down to the assertion that he's the best coach we've had in modern history. There's no doubt he's a fantastic manager with one of the best résumés in the game, and I'm delighted we have him, and of course he doesn't have anything like the resources Keegan and Robson had and works in a more difficult environment. But for all the trophies he's won he has never transformed a team in the way that Keegan and arguably Robson too transformed us: from the verge of the third tier to Premier League title contenders in Keegan's case, and from a bottom-half rabble to the Champions League places in Robson's.

 

What does coaching mean in the original context? Is it the banal reduction of tactical competence to defensive solidity? It's much harder in my view to build a coherent side that plays attacking football. How many players have markedly improved for us under Benitez? Keegan turned relative journeymen like Lee, Beresford, Venison, Sellars, and Fox into some of the best players in the country in their respective positions, brought on youngsters like Clark, Elliott, and Watson, helped Howey in his transformation from Newcastle reserve centre forward to England international centre back, and allowed a young Andy Cole to fulfill his enormous potential.

 

If a proper comparison isn't possible, perhaps it's best not to make one, but I find it baffling how some fans enduring our current situation can find it within themselves to downgrade the great times and the great managers of our recent past.

 

Absolutely bang on this post well done

 

As much as I like Rafa hes not even in the same bracket as Keegan and Robson for me. Them 2 gave me the happiest and best times ive had in 40 years of supporting NUFC. These 2 get praise and rightfully so but to say Rafa is better is absolutely absurd

[TRon]

The original point wasn't about who has won most honours, it was a slightly absurd segue from a discussion about how Rafa keeps our goal difference down to the assertion that he's the best coach we've had in modern history. There's no doubt he's a fantastic manager with one of the best résumés in the game, and I'm delighted we have him, and of course he doesn't have anything like the resources Keegan and Robson had and works in a more difficult environment. But for all the trophies he's won he has never transformed a team in the way that Keegan and arguably Robson too transformed us: from the verge of the third tier to Premier League title contenders in Keegan's case, and from a bottom-half rabble to the Champions League places in Robson's.

 

What does coaching mean in the original context? Is it the banal reduction of tactical competence to defensive solidity? It's much harder in my view to build a coherent side that plays attacking football. How many players have markedly improved for us under Benitez? Keegan turned relative journeymen like Lee, Beresford, Venison, Sellars, and Fox into some of the best players in the country in their respective positions, brought on youngsters like Clark, Elliott, and Watson, helped Howey in his transformation from Newcastle reserve centre forward to England international centre back, and allowed a young Andy Cole to fulfill his enormous potential.

 

If a proper comparison isn't possible, perhaps it's best not to make one, but I find it baffling how some fans enduring our current situation can find it within themselves to downgrade the great times and the great managers of our recent past.

 

It's not a case of downgrading anyone, you can make a great case for Keegan and Robson being the best managers we've ever had, and you can also make one for Rafa if you consider what he's won in the game, which is probably more than both of the other two. That's not to say Rafa is above criticism, it could even be that he is past his best and his methods are now outdated. But how can you tell unless he is given the sort of quality that Keegan and Robson had in their years here? Even Keegan quit once he realised he was going to get bargain basement players who would end up wrecking his reputation.

[Guest firetotheworks]

 

 

The original point wasn't about who has won most honours, it was a slightly absurd segue from a discussion about how Rafa keeps our goal difference down to the assertion that he's the best coach we've had in modern history. There's no doubt he's a fantastic manager with one of the best résumés in the game, and I'm delighted we have him, and of course he doesn't have anything like the resources Keegan and Robson had and works in a more difficult environment. But for all the trophies he's won he has never transformed a team in the way that Keegan and arguably Robson too transformed us: from the verge of the third tier to Premier League title contenders in Keegan's case, and from a bottom-half rabble to the Champions League places in Robson's.

 

What does coaching mean in the original context? Is it the banal reduction of tactical competence to defensive solidity? It's much harder in my view to build a coherent side that plays attacking football. How many players have markedly improved for us under Benitez? Keegan turned relative journeymen like Lee, Beresford, Venison, Sellars, and Fox into some of the best players in the country in their respective positions, brought on youngsters like Clark, Elliott, and Watson, helped Howey in his transformation from Newcastle reserve centre forward to England international centre back, and allowed a young Andy Cole to fulfill his enormous potential.

 

If a proper comparison isn't possible, perhaps it's best not to make one, but I find it baffling how some fans enduring our current situation can find it within themselves to downgrade the great times and the great managers of our recent past.

 

Rafa's never transformed a team like Keegan and Robson did? He won two La Ligas with Valencia, going from 5th to 1st both times and won the CL with probably the most limited CL winning squad I've ever seen.

 

I don't think anyone's downgrading anything. What Keegan and Robson both did was incredible, but would have been impossible without money to spend on the players that transformed the team. To me it's a pretty basic observation that Rafa's the best coach we've had in the modern era just from a cursory glance at all three's overall achievements in football, and not just their incomparable achievements at Newcastle.

[Happinesstan]

Aye. Rafa does have the required quality to replicate the work of KK and SBR, but he doesn't have the required tools.

[Guest Howaythetoon]

Where Rafa excels is that we won’t get many thrashings or go on huge losing steaks and defensively we will always be hard to beat. In one off games I believe he is capable of masterminding a result better than anyone or better than most and I’d include KK and Bobby in that. For us now that’s not getting thrashed off day City, being able to beat Man Utd/Arsenal/Chelsea in a one off game and finishing 10th with a Championship side pretty much based on his game to game management.

 

The football is dire though and it will only improve if the quality of players available to him improves and even then it won’t be vintage stuff. We would probably lose at Palace under KK or Bobby, but beat Leicester at home and we would probably lose to City comfortably, but cause them lots of problems and be far more adventurous.

 

Rafa, like those two, is very capable of transforming our club and taking it to greater heights. He needs backed though as those two both were.

 

Top managers need top players in order to do their job to the maximum of their capabilities. Rafa thus far has done an outrageous job here given the constraints and what he has had to do, promote us, keep us up, fix the club as a top-flight club in terms of its standing (we are no longer a laughing stock or a soft touch) and reconnect the fans to the club and team.

 

Above all else though he has made sure that while he is still here, fans sick and tired of Ashley and his ways, still have enough fire in their belly to drag themselves along to the match, home and away knowing it’s all in vain and like having someone like Rafa in our dugout, pointless really if this is as good as it gets.

 

In that sense he’s above someone like Bobby and on a par with KK himself.

[Away Toon]

Rafa's teams are generally defensive, dull, boring and tactical, this seasons current version has no redeeming qualities at all, unless not getting hammered is to be lauded. We all watch football to be entertained surely, if not why?