Rafa Benítez (now unemployed)

[Miggys First Goal]

Bring him home.

[Paully]

 

[ToonArmy1892]

Rafa knows.

[et tu brute]

Bruce will be boiling a gasket at that mind.

[ElDiablo]

Brucey in the mud. 

[Wilson]

Get in

[Dancing Brave]

54 minutes ago, et tu brute said:

Bruce will be boiling a gasket at that mind.

You can almost hear him...

"The mighty Rafa"..."The mighty fuckin' Rafa..."   

[cubaricho]

I hate that I’m even dreaming about this  

[Ben]

Rafa has chucked Bruce under a bus here, he will have to say something either before the match tonight or after, especially if we get beat, the perfect excuse.

[Disco]

 

[Guest reefatoon]

He’s in contact with the players. Congratulations on your manager of the month award Rafa.

[Collage]

God I miss him.

[et tu brute]

Be interesting this summer, has he been tipped by the buyers and waiting for events to unfold before taking up his next position. I’d imagine he would still get plenty of offers, so it’s interesting that he’s still on the sidelines. Of course he might just be waiting for an offer, he could buy in to happen, and has nothing to do with waiting on our events becoming clear.

 

 

Edited May 15, 2021 by et tu brute

[toon25]

I've convinced myself he'll be the next Fulham manager

[Sima]

1 minute ago, toon25 said:

I've convinced myself he'll be the next Fulham manager

Palace, I reckon.

[Tsunami]

Morgan. That’s worse than Carson ?

[Scotty66]

With Zidane leaving and someone joining Real Madrid, I think after a merry go round they're may end up being a position to fill at a top European club, who will come calling for Rafa 

[Cronky]

9 hours ago, Scotty66 said:

With Zidane leaving and someone joining Real Madrid, I think after a merry go round they're may end up being a position to fill at a top European club, who will come calling for Rafa 

That won't happen. If he comes back, it'll be to a club of around our size.

[astraguy]

Wants to stay in England or go to Italy 

[Ben]

He must of had offers, has Edward's not said anything negative about him lately? 

[nbthree3]

 

[Miggys First Goal]

He's about the baffle Americans with his supreme tactical knowledge.

Wonder why Bruce never gets picked to do these things.

[NE27]

53 minutes ago, Miggys First Goal said:

Wonder why Bruce never gets picked to do these things

So in demand by desperate tinpot clubs, like ours unfortunately.

 

He's nearing the end of his PFM sell by date though.

[Numbers]

55 minutes ago, Miggys First Goal said:

He's about the baffle Americans with his supreme tactical knowledge.

Wonder why Bruce never gets picked to do these things.

Because hes a cunt.

[ATF]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rafa-benitezs-complete-tactical-breakdown-of-the-final-nr0wkvdd5

Defending
This is a final between the two sides with the best defensive records in the Premier League. Manchester City conceded 32 goals and Chelsea 36 last season. When I was in charge of Newcastle United, I had a meeting with Benfica officials in Liverpool. We were discussing some players and one name I mentioned was Rúben Dias. He was valued at £20 million at the time, but they did not want to sell him. He was a young player and they wanted him to be the new centre back in the first team. He has since become an important player for City. He can read the game very well and he is good on the ball. One of the big advantages of City is they can spend a lot of money on good players — Nathan Aké, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones among others — until they find the right one.

But it would be wrong to say City or Chelsea rely on one player for their defensive success. Both teams are organised and they have balance, which is important.

They can defend high, pressing with aggression when they give the ball away because they have the best players whose understanding and physicality is good. And, normally, in the Premier League they are on top of the opponent, so if the rival wants to be dangerous and go to the other goal they have to cover a lot of ground. Obviously, this offers time
to reorganise.

 

City and Chelsea are also good at defending “deep”. Why? In the case of City, they usually play 4-3-3 although in some of the games against the top sides they play 4-2-3-1.

In the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea in April, they did this with two midfielders in Rodri and Fernandinho protecting the centre backs. Pep Guardiola asked his full backs to go high, but they are usually solid and strong in the middle.

Chelsea won that game 1-0 and played 3-4-3. They used three centre backs in César Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Antonio Rüdiger, plus Jorginho and N’Golo Kanté. Jorginho, the holding midfielder, was always in front of the centre backs and Kanté was very quick, aggressive and dynamic over short distances.

In the league game three weeks later, I thought City were better but Sergio Agüero missed a penalty when they were winning 1-0. They then lost 2-1 in the last minute to a Marcos Alonso goal. The difference is City changed to a 5-3-2 with Dias, Laporte and Aké, at centre back, while Chelsea played the same 3-4-3.

Guardiola was looking to mirror the wing backs of their rivals and have more control of the game. He was maybe worried about the width Chelsea had in the cup game, so Benjamin Mendy and João Cancelo went against Alonso and Reece James. Then it is one versus one, each player has responsibility and it depends who is better. City looked more comfortable and it will be interesting to see whether they go with a five or a four in defence in the final today.

Striking options
When Guardiola won the Champions League with Barcelona against Manchester United in 2011, he used to play with a “false nine”. Lionel Messi was dropping off and he was playing David Villa from one side and Pedro on the other side. The idea, with Messi dropping off, was to have an extra player in the middle of the pitch to link and play more of a passing game. It also means defenders do not have a reference to mark. Centre backs do not like to follow the false nine too far because if they do, they leave a big gap for the wingers to run in behind.

 

They are more comfortable not following the player, but that also leaves the player free and, little by little, with passes, the opposition moves into the box. A false nine makes it complicated for defenders and that is why we have seen City using Kevin De Bruyne or Phil Foden there. Neither Gabriel Jesus or Sergio Agüero have started any of City’s past five matches in the Champions League, and it is possible to see a false nine with three or four defenders at the back. For Chelsea, Timo Werner is the runner who is the threat behind. Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic or Hakim Ziyech usually go inside and link the play.

The position of the three attacking players depends on how much they want to press the holding midfielder of the other team. They can play 1-2 — a striker and two offensive players behind — or 2-1 with two strikers. They have freedom to move around. They try to link with the midfielders or wing backs, always threatening to run in behind the opposition. Usually Werner is the most advanced player.

Achilles’ heel
The aggressive way in which both teams press to try to win back the ball is a weapon, but it can also be a problem. If the opponent can escape the pressure, then there is usually space to exploit. To beat the press, you need to support the player who regains the ball quickly. So if Jorginho has it, he needs Mason Mount to show or N’Golo Kanté to make themselves available for a pass. The same is true of Rodri or Fernandinho. They need options from Kevin De Bruyne or Bernardo Silva. Knowing Pep Guardiola’s methods, it is important for him to have a midfielder available behind the player who is coming to press. It is not enough for a player just to watch. You have to watch and move. Play simple and away from the pressure.

When I was at Valencia, we had a lot of players who were in sync and a lot of our rivals were not ready for that. The quality of both teams mean they have players who are quicker and more aggressive, and they can press faster. Equally, both teams have players who can play out of trouble.

The game is difficult to predict. I think Manchester City will have more possession. It seems they have a bit more confidence now in terms of passing and moving the ball. Chelsea will be a threat on the counterattack, especially if Timo Werner is playing because he likes to run behind defenders. But the opposite is also true. City can be very dangerous on the counter if Chelsea play high like they did in the second game against Leicester City after losing the FA Cup final. They were more aggressive in that second match. Under Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea can also score from open play. That shows how both teams are strong in all areas.

Feels familiar
Between 2004 and 2010, I faced Chelsea 14 times as Liverpool manager in cup competitions and the Community Shield. That was in addition to the Premier League games! This will be the third meeting in six weeks between Man City and Chelsea and each time the analysis becomes harder as you try to see something that can be key. You must focus on your strengths as a team, but also what your rival will do to try to stop you. That means hard work with your staff before the game.

I do not think Pep Guardiola has an advantage because he has won the trophy before. Both teams will feel pressure. But as a manager, you can make a difference. It depends on your experience and capacity to read the game and make decisions in a short period of time. I used to try to be calm, analyse quickly the shape of the other team and what they are trying to do. During the game, the manager can change things by moving players, asking them to attack one side more than the other depending on what you see.

At half-time, you can do the same. In Istanbul, we made a tactical change playing three instead of four at the back, using Didi Hamann in the middle for Steve Finnan, and reinforced to the players that they were doing the right things despite the scoreline. But when you analyse what happened in Istanbul, there is also the fact that you have a player like Steven Gerrard in your team who can score a great headed goal and start the comeback.

There is also always the chance that as a manager you can be thorough in your analysis and then a player scores with a free kick into the top corner, for example.

One to watch
Phil Foden is a player who has shown so much maturity and his understanding of the game is exceptional. Some players do not like taking players on in one-versus-one. He is the opposite. He has the skills to do it. His movement, and his change of pace, can unbalance any system of the other team.

If you watch how City arrived in the final, there are moments in every game where he is doing something different.