TRon Posted Tuesday at 12:49 Share Posted Tuesday at 12:49 1 hour ago, Chicken Dancer said: Forever indebted to this bloke. Not only did he sort of initiate the takeover, but he was a shining light in a prolonged dark period for the club. I absolutely hate how in recent years his impact has been downplayed by many of our fans (certainly in my friendship group). Yes, it was fundamentally pragmatic - but it had to be. We comfortably stayed up with essentially the 16/17 squad and picked up some decent scalps along the way. Ran on a shoestring and made us hard to beat and really bought into the cloob/city. Even when we didn't win in our first 8 or 9 or whatever it was I never really thought we'd go down - in fact I'm convinced we'd have stayed up in 15/16 had he been brought in a game or two before he did after we were beaten by Chelsea 5-1 before a 3 week gap in fixtures. The second half of 18/19 after we signed Almiron was probably the most enjoyable period of the Ashley era for me personally, including 11/12. Love the bloke and always will. I think for most of us it was just great to have a coach who knew how to set out a team with an identity. A lot of people criticise him in hindsight but for me it was fascinating to see us play to a plan with a man who clearly studied the game meticulously. I can't stand Liverpool, but pretty sure even after all their recent glory they will still have a healthy respect among the fanbase for what he did there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Icarus Posted Tuesday at 13:58 Share Posted Tuesday at 13:58 1 hour ago, Chicken Dancer said: He was class at buying defenders like. Forwards not so much He gets a pass for the sheer fact I know they'd have been 4 or 5 on the list of targets. I dunno about that mind. Rondon was really good for us and with hindsight he was right about Joselu. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Decky Posted Tuesday at 15:24 Share Posted Tuesday at 15:24 Love Rafa. I really enjoyed that period with the club and fell back in love with it again, which amazes me when I remember Ashley was still here at the time because thinking back you'd be forgiven if you forgot that he was. Its such a shame he left and was followed by Steve Bruce who if I remember correctly made several sly digs at Rafa at the start of his time here, such is the nature of that complete tosser. Hope Rafa has a great day and comes back to SJP to see a game again soon. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AyeDubbleYoo Posted Tuesday at 15:31 Share Posted Tuesday at 15:31 Was a weird period because you knew it was just a sticking plaster and Ashley would torpedo things eventually. But having at least one genuine football person in charge was amazing for a while. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted Tuesday at 15:42 Share Posted Tuesday at 15:42 I don't think the takeover happens without Rafa, like. Him uniting the fans with the club even under Ashley gave a glimpse of the potential of the club. If we'd went for Steve Bruce for instance after McClaren, I don't think we'd have looked an attractive proposition at all. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris_R Posted Tuesday at 15:43 Share Posted Tuesday at 15:43 I will always appreciate what Rafa did for us, every match we went into I always thought we had a chance in, even against the really big sides. You just knew he'd have a plan and that whilst we might not win, he'd at least get most things right in our approach. I don't care what he has or hasn't done since leaving us, that cannot and will not ever have any effect on how I feel about his tenure here. It's utterly irrelevant. Here he was great, and that's all I care about. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted Tuesday at 15:45 Share Posted Tuesday at 15:45 If ever we sack Howe mid-season, I could definitely see him back as an Interim like he did at Chelsea one year. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Dancer Posted Wednesday at 07:16 Share Posted Wednesday at 07:16 17 hours ago, Kid Icarus said: I dunno about that mind. Rondon was really good for us and with hindsight he was right about Joselu. Aye Rondon was absolutely sound, I should have specified that. But I’m not giving him credit for Joselu Plenty of players are late bloomers or just not suited to a league and that’s fine. Like I said though, it’s a pass because we just know that Joselu (and probably Rondon to be fair) would have been number 3/4/5 on the list of targets. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monters Posted Wednesday at 09:02 Share Posted Wednesday at 09:02 1 hour ago, Chicken Dancer said: Aye Rondon was absolutely sound, I should have specified that. But I’m not giving him credit for Joselu Plenty of players are late bloomers or just not suited to a league and that’s fine. Like I said though, it’s a pass because we just know that Joselu (and probably Rondon to be fair) would have been number 3/4/5 on the list of targets. That was what frustrated me the most when we lost him and gained Bruce... The front three of Perez, Rondon and Miggy had started to play some canny stuff (compared to previous seasons) and it felt that the team didn't need much tweaking only for it all to get chucked away over a few million... Obviously Joelinton then to Joelinton now is a very different beast! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
papo Posted yesterday at 05:39 Share Posted yesterday at 05:39 Rafael Benitez is set to take over as manager at Sao Paulo a month after being sacked by Celta Vigo. (Sun) https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/27399397/rafa-benitez-liverpool-sao-paulo-chelsea-everton-newcastle/? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Prontonise Posted yesterday at 05:39 Share Posted yesterday at 05:39 Just now, papo said: Rafael Benitez is set to take over as manager at Sao Paulo a month after being sacked by Celta Vigo. (Sun) https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/27399397/rafa-benitez-liverpool-sao-paulo-chelsea-everton-newcastle/? He just can't get away from the game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut Posted yesterday at 05:40 Share Posted yesterday at 05:40 Wow, good for him. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor Posted 17 hours ago Share Posted 17 hours ago On 16/04/2024 at 14:58, Kid Icarus said: I dunno about that mind. Rondon was really good for us and with hindsight he was right about Joselu. Got Ayoze into a contributing forward as well. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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