Rafa New Chelsea Manager . .

super_furry

IvySlayer wrote: »

I seriously don't know why Liverpool fans are annoyed, he waited and waited to come back but never got the call. Anyway, I'll say Rafa will last longer than AVB and RDM combined. Bookmark it if you must :P

I don't think many are annoyed. Whistful is about the extent of my feelings on it as a Liverpool fan. I'm much more focused on what our current manager can do in January to help improve the Liverpool squad.

Hulk Hands

niallo27 wrote: »

A lot of us have a lot of respect for the man and would like to see him do well, what's the got to do with ego.

Plenty have said today that they want Rafa to do well to be proved right about him and shut the naysayers up. I'm talking about those people. If Liverpool have aspirations of Champions league in future then Chelsea success (and all those above Liverpool) isn't good

Xavi6

Seeing the below quote all over the shop at the moment, is it true?

"Chelsea is a big club [..] I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what." - Benitez 2007

niallo27

IvySlayer wrote: »

I seriously don't know why Liverpool fans are annoyed, he waited and waited to come back but never got the call. Anyway, I'll say Rafa will last longer than AVB and RDM combined. Bookmark it if you must :P

I don't think anyone is annoyed he took the chance, I think people are more disappointed.

WoollyRedHat

Digitalism wrote: »

http://youtu.be/qPch4HPr0CQ

bit awkward now

Fat Spanish Waiter... wow lovely stuff altogether. ****.

secman

secman wrote: »

9 managers in 9 years ! For his 10th anniversary , who will R A go for next ?

WoollyRedHat

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Fat Spanish Waiter... wow lovely stuff altogether. ****.

That video is dated march 2012 is it?

super_furry

Xavi6 wrote: »

Seeing the below quote all over the shop at the moment, is it true?

"Chelsea is a big club [..] I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what." - Benitez 2007

Nope. There's not a single mention of it anywhere online that predates this week.

Will I Amnt

Leiva wrote: »

24hrs ago Torres was probably thinking that's it.

Now tonight he must be over the moon.

24hrs is a long time in football

Is he going to rebuild him or something???

secman

Garzorico wrote: »

12 trophies in 9 years.

Expensive ones, with all those pay off.s. You are not seriously suggesting that its a good policy !

Washington Irving

Xavi6 wrote: »

Seeing the below quote all over the shop at the moment, is it true?

"Chelsea is a big club [..] I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what." - Benitez 2007

That was posted in both the Chelsea and Liverpool threads earlier, turned out to be bull

Yakult

Xavi6 wrote: »

Seeing the below quote all over the shop at the moment, is it true?

"Chelsea is a big club [..] I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what." - Benitez 2007

It was rubbished afaik

^beaten to it

Xavi6

super_furry wrote: »

Nope. There's not a single mention of it anywhere online that predates this week.

SaulGoode9 wrote: »

That was posted in both the Chelsea and Liverpool threads earlier, turned out to be bull

Figured as much, best to clear these things up before one makes a tit of one's self using it :pac:

Speak Now

Xavi6 wrote: »

Seeing the below quote all over the shop at the moment, is it true?

"Chelsea is a big club [..] I would never take that job, in respect for my former team at Liverpool, no matter what." - Benitez 2007

super_furry wrote: »

Nope. There's not a single mention of it anywhere online that predates this week.

Liverpool were far from his former team in 2007 anyways :rolleyes:

Washington Irving

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Plenty have said today that they want Rafa to do well to be proved right about him and shut the naysayers up. I'm talking about those people. If Liverpool have aspirations of Champions league in future then Chelsea success (and all those above Liverpool) isn't good

Chelsea are more than likely going to be title contenders along with the two Manchester clubs. It doesn't make any difference to Liverpool what order those three finish in a title race.

If it's not Chelsea succeeding, it'll be Man City or Man United so I hope it's Chelsea because I like Rafa and want him to do well (so long as it doesn't negatively affect Liverpool).

I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.

Mr.Nice Guy

Benitez is a better pair of hands but I'm not sure if the egos in the dressing room will give him a chance. It's still difficult for me to picture Benitez with Chelsea. Seems an awkward match. Don't think it will be easy for him.

Guardiola really has Abramovich by the you know whats. Think of the money he could earn. He seems to have all the bargaining chips at this point.

Hulk Hands

SaulGoode9 wrote: »

Chelsea are more than likely going to be title contenders along with the two Manchester clubs. It doesn't make any difference to Liverpool what order those three finish in a title race.

If it's not Chelsea succeeding, it'll be Man City or Man United so I hope it's Chelsea because I like Rafa and want him to do well (so long as it doesn't negatively affect Liverpool).

I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.

Your talking about this season. If Rafa does a good job then he could be there for 4+ years. By that time you'd surely be hoping to be back in the CL mix? He does a good job and builds a solid team then surely Chelsea will become a top 4 fixture. One more team there means one less spot. Maybe missing out on the CL places in future will be ok because you were right all along about Benitez

Cantona's Collars

It's predicted that by 2025 you'll never be more than six feet away from an ex-Chelsea manager.

DrumSteve

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Your talking about this season. If Rafa does a good job then he could be there for 4+ years. By that time you'd surely be hoping to be back in the CL mix? He does a good job and builds a solid team then surely Chelsea will become a top 4 fixture. One more team there means one less spot. Maybe missing out on the CL places in future will be ok because you were right all along about Benitez

4+ years at Chelsea? You cray.

Sgt Pepper 64

zerks wrote: »

It's predicted that by 2025 you'll never be more than six feet away from an ex-Chelsea manager.

Brilliant!

Sgt Pepper 64

super_furry wrote: »

Nope. There's not a single mention of it anywhere online that predates this week.

But he did say this!

"We don`t need to give away stupid plastic flags to our fans to wave, our supporters are always there with their hearts and that is all we need. It`s the passion of the fans that helps us to win matches, not flags. Chelsea fans lack passion."



Read more: http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=531870#ixzz2CtUshplp

Washington Irving

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Your talking about this season. If Rafa does a good job then he could be there for 4+ years. By that time you'd surely be hoping to be back in the CL mix? He does a good job and builds a solid team then surely Chelsea will become a top 4 fixture. One more team there means one less spot. Maybe missing out on the CL places in future will be ok because you were right all along about Benitez

I don't know how many times I have say it but I only want Benitez to do well so long as it doesn't negatively impact on Liverpool. Of course, if in time Liverpool and Chelsea are fighting for CL places, titles, European cups, then I'll hope he will fail miserably (if he's still there) but for now I hope he succeeds. Again, if it's not Chelsea doing well it'll be Man Utd or Man City and I'd rather see Rafa winning a title than Fergie or Mancini

Hulk Hands

SaulGoode9 wrote: »

I don't know how many times I have say it but I only want Benitez to do well so long as it doesn't negatively impact on Liverpool. Of course, if in time Liverpool and Chelsea are fighting for CL places, titles, European cups, then I'll hope he will fail miserably (if he's still there) but for now I hope he succeeds. Again, if it's not Chelsea doing well it'll be Man Utd or Man City and I'd rather see Rafa winning a title than Fergie or Mancini

You only said it once actually and even that was just "Obviously, in the highly unlikely case that Liverpool are battling with Chelsea for a CL place, I'll want Liverpool to qualify".

Anyway, I think you get my point that I think it's a bit sad that some fans want an opposing side to do well just so they can be proven right. Moving on

WoollyRedHat

rarnes1 wrote: »

That video is dated march 2012 is it?

Yes it is.. why was abuse ok back then?

Cienciano

Stroke of genius getting in Rafa. Abramovich never wanted RDM full time, but had to cos of public pressure straight after winning the CL.
He knows no one will warm to Rafa, so a contract till the end of the season is fine, but he's the man to get chelsea playing with a bit of fire and to motivate Torres.
Couldn't have picked a better manager for Chelsea till the end of the season.

opr

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

But he did say this!

"We don`t need to give away stupid plastic flags to our fans to wave, our supporters are always there with their hearts and that is all we need. It`s the passion of the fans that helps us to win matches, not flags. Chelsea fans lack passion."

Read more: http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=531870#ixzz2CtUshplp

I'm pretty sure someone has doctored that quote. I don't think he made reference to any particular club when he made the comment. The quote is.

"We don't need to give away stupid plastic flags to our fans to wave, our supporters are always there with their hearts and that is all we need. Its the passion of the fans that helps us to win matches, not flags."

I'm fairly sure the Chelsea bit has been tacked on by someone else.

Opr

Washington Irving

Hulk Hands wrote: »

You only said it once actually and even that was just "Obviously, in the highly unlikely case that Liverpool are battling with Chelsea for a CL place, I'll want Liverpool to qualify".

That was the first, I said it again in my next post and then a third time.

SaulGoode9 wrote: »

Him doing well means Chelsea winning the league. There's very little chance of Chelsea finishing outside the top 4 considering the strength of their squad and probable lack of CL football.

Obviously, in the highly unlikely case that Liverpool are battling with Chelsea for a CL place, I'll want Liverpool to qualify. I really don't know how you can see it otherwise

SaulGoode9 wrote: »

Chelsea are more than likely going to be title contenders along with the two Manchester clubs. It doesn't make any difference to Liverpool what order those three finish in a title race.

If it's not Chelsea succeeding, it'll be Man City or Man United so I hope it's Chelsea because I like Rafa and want him to do well (so long as it doesn't negatively affect Liverpool).

I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.

SaulGoode9 wrote: »

I don't know how many times I have say it but I only want Benitez to do well so long as it doesn't negatively impact on Liverpool. Of course, if in time Liverpool and Chelsea are fighting for CL places, titles, European cups, then I'll hope he will fail miserably (if he's still there) but for now I hope he succeeds. Again, if it's not Chelsea doing well it'll be Man Utd or Man City and I'd rather see Rafa winning a title than Fergie or Mancini

Hulk Hands wrote:

Anyway, I think you get my point that I think it's a bit sad that some fans want an opposing side to do well just so they can be proven right. Moving on

That's correct, but you just assumed I, and other Liverpool fans, hoping Rafa does well cared more about that than Liverpool's results which isn't the case, that's what I'm trying to explain to you.

sprinkles

Hulk Hands wrote: »

Your talking about this season. If Rafa does a good job then he could be there for 4+ years. By that time you'd surely be hoping to be back in the CL mix? He does a good job and builds a solid team then surely Chelsea will become a top 4 fixture. One more team there means one less spot. Maybe missing out on the CL places in future will be ok because you were right all along about Benitez

Haven't they been a top 4 side for the last 10ish years? What makes you think that Rafa needs to build them into becomming something they already are?

WoollyRedHat

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Yes it is.. why was abuse ok back then?

No, did I say it was

Don't see the point of linking a 7/8 month old video of Chelsea fans abusing Benitez

counterlock

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

But he did say this!

"We don`t need to give away stupid plastic flags to our fans to wave, our supporters are always there with their hearts and that is all we need. It`s the passion of the fans that helps us to win matches, not flags. Chelsea fans lack passion."



Read more: http://www.chelsea.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=531870#ixzz2CtUshplp

Chucky the tree

sprinkles wrote: »

Haven't they been a top 4 side for the last 10ish years? What makes you think that Rafa needs to build them into becomming something they already are?

Well 6th last season wasn't top 4.

Drumpot

zerks wrote: »

It's predicted that by 2025 you'll never be more than six feet away from an ex-Chelsea manager.

Post of the year ..

super_furry

Chin up lads, Rafa Benitez has won as many Champions League matches this season as Roberto Mancini.

Sgt Pepper 64

Has he been sacked yet?

everdead.ie

Nuri Sahin wrote: »

..

That's a joke right?

martingriff

Good luck to Rafa I was actually only thinking today he is out of the game for 2 years he must get something soon. I am not the biggest fan of Rafa as some liverpool fans on this site and have said as much on the liverpool thread though one of my reasons (the zonal marking) has been proven to me to be false. His dealing with Alonso and Keane was not very good. and the year when we could have won the league and started to fall apart he seemed more concerned with his arguments with Fergusson. His time at Inter was not the highlight of his career.

But i wish him luck (not against Liverpool when we meet) and hope he does well but with the way managers go in Chelsea he could be out before we play them

evil_seed

So is it til the end of the season or 18 months? Reading different reports

Morzadec

Awful lot of Mystic Megs amongst football fans.

Rafa will either dominate European football for the next 10 years or lose every single match until Roman pulls the trigger depending on who you listen to.

The reality is it's very difficult to say how he will do. There are so many factors, so many unknowns. If I had to predict, I'd go with a title challenge falling short a match or two before the end of the season and a 2nd or 3rd place finish. But who knows really?

Some unknown factors -

- how will the senior players who chased AVB out react?

- how will Rafa adjust after being out of management for a while?

- how will the fans reaction affect the team?

- how will his style work with the players available?

- how will egos such as Hazard react to his man-management style?

- how will Rafa react under this 'caretaker' role? It's not exactly a vote of confidence and there is a sense that he's keeping the seat warm for Pep.

- the Torres situation. Arguably Chelsea's biggest weakness is their lack of a quality no.9. If anyone can get the best out of Torres it's Benitez. He could give him a new lease of life. With a Torres of old Chelsea could become unstoppable. That's one way of looking at it. For me, however, Torres' nosedive is only partially as a result of style, management, confidence etc... I completely believe that Torres has lost a lot of his explosive pace and as such a huge amount of his danger as a player. It's far from certain that Torres will suddenly start firing under Benitez. He might, he might not. Honestly I'd predict a slight improvement, without anything too spectacular.

The confidence on both sides is ludicrous and an example of the extreme opinions and lack of finding a middle ground so common in football.

It will be very interesting to see what happens here anyway.

spockety

Rafa will be going to Chelsea with a genuine belief that he could win the Premier League title this year.

I would not put any money against it happening.

What are the bookies offering now on Chelsea for the title?

spockety

Morzadec wrote: »

Awful lot of Mystic Megs amongst football fans.

Rafa will either dominate European football for the next 10 years or lose every single match until Roman pulls the trigger depending on who you listen to.

The reality is it's very difficult to say how he will do. There are so many factors, so many unknowns. If I had to predict, I'd go with a title challenge falling short a match or two before the end of the season and a 2nd or 3rd place finish. But who knows really?

Some unknown factors -

- how will the senior players who chased AVB out react?

- how will Rafa adjust after being out of management for a while?

- how will the fans reaction affect the team?

- how will his style work with the players available?

- how will egos such as Hazard react to his man-management style?

- how will Rafa react under this 'caretaker' role? It's not exactly a vote of confidence and there is a sense that he's keeping the seat warm for Pep.

- the Torres situation. Arguably Chelsea's biggest weakness is their lack of a quality no.9. If anyone can get the best out of Torres it's Benitez. He could give him a new lease of life. With a Torres of old Chelsea could become unstoppable. That's one way of looking at it. For me, however, Torres' nosedive is only partially as a result of style, management, confidence etc... I completely believe that Torres has lost a lot of his explosive pace and as such a huge amount of his danger as a player. It's far from certain that Torres will suddenly start firing under Benitez. He might, he might not. Honestly I'd predict a slight improvement, without anything too spectacular.

The confidence on both sides is ludicrous and an example of the extreme opinions and lack of finding a middle ground so common in football.

It will be very interesting to see what happens here anyway.

Rafa had to deal with such an unbelievable amount of sh*t at Liverpool that all of the stuff you have mentioned above will be like a walk in the park to him.

Ken.

Sgt Pepper 64 wrote: »

Has he been sacked yet?

Yeah, R.A. sacked him for not winning anything in the last 2 hours.

WoollyRedHat

rarnes1 wrote: »

No, did I say it was

Don't see the point of linking a 7/8 month old video of Chelsea fans abusing Benitez

Apologies then.

Whatever about the merrits of doing so, I think the poster was trying to draw the point across that it will be intersting to see how said fans will react now that he actually is the manager.

Morzadec

spockety wrote: »

Rafa had to deal with such an unbelievable amount of sh*t at Liverpool that all of the stuff you have mentioned above will be like a walk in the park to him.

He had some time to build a team at Liverpool, get some players he liked (albiet not on a Chelsea-size budget).

I'm a big fan of Rafa and I think he did a fantastic job at Liverpool. He obviously did excellently at Valencia as well. Clearly those who call him a clown have an agenda, but still it's far from sure that he'll be a success.

He's coming to a new team, hostile fans, a lot of expectation, a lot of people wanting him to fail.

Just to be clear I'm not at all writing him off. He might well win them the league this year, but I also think it's perfectly plausible that he won't even mount a challenge.

Like I said it's very difficult to say - so if I had to predict I'd go somewhere in the middle ground and suggest a comfortable CL qualification and a hint of a title charge before falling away to the Manchester clubs.

Honestly have no idea how this one will play out.

Sgt Pepper 64

Morzadec wrote: »

Awful lot of Mystic Megs amongst football fans.

Rafa will either dominate European football for the next 10 years or lose every single match until Roman pulls the trigger depending on who you listen to.

The reality is it's very difficult to say how he will do. There are so many factors, so many unknowns. If I had to predict, I'd go with a title challenge falling short a match or two before the end of the season and a 2nd or 3rd place finish. But who knows really?

Some unknown factors -

- how will the senior players who chased AVB out react?

- how will Rafa adjust after being out of management for a while?

- how will the fans reaction affect the team?

- how will his style work with the players available?

- how will egos such as Hazard react to his man-management style?

- how will Rafa react under this 'caretaker' role? It's not exactly a vote of confidence and there is a sense that he's keeping the seat warm for Pep.

- the Torres situation. Arguably Chelsea's biggest weakness is their lack of a quality no.9. If anyone can get the best out of Torres it's Benitez. He could give him a new lease of life. With a Torres of old Chelsea could become unstoppable. That's one way of looking at it. For me, however, Torres' nosedive is only partially as a result of style, management, confidence etc... I completely believe that Torres has lost a lot of his explosive pace and as such a huge amount of his danger as a player. It's far from certain that Torres will suddenly start firing under Benitez. He might, he might not. Honestly I'd predict a slight improvement, without anything too spectacular.

The confidence on both sides is ludicrous and an example of the extreme opinions and lack of finding a middle ground so common in football.

It will be very interesting to see what happens here anyway.

good post.
From what pool fans have said, he will work on the defence first. Can he get a grip of the wandering Luiz?
Things might have been so different if Cole and Terry had not got injured\banned when they did. No coincidence there i think.
I certainly dont expect us to win the league but we should finish top four and have a cup run.
Of course, if he does by some miracle get Torres or Danny scoring, or we sign a striker in Jan, it could be different.
But then again, Torres will probably get yet another chance under yet another "new" manager, so Danny will want out

ThunbergsAreGo

I wish him luck

Jax Teller

Some journos saying its a 18 month contract not till the end of the season .

Chucky the tree

Morzadec wrote: »

He had some time to build a team at Liverpool, get some players he liked (albiet not on a Chelsea-size budget).

I'm a big fan of Rafa and I think he did a fantastic job at Liverpool. He obviously did excellently at Valencia as well. Clearly those who call him a clown have an agenda, but still it's far from sure that he'll be a success.

He's coming to a new team, hostile fans, a lot of expectation, a lot of people wanting him to fail.

Just to be clear I'm not at all writing him off. He might well win them the league this year, but I also think it's perfectly plausible that he won't even mount a challenge.

Like I said it's very difficult to say - so if I had to predict I'd go somewhere in the middle ground and suggest a comfortable CL qualification and a hint of a title charge before falling away to the Manchester clubs.

Honestly have no idea how this one will play out.

I think he has a great team in Chelsea and it will fit him really well. Very worrying what he'll do with Mata, Hazard and Oscar. Wouldn't be surprised if Torres improves(can't get any worse either) and I think Sturridge could also hit some form.

Defensively they could struggle but if can get the front lads to work hard it should be a big help.

I don't think the senior players will have a problem, Lamps, Terry an Cole are the only 3. If Cole or Lamps kick off I'd say they will be just told to gtfo in January anyway. Although I think Terry and Cole will be fine because he'll still play them when fit.

PeterTwo

If Chelsea beat FC Nordsjaelland by 7 goals are they guaranteed to go get second place in their CL group?

miralize

Wins the Champions League and FA cup
Still gets sacked before Mark Hughes

Chucky the tree

PeterTwo wrote: »

If Chelsea beat FC Nordsjaelland by 7 goals are they guaranteed to go get second place in their CL group?

They need Juve to lose.