Benitez . Just an average manager? Discuss..

This topic contains 140 replies, has 28 voices, and was last updated by lofty1979 lofty1979 7 years, 10 months ago.

Viewing 20 posts - 1 through 20 (of 141 total)
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  • #978161
    Spodge
    Spodge
    Participant
    • :

    See above.

    #978401
    redrob
    redrob
    Participant
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    Thonk the barcodes / Geordies are growing to like him. Imagine his status if he keeps them up!

    #979631

    ian2105
    Participant
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    I don’t agree 🙂 but I also don’t think he’s the best ever – he has his flaws. Many player have spoken of his coldness toward them (not my favoured style of leadership), he signed a hell of a lot of awful players for us (probably not his first, or even second, choices though). He’s a cup specialist in my opinion. We nearly won the league under him too, although I think that was when he seemed to become a bit paranoid and came out with a that facts speech? I think he messed up there. he hasn’t managed to stay anywhere for too long, which points to issues in his style for sure (or just that he p**ses off his chief execs). I’ll forever be grateful to him though for the memories.

    #980090
    redrob
    redrob
    Participant
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    Let’s face it – he’s an average LEGEND !!!

    #980096
    suarezsteeth
    suarezsteeth
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    Broke the Real Madrid/Barcelona monopoly on La Liga with Valencia
    Won the CL and FA Cup with us
    Won the EL with Chelsea
    Won the Club World Championship with Inter
    Won the Italian cup at Napoli
    Left Real Madrid in a really good position
    Has got some good results for Newcastle after a shaky start

    Special manager in my opinion

    #980114

    SensibleS7
    Spectator
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    Ian, agree mate and that’s a lot of bad memories for a ‘genius’!

    Good luck by all means in what he does with Newcastle, but I can’t see him lasting that long.

    Maybe in fairness to the bloke over the years, he’s changed and may have learned from his mistakes.

    Still not my cup of tea and anyway, we won more with Gerard Houllier.

    #980120

    SensibleS7
    Spectator
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    p.s. Hyppia, and Henchoz 😀

    #983044
    Number8wasgr8
    Number8wasgr8
    Participant
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    Yeah S/T I’m with you mate, I rate him very highly.

    #983050

    gingerlfc
    Participant
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    Average managers don’t win what he’s won in the circumstances he won them.

    #983128

    Football Scouser
    Participant
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    Before the summer of 2009, I was neutral to positive on Rafa. Rafa built up the team, making the team stronger and stronger every season with limited budgets. Although he has his flaws but his big direction was correct and the team became more and more competitive.

    I will never forgive Rafa for selling Alonso. The deal was against the will of Alonso. Rafa has admitted that “Alonso wasn’t happy about it. I was clear with him and his representative.”

    According to Gerrard ” Alonso was the best central midfielder I ever played alongside.” “I blame Rafa entirely for the loss of Alonso. He could still have been playing for Liverpool six or seven years after he left in 2009.”

    Selling a top class player out intentionally, I mean Rafa understood clearly the class, the quality and the importance of Alonso but he insisted to sell the player out even it was against the will of Alonso. Why did he do that? Because he fell out with the player. He sold Alonso out to show his power, to show that he is bigger than everyone, not for the benefit of the team.

    Our team collapsed after the departure of Alonso. Rafa built up a strong team and he destroyed the team himself. Reasonably, Rafa got sacked. I was very happy that we have NOT invite him as our manager for the 2nd time.

    I have forgiven Torres and Suarez but NOT Owen and NEVER Rafa.

    #983158
    Spodge
    Spodge
    Participant
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    Interesting opinions but only opinions.Perhaps Rafa had read Alonso’s clearly stated wish to return to Spain so his first borne could be borne there,Perhaps he had heard Allonso complain about the sudden tax hike in the UK which compared very unfavourably with those in Spain. All hypothesis I know but no more than yours! The idea that Rafa destroyed the side JUST get one over on Alonso sounds crass when you consider how cool an cakculating he is. Losing Alonso and not getting a repacement was a mistake. Barry is no Alonso but consider that moneybags City pulled out all the stops to beat us to his signature.Subsequent events have shown that although he was not Alonso, Barry would have stiffened up our defensive midfield for some years following,’

    #983227

    Football Scouser
    Participant
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    Rafa was a manager who understood the importance of quality. He always sell 2 average players to buy 1 quality player. That is why we can have so many top class players like Mascherano, Alonso, Torres etc in the team with our limited budget.

    No doubt Rafa understood clearly the difference between a top class player like Alonso and a decent player like Barry, let alone that average Aquilani. Alonso wanted to stay, why did Rafa insisted to sold the player out even Barry (his top target) has already joined Man.City. Is it good for the team? Everybody knows, let alone a professional manager. Rafa understood that it was a set back for the team but he kept on doing it. A professional manager doing something intentionally to hurt, to weaken his own team. Can it be forgiven?

    Losing one player without suitable replacement will NOT destroy a team? The Alonso & Suarez story told us that it can really hurt the team unbeliveably.

    #983443
    Hightown hope
    Hightown hope
    Participant
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    I like Rafa, and any Liverpool fan who says otherwise has got a very short memory. He made mistakes, made many mistakes, but he also oversaw the 2 most incredible finals I’ve ever seen.

    He had some luck insofar as he inherited a Steven Gerrard just reaching his prime amongst others, but he also bought Xabi, Torres and Mascherano, 3 of the finest footballers ever to wear the Liver Bird.

    Stories of him drinking with fans on the day of a game, I think in Dortmund in 2004/05, are legendary. His donations to the Hillsborough campaign should be appreciated and never forgotten, particularly on today of all days, and his affinity with Merseyside and Liverpool should also be recognised. He understood the club in a way that no other manager other than Kenny and I guess Roy Evans ever did.

    Having said all that, his days at Anfield are over. Didn’t want him back, and when he went, it was the right time for him to go. So Spodge, for me he is NOT an average manager as far as Liverpool fans are concerned. He achieved too much to ever be that.

    #983467
    redwing80
    redwing80
    Participant
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    If you look at what all his achievements and what he done with the Liverpool academy you’ll understand why he’s such a great manager.

    Anybody who says otherwise is an idiot. End of

    #983710
    Davinci
    Davinci
    Participant
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    If you want to win a league title, Rafa is NOT the man for you. If you’re after a cup, then he’s the man. More of a 2nd tier manager to be fair.

    And luckily for him he was a great polictician. That’s why fans honestly believe that he operated on a limited budget (although 99.99% of teams do as well). He spent nearly £300m in 6 years. I defy anyone to divide that figure in 6 ways that looks like a manager that didn’t receive financial backing.

    His greatest successes have been with teams built by other managers. The more a team becomes ‘his’, the less successful it becomes (coincidence?). Quite a jealous manager and often cold shoulders players for no reason and happy to shift or sell players in order to stamp his mark on a team.

    To this day, as great as Gerrard was, I think Rafa robbed him of being regarded as the greatest CM ever in this league by moving him all over the place. This crap (that many have gobbled up) that Gerrard left space behind him is ridiculous. You have a player that is a force of nature and rather than have the team built around his greatness, he moves him all over the place just to show who’s in charge (lest we forget who Really inspired us to those CL and FA Cup wins).

    Great managers don’t go from Real Madrid to Newcastle within 6 months. If you think they do, I suggest you review your opinion of a ‘great manager’…Peace

    #983758

    SensibleS7
    Spectator
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    Davinci, amen to that – completely stand shoulder-to-shoulder.

    I don’t know why some people get really sentimental over him everytime he steps foot in the city of Liverpool.

    Fed up of hearing about him.

    #983881
    Hightown hope
    Hightown hope
    Participant
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    I despair!

    #983944
    suarezsteeth
    suarezsteeth
    Participant
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    I just don’t see how anyone could criticise Rafa,I really don’t. Yes,he made mistakes,yes he bought some rubbish players,but name me a manager that hasn’t done that over the years? Even Taggart signed some shite (Bebe,Anderson, Veron,Djemba Djemba anyone?) and he’s rightly regarded as a top manager.

    Rafa did unbelievably well at Liverpool,and is very astute tactically. He nearly won us the title, and we only lost 2 games all that season. 2. In a very competitive Premier League. He had to work with a civil war being played out in the Anfield boardroom,and still remained dignified through it all,and his only thought was doing the best thing for Liverpool Football Club. A lot of managers would have walked in that situation. Rafa didn’t,because he loves the club,and he loves the fans.

    Yes,he sold Alonso,but he had to sell to buy,and he saw Alonso as the likeliest player to earn us a decent fee. If Hicks and Gillett had actually bought the club with their own money,and were prepared to back him financially, he wouldn’t have had to do that. Criticising him for that is extremely unfair.

    Rafa Benitez gave me some of the greatest moments I have ever seen watching Liverpool Football Club, particularly in Europe,and what he did for this club should never be downplayed or disregarded. Plus, he was one of the only managers I can remember who sat in front of a room full of journalists,and told everybody exactly what he thought of Ferguson, and basically that he had his number,and knew he was nothing other than a bully,rather than go weak at the knees and kiss the fellas arse like the Steve Bruce’s and Sam Allardyce’s of this world. He stood up to Ferguson’s bullying and mind games,and evcen though people say it was a rant,it wasn’t. It was a clearly,concise,well thought out statement,and he told people what Ferguson was really like,and for that,as well as everything else,he will have my eternal respect. A fantastic manager,but even better than that,a fantastic man

    #984082
    Narthraal
    Narthraal
    Participant
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    Again I agree with you @davinci. Ive never rated Rafa at all.
    And for me the man who won most if not all of these cups for us during the Rafa period was Gerrard. Rafa would be nothing today if it wasnt for Gerrard.

    #984097
    Hightown hope
    Hightown hope
    Participant
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    Suarez teeth – a perfect summing up of Rafa in my opinion. No one is saying he was perfect, far from it, but the man deserves our respect and not writing off completely by the odd fool on here.

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