Rafael Benitez

[Lighthouse]

I think the question was about Rafa, not whether MJ was doing a good job.

Please keep on topic or this message will just have to be merged with the "Merged: Jol" thread.

You didn't let me finish ......... And Rafa would be as good a choice as any.

( :Get Coat gif: Sorry Mods)

[cebu]

If it's true that Rafa wants to stay in England, maybe he has his eye on the other job in Manchester.

[Ordar]

City could do alot worse than Rafa. In fact, they currently are!

[Berserker]

Rafa wouldn't come to Fulham

[Forever Fulham]

This may sound naive, but I truly believe the answer to poor performance isn't always solved with newer more expensive replacement players.  I think the differences in skill at this level of play isn't that great in terms of what player CAN do.  I think the difference is mostly in terms of what they WILL do at any given moment in time.  And a lot of that is down to confidence building, game plan execution, demanding execution, physical fitness, and in-game communication.  And, yes, in-game player management by the skipper and his assistants.  Take Chris Baird for instance.  He was a good player who could hold his own.  He had the tools, the skills.  But he wasn't using them in synch with the rest of the team.  We've had plenty of players who could really play this game.  But somewhere, somehow, there was a disconnect keeping them from shining during games.  I've watched the same player thrive when playing with his teammates and manager on one team, only to look like a very different player when transferred to another club, or when a new manager took over.  I think a good manager is worth his weight in gold.  He does so much more than Xs and Os and diagrams and setting the lineup.  He inspires, he effectively challenges, he uses psychology, he makes them practice, practice, practice together.  But what do I know?  I thought Etuhu had terrific skills but was handled poorly.  And most of you on this board didn't care for him.  He tried to do too much, he got caught out of position.  Fixable things between the ears that never got fixed.  His fault?  I still don't think so.  We let our most effective players leave us.  Why?  That's the manager's and the management's fault.  I'm rambling a bit but my central point is that while it is easy to blame aging legs, we could have won more games with different preparation, man management, and psychology.  You don't have to toss most of the current lineup as has been suggested.  Get men to get open when they don't have the ball.  Show for it.  Give Berb the help he needs.  Same thing for Ruiz.  When someone brings it up the middle, why are so many players watching rather than breaking away from the men marking them?  That drives me crazy.  We created our own problems this season with a lack of direction.  Things were fixable.

[RidgeRider]

This may sound naive, but I truly believe the answer to poor performance isn't always solved with newer more expensive replacement players.  I think the differences in skill at this level of play isn't that great in terms of what player CAN do.  I think the difference is mostly in terms of what they WILL do at any given moment in time.  And a lot of that is down to confidence building, game plan execution, demanding execution, physical fitness, and in-game communication.  And, yes, in-game player management by the skipper and his assistants.  Take Chris Baird for instance.  He was a good player who could hold his own.  He had the tools, the skills.  But he wasn't using them in synch with the rest of the team.  We've had plenty of players who could really play this game.  But somewhere, somehow, there was a disconnect keeping them from shining during games.  I've watched the same player thrive when playing with his teammates and manager on one team, only to look like a very different player when transferred to another club, or when a new manager took over.  I think a good manager is worth his weight in gold.  He does so much more than Xs and Os and diagrams and setting the lineup.  He inspires, he effectively challenges, he uses psychology, he makes them practice, practice, practice together.  But what do I know?  I thought Etuhu had terrific skills but was handled poorly.  And most of you on this board didn't care for him.  He tried to do too much, he got caught out of position.  Fixable things between the ears that never got fixed.  His fault?  I still don't think so.  We let our most effective players leave us.  Why?  That's the manager's and the management's fault.  I'm rambling a bit but my central point is that while it is easy to blame aging legs, we could have won more games with different preparation, man management, and psychology.  You don't have to toss most of the current lineup as has been suggested.  Get men to get open when they don't have the ball.  Show for it.  Give Berb the help he needs.  Same thing for Ruiz.  When someone brings it up the middle, why are so many players watching rather than breaking away from the men marking them?  That drives me crazy.  We created our own problems this season with a lack of direction.  Things were fixable.

I fully agree with this...how else did we finish 7th, were able to beat big 4 teams with alarming regularity and make it to a Europa League final with a team full of cast offs from other teams, and basic journeyman players. It's called management.

[epsomraver]

This may sound naive, but I truly believe the answer to poor performance isn't always solved with newer more expensive replacement players.  I think the differences in skill at this level of play isn't that great in terms of what player CAN do.  I think the difference is mostly in terms of what they WILL do at any given moment in time.  And a lot of that is down to confidence building, game plan execution, demanding execution, physical fitness, and in-game communication.  And, yes, in-game player management by the skipper and his assistants.  Take Chris Baird for instance.  He was a good player who could hold his own.  He had the tools, the skills.  But he wasn't using them in synch with the rest of the team.  We've had plenty of players who could really play this game.  But somewhere, somehow, there was a disconnect keeping them from shining during games.  I've watched the same player thrive when playing with his teammates and manager on one team, only to look like a very different player when transferred to another club, or when a new manager took over.  I think a good manager is worth his weight in gold.  He does so much more than Xs and Os and diagrams and setting the lineup.  He inspires, he effectively challenges, he uses psychology, he makes them practice, practice, practice together.  But what do I know?  I thought Etuhu had terrific skills but was handled poorly.  And most of you on this board didn't care for him.  He tried to do too much, he got caught out of position.  Fixable things between the ears that never got fixed.  His fault?  I still don't think so.  We let our most effective players leave us.  Why?  That's the manager's and the management's fault.  I'm rambling a bit but my central point is that while it is easy to blame aging legs, we could have won more games with different preparation, man management, and psychology.  You don't have to toss most of the current lineup as has been suggested.  Get men to get open when they don't have the ball.  Show for it.  Give Berb the help he needs.  Same thing for Ruiz.  When someone brings it up the middle, why are so many players watching rather than breaking away from the men marking them?  That drives me crazy.  We created our own problems this season with a lack of direction.  Things were fixable.

I fully agree with this...how else did we finish 7th, were able to beat big 4 teams with alarming regularity and make it to a Europa League final with a team full of cast offs from other teams, and basic journeyman players. It's called management.
[/quote )

Fully agree RR, also another fact is we failed to win a game since Sidwell last played a full game ?

[Rambler]

Personally I don't think we'll get rid of jol, so at this point there's no point speculating who's going to come in..

If jol were to get sacked, I'd like di matteo to come in. Someone who's completely different from Jol, who'd completely freshen things up.

However one of the positives of jol is that he can bring in some really good names so it'll be interesting to see what he does this summer, then judge him after a couple of games next season.