Rafa Benitez

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

Carr and Charnley were probably happy to relinquish transfer control. Relieved to just not be sacked you'd think.

[Christmas Tree 4725]

Rafa radio interview

 

https://t.co/CxRGAX6zGz

[trooper 940]

Carr and Charnley were probably happy to relinquish transfer control. Relieved to just not be sacked you'd think.

You'd like to think that Carr & Charnley would be finished if Benitez takes full control in the summer. Just leave Moncur in the boardroom to concur with himself.

[PaddockLad 17239]

I actually reckon this was driven by Ashley. Charnley never would have gone for this, especially with what they're paying, without Ashley putting the fear into him if we go down. He won't have handpicked Benitez, but he will have made it clear to Charnley that he can't fuck up again.

I think it was driven by the agent they employed to get a new man in. Carr is the only one with any idea about modern day football and he wanted his mate McLaren badly, so am thinking he wasn't consulted. Charnley would barely know Benitez from fuckin Benny Hill. I think Ashley gave this gig to what was referred to in the media last week as an "intermediary" and it's him who either approached Benitez, or took the first call from Beniez's people, and also the same person who handled most of the negotiations when our esteemed football board were fuckin train spotting at York station.

[Howmanheyman 33111]

I think it was driven by the agent they employed to get a new man in. Carr is the only one with any idea about modern day football and he wanted his mate McLaren badly, so am thinking he wasn't consulted. Charnley would barely know Benitez from fuckin Benny Hill. I think Ashley gave this gig to what was referred to in the media last week as an "intermediary" and it's him who either approached Benitez, or took the first call from Beniez's people, and also the same person who handled most of the negotiations when our esteemed football board were fuckin train spotting at York station.

 

Penfold: "Welcome to Newcastle, Rafa!"

 

Rafa: "Thank you. Would it be possible to have another cup of tea and one of those biscuits before I meet the club chief executive, Lee Charnley?"

 

Penfold: "I'm Lee Charnley, Rafa."

 

Rafa: "I do not understand. You are not in charge of refreshments, no?"

[trooper 940]

Penfold: "Welcome to Newcastle, Rafa!"

Rafa: "Thank you. Would it be possible to have another cup of tea and one of those biscuits before I meet the club chief executive, Lee Charnley?"

Penfold: "I'm Lee Charnley, Rafa."

Rafa: "I do not understand. You are not in charge of refreshments, no?"

I like that, i expect Rafa will get the measure of Charnley pretty sharpish & will totally bypass him.

[trooper 940]

Lee Charnley "the morning coffee "of the biscuit world

[PaddockLad 17239]

Rafa is a member of the seemingly still existing football board and hadn't met Ashley yet...

 

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/mar/12/newcastle-rafael-benitez-relegation-battle?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

 

Also, he says the city of Liverpool is similar to the city of Newcastle upon Tyne....don't tell Stevie ffs

[Howay 12496]

I wonder what that board does now since Rafa is 'manager' and therefore decides on players etc, do they just sit about playing connect 4?

[OTF 7295]

I wonder what that board does now since Rafa is 'manager' and therefore decides on players etc, do they just sit about playing connect 4?

They each have their own connect 4 board to keep the quibbling down.

[adios 717]

The more I've read about him in the last couple of days the more I love him.

 

Recent years have tempered my optimism, ignoring the bad sides of new managers, but I'm having a hard time finding anything bad about the bloke.

[aimaad22 4156]

He should if it's not the players that have been the problem.

 

Im hoping he wont pick Gouffran and/or play Colback at LB though. Might also be able to deliver the kick up the backside apparently McClaren couldnt.

[PaddockLad 17239]

The more I've read about him in the last couple of days the more I love him.

 

Recent years have tempered my optimism, ignoring the bad sides of new managers, but I'm having a hard time finding anything bad about the bloke.

His man management leaves something to be desired, according to that paragon of virtue Craig Bellamy

 

According to Bellers book, he told him to find another club on the flight back from Athens after the scousers had been beaten by Milan in the 2007 champs league final. But he's also the best tactician Bellamy has worked with, but there's no personal relationships with the players as such, it's strictly business. But he's won 12 trophies so it might not be worth worrying too much about. I think there will be a huge clear out this summer if we stay up, there certainly won't be any sentiment shown to anyone....that's you, Steven Taylor, and while we're on about it the same goes for you, El fuckin Capitano

[Noelie 103]

I was impressed by the fact on his first day of signing he canceled the players day off and got out with them on the practice field.

This hombre is not wasting any time in calling the shots.

Also impressed by the fact there was no messing around about getting his support team on board his first day.

Gassed up and ready to go, now let's hope he can get the team firing on all cylinders.

[Howay 12496]

They each have their own connect 4 board to keep the quibbling down.

And it has to be connect 4 each week because it's always Lee's final decision and he can never make his mind up, "it's ok Lee we can just play Connect 4 again".

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

Defo think Colo still has a role to play in a well-drilled side. I think a lot of our shite are beyond tactical coaching, probably fry their little pea-sized french brains when he tells them about zonal marking. Colo is probably one of the more intelligent players we have.

[Howmanheyman 33111]

I wonder what that board does now since Rafa is 'manager' and therefore decides on players etc, do they just sit about playing connect 4?

Carr will still recommend and scout, Charnley will still order stationary, Bob will still concur like the company man he's always been. In the long run Rafa is bound to fuck off even if he keeps us up. Nine years of this mob gives me zero trust in anything they do or say nor gives me no real belief in their real motives. Love to be proved wrong but you can't make as many 'mistakes' without it being a deliberate policy. Every year the acknowledge mistakes then do the same thing.

 

Fucking monumental stupidity letting Carver have the job, even worse was chasing McClaren all that time and persisting with him till now. They thought they knew best the arrogant cunts despite all evidence to the contrary. As pleased as I am Rafa is here, I'm just a bit gutted it could be too little, too late. I wanted Rafa here as far back as his Valencia days but we got fucking bluffer souness instead. (Yes I know that wasn't down to Ashley). I'm praying he keeps us up and put's these fuckers promises to the test.

[Haydnator 45]

I saw this post on another forum and couldn't help but share it. Great read.

 

 

I am a bit of a Rafa fan and thought would share my views on positives and negatives of Rafa.

Style of Play: Functional. Hates loosing more than loves winning. Players will be drilled, day in day out. You will have the best defense seen at the club for ages. It can grate fans who like the attacking style of football but I can guarantee one thing - Newcastle United will never let the fans down in terms of effort. He will demand every player to cover every blade of grass 10 times over in each game. Once his tactics take shape, expect Newcastle to suffocate the opposition.

One of the reasons he is unpopular in the media is that he never bows down to others. His attitude towards Mourinho "F*** you", towards Ferguson " F*** you", towards Allardyc " F*** F*** F*** you". You will go to Nou Camp, Madrid, San Siro and play with the "F** you we are Geordies, this is how we play attitude". His Valencia and Liverpool teams never bowed to anyone. Ayala used to say about how Rafa wanted him to kick players in the shower and create fights in the dressing room when someone was giving less than 100%. Expect the same at Newcastle.

Player management: He is not the best at managing egos. He views each player as a chess piece. If he believes the team performance improves after drinking tea which Alan Shearer makes, he will ask Alan Shearer to make tea. He is all about drills. Players come in repeat the drills over and over again till it becomes second nature. He is from the Sacchi school than Cryuff.

Attention to details: Obsessive. He will spend hours analyzing every bit of detail about the opposition. Stop him on the street and ask about next weeks game, he will be able to recite the height and weight of all opposition players from memory. He will give you 400%. When he got fired from Inter he started coaching the U 10 or U 8 football team his daughters played for, and apparently parents got bewildered when he stood at the sidelines and started shouting at 8 year old girls for not following his instruction.

Relationship with owners: Not the best at maintaining relationship with owners. Frequently gets into fights.

Relationship with fans: Dont listen to the media who portray him as a cold person. You will love him. He embraces the city, the culture and when you loose you can see the hurt in his eyes. He will give you his everything. Him and his wife Montse Benitez are wonderful human beings who will do a lot for charity. When he left he gave the HJC a check for $96000. I know he makes millions but having the presence of mind to pick that number shows everything about him. Other incidents:

 

Google for Montse Benitez charities. She and Rafa have done a lot.

Tranfers: A bit of a mixed bag. His transfers initially were brilliant. He loves choir boys than mavericks. But when he gets it right, he really gets it right - Alonso, Torres, Mascherano, Reina. The right type of players love him. "Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano has expressed his gratitude to Rafa Benitez and feels the Real Madrid coach saved his career. Mascherano has not forgotten about his former mentor and has stressed he will always be grateful to Benitez. He's a great man, and a diligent and excellent coach," Mascherano told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has thanked Rafa Benitez for helping him to a reach a level he never expected to hit." Bellamy: "I have gone on record recently and I will say it again now that I have learnt more from Rafael Benitez than any other coach I have worked with. I am a much better player for the time I've spent working with him and if I do go on to manage at some point in the future he's the model I'll use in my career. I can't make my respect for him any clearer than that."

Football infrastructure: He builds the long term football infrastructure along with the first team. His coaching staff are serious technical people - not people who get jobs because of their playing career. He revamped the youth setup at LFC and Sterling, Ibe, Flanagan - not exactly class of 92 but still the best youth setup LFC had in ages. Expect some personnel from Sevilla, Barcelona, Madrid youth setup to join yu guys in the future.

Will Newcastle win the Premier League if Rafa is the boss for the next 10 years? Not sure. But you will definitely win cups and most likely nice shiny European ones. If my life depended on the outcome of a two legged European tie, there is no one on the planet I would pick to manage my club other than Rafa Benitez. Loose to Reading on Saturday and then go to Nou Camp and defeat reining European champion Barcelona on their home turf. Expect a lot of weeks like that.

Good luck. Wonderful manager, great person. You will love him

 

[TheGingerQuiff 2412]

“The ten games is the main thing, we’ll see what happens after that. Then we will consider the future and I have a lot of expectations as to what we can do. I think we will be at the top.”

 

"Oligarchs, sovring staytes, wipe its nose, top arf."

[trooper 940]

Alan Shearer

"It’s a great coup for Newcastle to get someone like Benitez, if - and it’s a big if - he can manage the football club the way he wants to manage.

"What’s been clear is that every manager that Newcastle have appointed has come from a point of weakness, where they’ve not been able to set their own agenda"

“They’ve always had to work to a certain structure, whereas I think Rafa will be different - he’ll set what he wants, he can demand that he controls the transfers, and he can run the football club as he wants to run it"

"When you look at his success rate, almost wherever he’s been he’s delivered trophies"

“Newcastle fans will love anyone who gives them success. He’s shown he can manage in tough situations"

“They’re crying out for something to grab hold of up here"

“They just want people to sweat blood for the black-and-white shirt.”

[GrimsbyMag 0]

Aitor Karanka as #2?

[Haydnator 45]

[essembeeofsunderland 811]

My big concern is whether our players with their 'couldn't give a fuck' attitude start giving a fuck for a manager who may be on his way if we go down.If we survive they'll probably know their services will not be required by Rafa but hanging around whilst not getting a game won't be a hardship to them.

[Christmas Tree 4725]

I'm having a bit of a come down day.

 

The joy of having a class manager has turned into this possibly becoming the what might of been. If we go down. If we'd appointed him sooner etc etc.

 

Last week I was assigned to relegation and a bit meh. Now relegation will feel like losing the winning euro millions ticket.

[Gemmill 44804]

Are you sure it isn't just your period starting, mumsnet?