The Benitez Thread

[super_frank8 186]


You'll have to count me as part of the 'minority' who wanted to support the players on the pitch and the work Robbie did, instead of abusing the guy who (like it or not) is in charge of the team now.

The guy who has to go in to work tomorrow and try and make a team out of guys who almost certainly heard some of the abuse he got.

I understand emotions were running high, but hopefully the fans who did abuse him got it out of their system and can maybe get back to supporting the players on the pitch in the next home game.

Roman got the message - he actually already knew and still did it because he figured it would be best for the club going forward. He also probably expected the booing and the banners (poor arts and craft skills from the fans who wanted to protest Rafa - apparently the only thing they hated more than Benitez was Art Attack).


Now this is where I don't understand so many of you constantly going back to the same nonsensical raptures of 'we're not supporting the team if we're not supporting Rafa'

Let me ask you something...

How many times have you actually gone & sat/stood in the crowd at The Bridge?

Because from the evidence you have provided me with, you clearly don't understand nor appreciate the actual dynamic & experience of being at a live football fixture - pouring your heart & soul into the team you unconditionally love above all others in existence; entirely regardless of results/style/image/players/MANAGER or anything else that ultimately doesn't actually affect who you affectionately call 'your team' at the end of the day.

I will never stop supporting this football club, no matter what, & I will never hold another club in the same regard, no matter what; so long as blood runs through my veins. When you have dedicated every single last drop of your passion & allegiance definitively to a single club - & that single club only - it is a contract of integrity that you take to the fucking grave my friend. An unbreakable bond. An undying vow. An eternal love. A lifelong commitment - with greater sanctity than that of marriage or any other mutual agreement of the sort.

If we bought Anton Ferdinand & hired Andre Villas-Boas to work in some twisted hybrid partnership with our obese hispanic food expert, & were simultaneously relegated, whilst losing to Liverpool 6-5 in the 123rd minute of the Champions League final to a 'ghost goal' that didn't actually cross the line - & it all happened within a week - I would still 100% support the same club I do today.

However, supporting the club doesn't mean blindly accepting decisions you do not agree with. It is a mutual agreement for a reason, because you have given your heart (as well as your hard earned money) to the club, consequently the club are expected to take your best interests into consideration & listen to what you want too; or at the very least they are expected to know what will cause complete & utter disrepute amongst the masses. That is why the events at Stamford Bridge unfolded, because we - as the fans who have taken up this life-long commitment & essentially allow the club to exist & function as it does - have been failed by the club; & thus the contract has been breached once again. Therefore we have a right to voice our issues with this by any means we may see fit. We are what enables the club to exist in the first place, & are the only way it will continue to expand as exponentially as it has done, so they owe you the right to at the very least consider what & how you as a fan may feel about the decisions that they make.

So of course when we believe such a grave injustice has been committed, it is more than our place to make our genuine honest thoughts known. The reason we possess & voice these feelings, is because we do in fact care - & care so much that we simply refuse to sit on the sidelines & watch as the name of the club we love is being desecrated in such a manner. & how else are we supposed to make such thoughts abundantly clear to those who need to hear them - besides singing at the top of our lungs in the stands at The Bridge - the place where it matters the most. To be perfectly honest with you, in reality I'm really not that bothered about RDM being given the boot, he had a poor run of results & it comes as no surprise to me given past evidence that Roman has sacked him sooner rather than later. What does bother me however is who has been chosen to replace him. It is only in a single cataclysmically shocking action that this almost universal disrepute lies - & that is in the appointment of the one they call 'Rafa'.

What so many of you don't seem to be able to grasp with all of this 'you're not getting behind the team' bullshit is that RAFA IS NOT PART OF THE FUCKING TEAM & HE NEVER WILL BE. Not in my eyes, & not in the eyes of any True Blue - as was demonstrated so valiantly yesterday. He has disgraced this football club with words that have only come from his mouth & his mouth only - how long ago it was said is completely irrelevant - because the fact is that he said it. Insulting the club that you adore & cherish is an unforgivable act of blasphemy that is NEVER forgotten, no matter what. He has shown his true colours on multiple occasions as anyone who was around in the Mourinho days can attest, & so he is a proven cunt of the highest degree; & thus deserves to be treated as such. Any Chelsea fan who respects themselves & their club would be entirely disillusioned with such an appointment, & evidently there are plenty who have made that clear to the world already. What has been said in the past, doesn't mean it doesn't apply in the present - history is forever - & Rafa's words will always be remembered by the Chelsea faithful; no matter what he achieves.

& it is ridiculous that you think that this treatment will somehow affect the morale of our players, either directly or indirectly, because they fucking know that they're not the ones that we're pissed off at. Maybe Torres is the exception to that due to his sheer lack of efficacy & performance, but that is more frustration rather than unbridled animosity, & even so I'm still completely behind him in hoping he does somehow return to his former glory. The players aren't the ones we are shouting at, & I'm sure that they have managed to deduce that themselves purely from the nature of the chants. We will still cheer their names & herald their achievements as the champions that they are, because they are the ones who will actually make the difference on the pitch. But supporting them, the actual team, is vastly different to supporting the manager who has been found guilty of such disgusting discrimination directly towards THE FANS, PLAYERS, & LEGENDS OF THIS CLUB. You're kidding yourself if you think anyone in the dressing room is really going to give half a flying fuck about a manager who notoriously refuses to invest himself in a personal connection with the players on any level - I'm pretty sure they would be joining in if they were in the crowd with us.

You can try to make the point that Roman's decisions are Roman's decisions & ultimately we all just have to deal with that. But he simply cannot get away with undermining our clubs very own integrity & morals by appointing the most despised Spaniard on Fulham Road as our manager. Not without being made fully aware of the consequences.

& sure, we're used to the hierarchy making choices without actually consulting fans, at the end of the day you have to live with that no matter what - but it sure as hell doesn't mean you have to be quiet about it.

[lengthwise 17]

hehe, thats great!

[Tomo 21,733]

looking at the reaction of few people around here you might get an impression it's 1984.

It might aswell be 1984 the amount of fans at all clubs who can't get with the times, even one's who weren't born "back in the day" are pining for that era.

[Manuf 1,448]

It might aswell be 1984 the amount of fans at all clubs who can't get with the times, even one's who weren't born "back in the day" are pining for that era.

i'm talking about Orwell's book..

[Tomo 21,733]

Roman doesn't actually give one tiny fuck what the fans think he's clearly shown that.

If he "gave a fuck" what we think, Ancelotti would not have turned up, so no double with 103 goals. Also if "he gave a fuck" what we thought, Ranieri would never have got sacked, meaning consequently no Mourinho.

He does what he thinks is best and right for the club, no fans will complain if Rafa delivers success, infact we will probably all backtrack and pretend we never said anything bad about him in a similar way we do with Ashley Cole now. He may have said not nice things about us in the past but boy we gave it back to him and then some.

[super_frank8 186]

If he "gave a fuck" what we think, Ancelotti would not have turned up, so no double with 103 goals. Also if "he gave a fuck" what we thought, Ranieri would never have got sacked, meaning consequently no Mourinho.

He does what he thinks is best and right for the club, no fans will complain if Rafa delivers success, infact we will probably all backtrack and pretend we never said anything bad about him in a similar way we do with Ashley Cole now. He may have said not nice things about us in the past but boy we gave it back to him and then some.

You're a fool if you think Roman doesn't give a fuck about what we think. He ultimately does, because he wants the same success for the club that we as fans desire - & in the end we are the ones who keep the gate receipts rolling & the merchandise from the megastore flowing, along with TV rights & all sorts of other global intiatives. As 'supporters' of this club, we are indeed quite literally supporting the club in both moral & financial aspects. Roman may be a business tycoon, but he has shown that he loves football too, else he wouldn't have invested 10 years & countless millions into the club - & in order for his business model to succeed & flourish the way that he undoubtedly wants it to - HE NEEDS US. & therefore he cannot expect us to blindly accept the choices we do not agree with.

What you don't seem to understand is that this situation is not by any means the same or even remotely similar to those you have outlined above. We are talking about a man who is universally hated by the Chelsea faithful, an enitrely depolorable individual who has had the unthinkable audacity to publicly & directly insult players & legends as well as the club & it's most committed fans - & has now somehow been deemed deserving of being appointed as our manager. It is nothing to do with RDM being sacked (for me at least) because I do somewhat understand Roman's logic & appetite for progress & success & RDM had failed to cut the mustard this month - so that wasn't a big surprise. However, what I cannot fathom for the life of me is why he has chosen this overweight rambling piece of shit that he should (by now most definitely) be well aware is regarded by Chelsea fans as nothing more than bottom-of-the-barrel scum, at best. THAT is what we are pissed off about.

Success is irrelevant in this situation when our pride & integrity has been shattered & defiled - & by constantly indicating that the results are what we should be supporting - you really are showing your true colours as a supposed 'fan'. Of course we want the team to do well, to succeed in every way possible - however, if that somehow translates to you as 'supporting the manager we hate' - well myself, & I would imagine the majority of others, are simply not willing to sacrifice our own beliefs & principles just for that.

I think some of you are far too quick to forgive those who do not deserve it...whether that indicates that your allegiances are not what you claim them to be or if it is simply a case of being a more recent supporter who isn't quite able to comprehend this issue - I can't be sure. But suggesting that these are all enitrely hollow words that I will be 'back-tracking' on? Possibly meaning to suggest that I am the spineless 'fan' you seem to be? Well good luck with that mate... I live & breath for this club - you will never see me singing Rafa's praises no matter what he does.

[Tomo 21,733]

@super_frank8, I was making the point theat Kez made about the owner not giving a fuck what we think, which is why i put it in inverted commers.

The end of the day he will do what he thinks is right for the club like you said whether that means agreeing with us or not, because if he listened to the majority off us in 2009, he would stayed well away from Carlo. Ultimately he will do what he thinks makes us successful and is quite often proven to be right, who was prepared to give AVB more time? well in hindsight if he did he would have cost us the CL.

[VIALLI 9]

What was going through Romans head sacking Roberto for Rafa. I will never understand it.

[Tomo 21,733]

I have just had a look through the AVB sacked thread and some of the stuff i read from that day (including post's from myself) was cringeworthy. You would have thought that would have taught us to trust the owner.

[Rmpr 8,977]

It is ridiculous that you think that this treatment will somehow affect the morale of our players, either directly or indirectly, because they fucking know that they're not the ones that we're pissed off at.

You can try to make the point that Roman`s decisions are Roman`s decisions & ultimately we all just have to deal with that. But he simply cannot get away with undermining our clubs very own integrity & morals by appointing the most despised Spaniard on Fulham Road as our manager. Not without being made fully aware of the consequences.

Great post mate!

I agree with everything you just said, except the lines I quoted.

Like I said many times, we dont need to back the manager in order to support the team. However, the booing inside our own stadium can only harm the team. It does affect the players mentality (even if they know it is not directed to them). They can start ignoring Benitez or they can feel uncomfortable, opponents might get excited, etc. Anything that might be harmful to the team I am totally against.

About Roman, he has his problems and he did not respected the fans in some events (Wilkins and Benitez), but that is about it. No Board from a big Club actually cares about the fans, just like no manager listens to the fans. Abramovich thinks solely about the capacity and performance and if we look carefully at the facts, it was the best decision. I vahe a very angry feeling about RDM treatment and he will always be a legend, but he was indeed making some amateurs mistakes. I personally think he would thrive with proper time. It was very wrong (specially because there was nobody on the market), but we cant go back in time.

I find it stupid to want him out (I dont know how you feel about it). We definetly dont have to agree with him, although, he is still better than any other owner we would get.

EDIT: I have come to understand the booing now that I have talked to some hardcore fans, but I still wouldnt do it.

[Lav 9]

This is all going to end with The Fat One and Torres out of here. Watch.

[super_frank8 186]

@super_frank8, I was making the point theat Kez made about the owner not giving a fuck what we think, which is why i put it in inverted commers.

The end of the day he will do what he thinks is right for the club like you said whether that means agreeing with us or not, because if he listened to the majority off us in 2009, he would stayed well away from Carlo. Ultimately he will do what he thinks makes us successful and is quite often proven to be right, who was prepared to give AVB more time? well in hindsight if he did he would have cost us the CL.

'

Mate, you still just don't get it do you? It has NOTHING to do with who he sacked or why he sacked him. It is EVERYTHING to do with who he hired - & that is not based on his ability as a manager - but value as an individual person. I was never against Carlo coming to the Bridge, not by any means considering how atrocious Scolari was before Hiddink took over & saved our arses. & of course I wanted Hiddink in the job just like everyone else did, but it was simply not possible at the time & I was perfectly fine with that considering the calibre & integrity of the replacement.

Ancelotti was/is not only a great manager with a proven track record - but he also didn't tell us to stop waving our 'plastic flags' & how 'passionless' the 40,000 strong crowd that show up to Stamford Bridge every week are. He did not insult this club, our players & our fans the way Benitez has. That is all it comes down to, so stop trying to act as if we're all just butthurt by RDM's departure. The reason we are so offended by the decision is because he was replaced by a lesser manager - & more importantly a lesser man.

& as for AVB? I don't know about the rest of you...but I wanted him out within the first 10-12 games. The man was clueless (or more kindly 'misguided') in his tactical approach & showed zero respect to our legends when it was clear that they were needed more than ever as his reign spiralled into oblivion. So no, I didn't want to give him more time or patience; I honestly wish he was given far less. In fact in hindsight, since you mention it - imagine if he had been sacked at this time last year - we may have just gone on to win the treble.

[Henrique 9,133]

I'm going to refer to Rafa as the fat one, in a light hearted manner of course. I'm bored of the Rafa protests already. I was pissed off when he got the job but I'm over it now, Roman doesn't actually give one tiny fuck what the fans think he's clearly shown that.

I actually think we're going to have a good season either way though you know he'll be gone in 6 months so just grin and bare it!

I fact there is no big club in the world that give one tiny fuck about what the fans think. Football is about winning, at the end of the day, when you watch your club playing, you are thinking about winning. The board and the owner should do what they think is right to make the club more succesful, RDM wasnt because of his poor management skills.

I used to believe he was going to do a good job, but that was more a wishfull thinking than anything. I fact RDM is far way from being a good manager, some people might say "he gave Chelsea a UCL", well, only I fool would credit last season glory to the italian under those circunstances. I bet you dont believe Grant was the one responsible for the first UCL final in Chelsea's history;

RDM was sacked by West Bronwich because the team were in the relegation zone, after he was fired they end up in a 11th position. s said before, RDM was Chelsea's Kenny Dalglish, if you know what I mean.

I'm sure the results and the football will improve under Benitez, specially the pathetic defence we had under RDM this season, actually I think it will be interesing to see the fans reactions if Benitez win a double (FA Cup + PL), and Roman decide that he has to leave.

[Tomo 21,733]

'

Mate, you still just don't get it do you? It has NOTHING to do with who he sacked or why he sacked him. It is EVERYTHING to do with who he hired - & that is not based on his ability as a manager - but value as an individual person. I was never against Carlo coming to the Bridge, not by any means considering how atrocious Scolari was before Hiddink took over & saved our arses. & of course I wanted Hiddink in the job just like everyone else did, but it was simply not possible at the time & I was perfectly fine with that considering the calibre & integrity of the replacement.

Ancelotti was/is not only a great manager with a proven track record - but he also didn't tell us to stop waving our 'plastic flags' & how 'passionless' the 40,000 strong crowd that show up to Stamford Bridge every week are. He did not insult this club, our players & our fans the way Benitez has. That is all it comes down to, so stop trying to act as if we're all just butthurt by RDM's departure. The reason we are so offended by the decision is because he was replaced by a lesser manager - & more importantly a lesser man.

& as for AVB? I don't know about the rest of you...but I wanted him out within the first 10-12 games. The man was clueless (or more kindly 'misguided') in his tactical approach & showed zero respect to our legends when it was clear that they were needed more than ever as his reign spiralled into oblivion. So no, I didn't want to give him more time or patience; I honestly wish he was given far less. In fact in hindsight, since you mention it - imagine if he had been sacked at this time last year - we may have just gone on to win the treble.

No one but hurt by RDM's sacking? you sure? some of the knee jerk comments i saw bashing Roman was ridiculous.

The point i was trying to make about Ancelotti is his arrival caused a mixed reaction, ok not to the same extent as Rafa, but not many wanted him here, his league record at Milan was putting a lot of people off and if you want me to find a blog or forum comments to prove that ill try and do so. If Roman respected the fans wishes in that scnereo then he would have looked elsewhere, meaning no double. My initial post was the previous post about Roman not "respecting" the fans view's and i was just pointing out that has happened in the past and turned out to be the right decision.

[super_frank8 186]

No one but hurt by RDM's sacking? you sure? some of the knee jerk comments i saw bashing Roman was ridiculous.

The point i was trying to make about Ancelotti is his arrival caused a mixed reaction, ok not to the same extent as Rafa, but not many wanted him here, his league record at Milan was putting a lot of people off and if you want me to find a blog or forum comments to prove that ill try and do so. If Roman respected the fans wishes in that scnereo then he would have looked elsewhere, meaning no double. My initial post was the previous post about Roman not "respecting" the fans view's and i was just pointing out that has happened in the past and turned out to be the right decision.

Of course I am upset by RDM going, but I can also at the same time understand why Roman did it - & therefore I can accept that decision, even if I don't agree with it. I mean to say that we don't want Rafa out just because we want RDM back in. It is the mere presence of Rafa whatsoever that is the issue; it really could have been just about anyone else - even Harry Redknapp - & they would not have suffered a miniscule of the backlash that Rafa has & is going to until he crawls back into the hole he dragged his fat arse out of.

It's really not the same as the Ancelotti situation whatsoever because Carlo had never gone to the press & made a personally offensive retort regarding Chelsea Football Club - let alone numerous ones. That was just typical skepticism for a new foreign manager & his abilities as a manager. As a person, I don't believe anyone was questioning his morals nor offended by anything he had said in the past that was directly derogatory towards our club, players or fans. Roman may not have listened to or respected the fans wishes in that decision, & I certainly don't expect him to let us dictate his choices by any means - but at least he didn't outright insult us the way that this appointment irrevocably has done. So once again the issue at hand seems to be eluding you entirely...for reasons that I am really struggling to deduce right now to be perfectly honest...

[super_frank8 186]

Great post mate!

I agree with everything you just said, except the lines I quoted.

Like I said many times, we dont need to back the manager in order to support the team. However, the booing inside our own stadium can only harm the team. It does affect the players mentality (even if they know it is not directed to them). They can start ignoring Benitez or they can feel uncomfortable, opponents might get excited, etc. Anything that might be harmful to the team I am totally against.

About Roman, he has his problems and he did not respected the fans in some events (Wilkins and Benitez), but that is about it. No Board from a big Club actually cares about the fans, just like no manager listens to the fans. Abramovich thinks solely about the capacity and performance and if we look carefully at the facts, it was the best decision. I vahe a very angry feeling about RDM treatment and he will always be a legend, but he was indeed making some amateurs mistakes. I personally think he would thrive with proper time. It was very wrong (specially because there was nobody on the market), but we cant go back in time.

I find it stupid to want him out (I dont know how you feel about it). We definetly dont have to agree with him, although, he is still better than any other owner we would get.

Fair enough if you truly believe that the players are affected by such things. Personally, I know that deep down they really couldn't give half a shit about the fat cunt who is their new manager & are going to play for the fans no matter what - they are paid extortionate sums of money & worshipped globally as heroes to do just that. In fact, if anything it may just get them to step up their game. But they most definitely are not going to be offended by the crowd calling for the fat spanish waiter's head on a platter. Not when they have no such existing nor potential future relationship of any genuine value with him.

& I really don't understand why you think I want Roman out? He's made a poor decision & we as the fans are making him fully aware of it - but he is nevertheless the best thing that has happened to this club without a doubt. I love the guy for elevating us to the next level & almost single-handedly transforming us into the true trophy-winning dominant global phenomenon that we are today. He's the owner every club wishes they had. & I certainly don't believe he should have to cave to our every demand - he is the owner after all, & the owner does what he likes. In fact I actually quite admire his cold, calculated ruthlessness to an extent - he's got guts & sticks by his guns. However, that can also be his downfall as has been shown with Torres, Sheva, Mourinho, etc. & when he appoints a manager who is so blatantly & undeniably despised by almost everyone associated with the club - especially those who shell out ridiculous amounts of money to attend every game & purchase the jerseys of their heroes - he really does have to consider the fans since it is only through them that he is able to run a profitable business & football club in the first place. No matter how well off he may be - without us he wouldn't actually be able to successfully operate a football club as a business unless his only goal is to lose money because he's bored of having so much of it.

Therefore I simply find it impossible to believe that he doesn't care about the entirety of Stamford Bridge being in complete & utter uproar & disrepute because of a quite frankly unthinkable decision on his part. Pretty sure it's a little hard to ignore when there are 40,000 people shouting at the top of their lungs in a relatively enclosed area with little other background noise - so he definitely heard it. We don't want him to leave - to quite the contrary, we want him to recognise & rectify this unconscionable mistake so that we don't need to continue hounding him about it anymore than we have to. I guess we'll have to wait & see to find out if he really 'cares'.

[Yasser 63]

the past is past, look .. :

but NOW .. :

[kellzfresh 7,229]

i hope all CFC fans read this!

Why the "Rafa Out" movement is the height of stupidity.

There will always be criticism no matter how we handled the situation.

First case: Chelsea fans booed no one on Sunday.

Reaction: "You passionless plastics. A club legend is chucked out on his arse and you just sit there and clap politely. You're nothing but a billionaire's playthings. Pathetic."

Second case: Chelsea fans booed Benitez on Sunday.

Reaction: "You classless mugs, booing your own manager. Of course you'll never question the guy who brought him in - go grovel at Roman's feet like you always do, you utter jokes. Pathetic."

Third case: Chelsea fans booed Abramovich on Sunday.

Reaction: "You ungrateful spoilt brats. You'd be nowhere without this guy and now you're throwing your toys out of the pram. I hope Roman ditches you and your classless club goes bankrupt. Pathetic."

Like it wasn't already obvious...haters gonna

hate.