The Benitez Thread

[Strike 6,964]

Not necessarily. What proof is there that the subs would have scored? On the other hand, we would have surely won the game had Cahill and Luiz not made those silly mistakes and had one of our attackers scored one of those many clear cut chances. But it's just a lot easier to blame Benitez..

Quite the apologist we have here. Oscar and Hazard were our best performers and he took them off. You can't absolve Benitez here. He didn't even use the 3 permitted subs. Used only 1 sub in the 73rd minute - which was apparently forced -

The team began to tire near the end. You could see the intensity drop and players fail to close Spurs attackers down etc. Maybe the first half took a lot out of the players but he got the subs wrong. He should have made changes a lot earlier

[Strike 6,964]

That's very easy to say in hind sight. No one was calling to bring Ba on before they scored in the 84th minute and chances are, with so little time remaining, Ba wouldn't have scored had he come on. And Torres was not the one missing all the chances, Mata, Hazard and Ramires were.

Some were. Here on TC atleast. Ba would hold the ball up and keep possession. Add a presence while defending crosses/setpieces etc. It was a bad call to not make the subs at all but we've come to expect that of Benitez by now

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Quite the apologist we have here. Oscar and Hazard were our best performers and he took them off. You can't absolve Benitez here. He didn't even use the 3 permitted subs. Used only 1 sub in the 73rd minute - which was apparently forced -

The team began to tire near the end. You could see the intensity drop and players fail to close Spurs attackers down etc. Maybe the first half took a lot out of the players but he got the subs wrong. He should have made changes a lot earlier

I'm not saying other wise, but this is not what stopped us from winning the match. The obvious reasons why we did not win are the defensive mistakes and poor finishing.

[Strike 6,964]

I'm not saying other wise, but this is not what stopped us from winning the match. The obvious reasons why we did not win are the defensive mistakes and poor finishing.

That is true. But his complete inability to react to the change in nature of the game was baffling and I will blame Benitez for that. Later on he said that he wanted to change the wingers because they looked tired and Spurs have a fast team, well why didn't he do that earlier? Why wait till 73 mins or 85 mins in Oscar's case?

Defensive mistakes and poor finishing is not something Rafa can control once the game has started but he had it in his grasp to make the changes earlier but he waited and waited and waited....for what? the equalizer?

[Strike 6,964]

That's very easy to say in hind sight. No one was calling to bring Ba on before they scored in the 84th minute and chances are, with so little time remaining, Ba wouldn't have scored had he come on. And Torres was not the one missing all the chances, Mata, Hazard and Ramires were.

The same point can go both ways. He could have scored

He would have definitely added a presence up-front. Torres was winning nothing with Vertonghen. Ba was certainly better than a tired Torres vs Vertonghen/Dawson

[Martina 210]

One of the most important games of this season: Terry, Lampard and Ba on the bench. Torres and Benayoun on the pitch. That's enough for me really.

When you look at how the media tend to treat Chelsea managers you'll notice an interesting shift. The way they treated AVB (and I wasn't a fan of his) was bordering on abuse. Even Ancelotti got some of that treatment. Benitez has been left off the hook most of the time - but suddenly all the criticism was aimed at the fans. That's been a pattern for some time now.

So what did Benitez do to deserve this absurd sympathy? Why are some people (and media) ready to applaud him for us (potentially) finishing top 4?

If finishing top 4 was indeed our main ambition for this season then sacking RDM (when the team was comfortably placed within that margin) and appointing Benitez didn't change anything for the better in that respect. Why applaud him then?

We were possible candidates for several trophies when he took over - he hasn't won a single one.

Somehow we all settled for being grateful to Benitez for not fucking it up more than he is capable of. But that says more about our expectations than his managerial skills.

[didierforever 7,349]

That's very easy to say in hind sight. No one was calling to bring Ba on before they scored in the 84th minute and chances are, with so little time remaining, Ba wouldn't have scored had he come on. And Torres was not the one missing all the chances, Mata, Hazard and Ramires were.

torres was not missing chances because he was lying on the ground for the whole match, doing absolutely nothin... every chelsea fan that i was watching the match with wanted torres off so i dont know y u r saying no one called for ba to come on. plus even if we had got BA on 84th minute, it meant our chances of scoring would have increased exponentially...

[Changingman_2000 876]

Three games to go. Next Sunday night can't come quick enough. Never thought this moment would come for any Chelsea fan, our destiny in the hands of Benitez. Fucking painful.

Hope to fuck the shallows don't give him an ovation after the Everton game. He just just turn round, head off down the tunnel, get his over inflated cheque of Roman, and fuck right off back to his beloved Snivelpool home.

Cunt

[CHOULO19 24,332]

torres was not missing chances because he was lying on the ground for the whole match, doing absolutely nothin... every chelsea fan that i was watching the match with wanted torres off so i dont know y u r saying no one called for ba to come on. plus even if we had got BA on 84th minute, it meant our chances of scoring would have increased exponentially...

Again, I'm not saying other wise and just to make it clear: I think Rafa completely fucked up the substitutions (except the first one). But you can't just blame him for not winning when there were much much more obvious reasons why we did not win.

[Martina 210]

Again, I'm not saying other wise and just to make it clear: I think Rafa completely fucked up the substitutions (except the first one). But you can't just blame him for not winning when there were much much more obvious reasons why we did not win.

Benitez is so proud of his "rotation policy" and "resting players". Luiz, Ramires and Torres looked real tired - we had Lampard, Terry and Ba on the bench (they can't possibly be tired since they're hardly playing at all). I seriously begin to think his personal relationships with our players come before tactics.

[Changingman_2000 876]

One of the most important games of this season: Terry, Lampard and Ba on the bench. Torres and Benayoun on the pitch. That's enough for me really.

When you look at how the media tend to treat Chelsea managers you'll notice an interesting shift. The way they treated AVB (and I wasn't a fan of his) was bordering on abuse. Even Ancelotti got some of that treatment. Benitez has been left off the hook most of the time - but suddenly all the criticism was aimed at the fans. That's been a pattern for some time now.

So what did Benitez do to deserve this absurd sympathy? Why are some people (and media) ready to applaud him for us (potentially) finishing top 4?

If finishing top 4 was indeed our main ambition for this season then sacking RDM (when the team was comfortably placed within that margin) and appointing Benitez didn't change anything for the better in that respect. Why applaud him then?

We were possible candidates for several trophies when he took over - he hasn't won a single one.

Somehow we all settled for being grateful to Benitez for not fucking it up more than he is capable of. But that says more about our expectations than his managerial skills.

Martina,

Welcome to my world. Couldn't have put it better myself (and fuck how I have tried). A very welcome addition to the board!

[Martina 210]

Martina,

Welcome to my world. Couldn't have put it better myself (and fuck how I have tried). A very welcome addition to the board!

Thanks :-)

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

Actually he'll go to the post-season tour (fuck you Gourlay) with us, and then he'll leave. Painful days.

[whatthemata 249]

Actually he'll go to the post-season tour (fuck you Gourlay) with us, and then he'll leave. Painful days.

Oh well by the end of the month he will be gone! All I care about is that he gets us into the top 4; if he's done that - not too bothered about the pre-season results, the players will want to have a holiday or focus on internationals by that point!

[Ankit 3,176]

One of the most important games of this season: Terry, Lampard and Ba on the bench. Torres and Benayoun on the pitch. That's enough for me really.

When you look at how the media tend to treat Chelsea managers you'll notice an interesting shift. The way they treated AVB (and I wasn't a fan of his) was bordering on abuse. Even Ancelotti got some of that treatment. Benitez has been left off the hook most of the time - but suddenly all the criticism was aimed at the fans. That's been a pattern for some time now.

So what did Benitez do to deserve this absurd sympathy? Why are some people (and media) ready to applaud him for us (potentially) finishing top 4?

If finishing top 4 was indeed our main ambition for this season then sacking RDM (when the team was comfortably placed within that margin) and appointing Benitez didn't change anything for the better in that respect. Why applaud him then?

We were possible candidates for several trophies when he took over - he hasn't won a single one.

Somehow we all settled for being grateful to Benitez for not fucking it up more than he is capable of. But that says more about our expectations than his managerial skills.

Brilliant post, especially the last line.

[BlueLion. 21,491]

He deserved credit on Sunday for how we handled the United game; his tactics were spot on. But I think his substitutions yesterday were clueless. We needed to bring someone on to control the game - so instead of bringing on the captain to help the defence or bringing Lampard on to secure the midfield, he brings on Benayoun.

[English Freak 456]

One of the most important games of this season: Terry, Lampard and Ba on the bench. Torres and Benayoun on the pitch. That's enough for me really.

When you look at how the media tend to treat Chelsea managers you'll notice an interesting shift. The way they treated AVB (and I wasn't a fan of his) was bordering on abuse. Even Ancelotti got some of that treatment. Benitez has been left off the hook most of the time - but suddenly all the criticism was aimed at the fans. That's been a pattern for some time now.

So what did Benitez do to deserve this absurd sympathy? Why are some people (and media) ready to applaud him for us (potentially) finishing top 4?

If finishing top 4 was indeed our main ambition for this season then sacking RDM (when the team was comfortably placed within that margin) and appointing Benitez didn't change anything for the better in that respect. Why applaud him then?

We were possible candidates for several trophies when he took over - he hasn't won a single one.

Somehow we all settled for being grateful to Benitez for not fucking it up more than he is capable of. But that says more about our expectations than his managerial skills.

The team was heading downhill under RDM. We would of finished outside the top 4 if RDM had continued as our manager.

The sacking was necessary, a club like Chelsea needs UCL football.

As for Rafa not winning several trophies...it's pretty simple...the players didn't want to buy into his tactics initially...hence why our players looked clueless on the pitch.

But now...the players seem to have adjusted to Rafa's tactics and we've seen much better results. Heck, if we played those competitions now...we would of won at least 1 of those trophies.

[Bosnian Blue 2,471]

The team was heading downhill under RDM. We would of finished outside the top 4 if RDM had continued as our manager.

The sacking was necessary, a club like Chelsea needs UCL football.

Can you tell us will we win the title next year since you're so good at predicting future ?