The Benitez Thread

[bushman 2,043]

Or Rafa too thick :-)

Have some Danish pastries instead.

[didierforever 7,349]

If you can not see Rafa contribution to Chelsea however small, big..that´s irrelevant here, then just look at the current team´s performances. The team is playing well enough to win EL & finish 3rd. Well then, EL is not CL, I might point out but 3rd is better than 6th of last year. Therefore, those that cannot see it, I do not wish to argue further.

chelsea is finishing a DISTANT 3rd. this is no acheivement. we were a close 2nd when RDM was sacked. plus let me tell u what position chelsea would be if we just counted the FSW's regime... 5th!!! shocking?? hell no. because for the most part of his regime we have been poor. infact the last month has been the only time when we have played good football and got decent results on a continous basis.

are u seriously blaming RDM for finishing 6th last year?? first of all he took over in MARCH with most of the league done. our priority last year was CL not the league and it was pretty evident if you only saw the team we put up against arsenal at the emirates. or against pool at anfield. we should be worshipping RDM to take us to CL glory not cribbing about finishing 6th in the league when in the end it dint even matter.

to give credit where its due. FSW has contributed to chelsea. he has made us far more organized than we were under RDM, shown us azpi's quality, luiz's play in the mid. but thats almost it. we are still totally reliant on mata/hazard/mata&hazard.

i dont think the team's current performance has anything to do with FSW. we were playing this brand of football even under RDM. the only difference is that we are looking more fluid which is obvious because the longer u make MAZACAR play together, the better they ll get at knowing each other's game and they ll get better at combining. if the teams' perfoprmance was FSW's doing with his tactical and managerial brilliance, then we would play well no matter what, but the point is we look worse than a bottom table team when playing without mata&hazard. hence the team's performance is on the brilliance of 2-3 of our players and not the manager.

also i seriously think RDM's sacking was utterly useless. chelsea were in a winter slump just like in the 2011-12 season, or in the 2010-11 season or in the 2009-10 season or any other season i can think of. we start playing shit in novemeber for some mysrical reason. but FSW's appointment just put the team under more pressure and simply slowed our comeback. as for the way we are playing right now, dont forget we ALWAYS finish STRONG. our history is our witness. this season has been very topsy-curvy but the jist of it is the same.

i dont think u dont wish to argue further... i think u simply dont have anything to argue/counter with.

also please dont derail conversations. this one started with me posting that "RDM had more knowledge/know-how about chelsea and its players" which u highly doubted so i told u why i thought so for 2 posts. on the other hand u have simply being implying that u know and see what any1 and almost eveyr1 here cant about FSW. so either give your input to the debate, put your point forward or simply ignore it. i would prefer u doing the latter thing but...

[The Skipper 20,609]

Benitez has been an average manager. At a club like ours, striving to be the best... We need better than "average".

[Changingman_2000 876]

Or Rafa too thick :-)

If you don't mind me saying, that is putting is rather politely

[Changingman_2000 876]

chelsea is finishing a DISTANT 3rd. this is no acheivement. we were a close 2nd when RDM was sacked. plus let me tell u what position chelsea would be if we just counted the FSW's regime... 5th!!! shocking?? hell no. because for the most part of his regime we have been poor. infact the last month has been the only time when we have played good football and got decent results on a continous basis.

are u seriously blaming RDM for finishing 6th last year?? first of all he took over in MARCH with most of the league done. our priority last year was CL not the league and it was pretty evident if you only saw the team we put up against arsenal at the emirates. or against pool at anfield. we should be worshipping RDM to take us to CL glory not cribbing about finishing 6th in the league when in the end it dint even matter.

to give credit where its due. FSW has contributed to chelsea. he has made us far more organized than we were under RDM, shown us azpi's quality, luiz's play in the mid. but thats almost it. we are still totally reliant on mata/hazard/mata&hazard.

i dont think the team's current performance has anything to do with FSW. we were playing this brand of football even under RDM. the only difference is that we are looking more fluid which is obvious because the longer u make MAZACAR play together, the better they ll get at knowing each other's game and they ll get better at combining. if the teams' perfoprmance was FSW's doing with his tactical and managerial brilliance, then we would play well no matter what, but the point is we look worse than a bottom table team when playing without mata&hazard. hence the team's performance is on the brilliance of 2-3 of our players and not the manager.

also i seriously think RDM's sacking was utterly useless. chelsea were in a winter slump just like in the 2011-12 season, or in the 2010-11 season or in the 2009-10 season or any other season i can think of. we start playing shit in novemeber for some mysrical reason. but FSW's appointment just put the team under more pressure and simply slowed our comeback. as for the way we are playing right now, dont forget we ALWAYS finish STRONG. our history is our witness. this season has been very topsy-curvy but the jist of it is the same.

i dont think u dont wish to argue further... i think u simply dont have anything to argue/counter with.

also please dont derail conversations. this one started with me posting that "RDM had more knowledge/know-how about chelsea and its players" which u highly doubted so i told u why i thought so for 2 posts. on the other hand u have simply being implying that u know and see what any1 and almost eveyr1 here cant about FSW. so either give your input to the debate, put your point forward or simply ignore it. i would prefer u doing the latter thing but...

Trust me, best just to leave him in his own bubble

[Reddish-Blue 2,495]

Benitez has been an average manager. At a club like ours, striving to be the best... We need better than "average".

Not many "above average" managers available for an interim job...

[The Skipper 20,609]

Not many "above average" managers available for an interim job...

Yeah, but I was merely reviewing the work he's done here. He hasn't done anything exceptional like RdM did last season for example. If Rafa got us let's say 2 more trophies (CWC and the Capital One or FA Cup for example, both very winnable) plus got us top 4 and into the Europa League final which was a very possible scenario when he took over then I'd take my hat off to him but we aren't in that position therefore I think he's done an average job.

All I can thank him for is not royally fucking up.

[Reddish-Blue 2,495]

if the teams' perfoprmance was FSW's doing with his tactical and managerial brilliance, then we would play well no matter what, but the point is we look worse than a bottom table team when playing without mata&hazard. hence the team's performance is on the brilliance of 2-3 of our players and not the manager.

I think if you take away two top-class players from any team, they'll look like absolute crap.

You take away RvP from Arsenal last season, they'd finish mid-table...take him away from United this season, they wouldn't have won the PL title so easily...

You take away Bale from Spurs, they'd be below 6th for sure...

In most cases, the team's performance is based on the brilliance of 2-3 players...unless you have a strong tactical system like Dortmund, Bayern, Barca of 2-3 years ago...

I'm not saying that Benitez has 'achieved' anything at Chelsea...but your example applies to most clubs.

[bushman 2,043]

chelsea is finishing a DISTANT 3rd. this is no acheivement. we were a close 2nd when RDM was sacked. plus let me tell u what position chelsea would be if we just counted the FSW's regime... 5th!!! shocking?? hell no. because for the most part of his regime we have been poor. infact the last month has been the only time when we have played good football and got decent results on a continous basis.

are u seriously blaming RDM for finishing 6th last year?? first of all he took over in MARCH with most of the league done. our priority last year was CL not the league and it was pretty evident if you only saw the team we put up against arsenal at the emirates. or against pool at anfield. we should be worshipping RDM to take us to CL glory not cribbing about finishing 6th in the league when in the end it dint even matter.

to give credit where its due. FSW has contributed to chelsea. he has made us far more organized than we were under RDM, shown us azpi's quality, luiz's play in the mid. but thats almost it. we are still totally reliant on mata/hazard/mata&hazard.

i dont think the team's current performance has anything to do with FSW. we were playing this brand of football even under RDM. the only difference is that we are looking more fluid which is obvious because the longer u make MAZACAR play together, the better they ll get at knowing each other's game and they ll get better at combining. if the teams' perfoprmance was FSW's doing with his tactical and managerial brilliance, then we would play well no matter what, but the point is we look worse than a bottom table team when playing without mata&hazard. hence the team's performance is on the brilliance of 2-3 of our players and not the manager.

also i seriously think RDM's sacking was utterly useless. chelsea were in a winter slump just like in the 2011-12 season, or in the 2010-11 season or in the 2009-10 season or any other season i can think of. we start playing shit in novemeber for some mysrical reason. but FSW's appointment just put the team under more pressure and simply slowed our comeback. as for the way we are playing right now, dont forget we ALWAYS finish STRONG. our history is our witness. this season has been very topsy-curvy but the jist of it is the same.

i dont think u dont wish to argue further... i think u simply dont have anything to argue/counter with.

also please dont derail conversations. this one started with me posting that "RDM had more knowledge/know-how about chelsea and its players" which u highly doubted so i told u why i thought so for 2 posts. on the other hand u have simply being implying that u know and see what any1 and almost eveyr1 here cant about FSW. so either give your input to the debate, put your point forward or simply ignore it. i would prefer u doing the latter thing but...

There is only one answer to it all.

So much written, so little said!

[Strike 7,478]

Would love to see the excuses from people like you when the new manager hits a rough patch. So, so many E-managers here, you don't know what's behind his decisions not to sub someone in, it might be a minor injury, it might be bad form/attitude shown in training and so on. Think outside the box, behind a LCD screen we all think we could do better, reality is oh so much different.

So, fans shouldn't voice their opinion on Rafa subbing Yossi Benayoun in for Oscar? With Lampard and Ba on the bench?

[teignman 441]

In the past week or so, I've seen quite a few journos banging on about how Benitez deserves a great deal of credit for getting us to our current position. This of course whilst painting us, the fans, as a bunch of ingrates blinded by the past. I, for one, don't find our current position or the man who brought us to this anything to be celebrated. We haven't secured CL qualification, though we have an appreciably better team than Le Arse and Spuds. We have consistently dropped points to lower sides (which makes today's match feel a bit ominous) on the heels of baffling substitutions or inaction. This season has been absolutely exhausting, and not in the good way. I'll be happy when we can turn the page, waive goodbye to El Gordo, and hopefully have qualified for next season's Champions League.

[didierforever 7,349]

There is only one answer to it all.

So much written, so little said!

your input to this debate has been immense..

[bushman 2,043]

Who is saying we are proud of the current situation here ?

It just seems funny to me, to hear professional commentators at football radios, TVs saying Rafa has done respectable job & the team is playing well at the moment. Meanwhile, all I read here by amateurs how Rafa is responsible for everything what´s wrong with Chelsea.

[bushman 2,043]

your input to this debate has been immense..

My opinion of the posting stands the same.

[didierforever 7,349]

I think if you take away two top-class players from any team, they'll look like absolute crap.

You take away RvP from Arsenal last season, they'd finish mid-table...take him away from United this season, they wouldn't have won the PL title so easily...

You take away Bale from Spurs, they'd be below 6th for sure...

In most cases, the team's performance is based on the brilliance of 2-3 players...unless you have a strong tactical system like Dortmund, Bayern, Barca of 2-3 years ago...

I'm not saying that Benitez has 'achieved' anything at Chelsea...but your example applies to most clubs.

you are absolutely right about arsenal and spurs, but i feel united would have pulled it off even without rvp. they almost did it last season. and they do it simply because they DO have a style of play of simply putting in balls in the box from almost anywhere till it goes in the net. but still there is a method to madness in united's play which has to be credited to the coach.

my point had been that FSW should not be credited with the style of play we are playing right now simply because we were playing this way even under RDM, but we are defensively more sound under FSW.