The Benitez Thread

[Fulham Broadway 17,300]

Going by your logic here, RDM was also a lucky manager, i mean the team that won the CL and Fa cup last season wasn't his

Point taken Sheva

However the early careers are starkly contrasted,

2008-2009 at Franchise FC - finished third in League One and missed out on promotion in the play-offs

2009–2011 at West Brom - promoted to the Premier League, then sacked about three months after guiding them to the Top Four, albeit now 17th after a run of 13 defeats in 18.

2012 at Chelsea - wins the Champions League and FA Cup, then sacked after 3 defeats in 18, with the team in 3rd place

If Benitez was starting in coaching nowadays, would he have ever had four or five chances at that age to keep proving himself at such a high level? I very much doubt it.

[Sheva. 5,373]

Point taken Sheva

However the early careers are starkly contrasted,

2008-2009 at Franchise FC - finished third in League One and missed out on promotion in the play-offs

2009–2011 at West Brom - promoted to the Premier League, then sacked about three months after guiding them to the Top Four, albeit now 17th after a run of 13 defeats in 18.

2012 at Chelsea - wins the Champions League and FA Cup, then sacked after 3 defeats in 18, with the team in 3rd place

If Benitez was starting in coaching nowadays, would he have ever had four or five chances at that age to keep proving himself at such a high level? I very much doubt it.

I don't know about Franchise FC, but he started well at West Brom only to hit a slump, that he couldn't get his team out of. He was replaced and they started doing considerably better under Hodgson and now Clarke.

At Chelsea he took over from AVB's terrible reign and the players immediately bought in and delivered two trophies, but then came this season: another good start only to hit a slump, 2 wins out of 8 and on the verge of CL exit.

He's very early in his managerial career though and will only learn from things like this hopefully, but Rafa Benitez is the more experienced and better manager imo.

[Fulham Broadway 17,300]

I don't know about Franchise FC, but he started well at West Brom only to hit a slump, that he couldn't get his team out of. He was replaced and they started doing considerably better under Hodgson and now Clarke.

At Chelsea he took over from AVB's terrible reign and the players immediately bought in and delivered two trophies, but then came this season: another good start only to hit a slump, 2 wins out of 8 and on the verge of CL exit.

He's very early in his managerial career though and will only learn from things like this hopefully, but Rafa Benitez is the more experienced and better manager imo.

RDM was/is a Chelsea idol (legend is too over used ) and a poor start is no reason to sack him, though with the muppets in charge it was on the cards. Some will never accept Tubby regardless of whether he pulls a few wins together and that is a fact.

From the last seven managers who have won the Champions League during the last nine years; Roman has sacked three of them, has just employed one with a view to getting rid of him to bring in another one, leaving only Ferguson & Rijkaard.

A byproduct of this circus has highlighted something I always thought anyway -how the role of managers is greatly over rated -and is equalled or even bettered, by having a leader on the pitch.

[Milan 17,955]

[robdog 2,084]

Just curious if Telly Tubby has won everyone over yet?

[-Kaplan- 410]

Rafael Benitez is the new manager, you say? Heh. Cool Story.

It's still Chelsea at the end of the day.

[robdog 2,084]

Rafa's pre-match notes:

[termninja 5,290]

Rafa's pre-match notes:

Carneiro! Keep Rafa at the club

[teignman 441]

Rafa's pre-match notes:

I think there needs to be some doodles in the margins of "Mrs. Rafa Torres."

[teignman 441]

A byproduct of this circus has highlighted something I always thought anyway -how the role of managers is greatly over rated -and is equalled or even bettered, by having a leader on the pitch.

This is something, among many other things, that we've lacked during this downturn in form. We have been running out a squad, at times, where Petr is the old man of the bunch at 30. With JT and Lamps out we've lacked experience and leadership in our out field players. This is also why I'm not so enamored with the hard line approach of the board offering only 1 year contracts to players over 30. You need guys that have fought the battles and wars and overcome pressure and adversity.

[Changingman_2000 876]

Is that Fat Controller still in the chair then? Just home and hoping that the Bolivian Marching Powder that Roman had hoovered up his bugle had worn off yet.

Where's Avram the handbrake when you need him?

[zolayes 14,489]

Rafael Benitez is the new manager, you say? Heh. Cool Story.

It's still Chelsea at the end of the day.

but not as we know it ...or want it

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

This is something, among many other things, that we've lacked during this downturn in form. We have been running out a squad, at times, where Petr is the old man of the bunch at 30. With JT and Lamps out we've lacked experience and leadership in our out field players. This is also why I'm not so enamored with the hard line approach of the board offering only 1 year contracts to players over 30. You need guys that have fought the battles and wars and overcome pressure and adversity.

As well as only going after young players in transfers. Yes, we want to get that future core, but it's important to compete now and the players that are the best value are always older. You will almost never get value for a 22 year old but will often get great value for older players. (Berbatov 4.4M, Michu 2M, etc...) It's not all or nothing.We bought Carvalho when he was 26, Ballack when he was 30, Anelka when he was 29, etc...). It's like everything we do now has to be all one way. We go out and get all attacking players. We go out and get all young players and so on...

[LayZ 201]

We should have timed our transition such that it coincided with the expansion of the Champions League...that way we wouldn't have had to worry about finishing in the top 4...

[Caeruleus 1,148]

New wallpaper by me for my "dear" mr. Benitez. JOSE MOURINHO - The only man I want in CFC now!