The Benitez Thread

[chelsea blue 615]

Now they are thinking about bringing Avram Grant back, apparently. In an assistant position or technical director. Anyway, sensitive by the board again if they go through with that.

1. 
   1224: BBC Sports
   FOOTBALL
   Chelsea says there is no truth in reports that Avram Grant is returning to the club.
   Thank god for that Benitez and Grant together
   

[xPetrCechx 13,563]

:cry:

[Fulham Broadway 16,920]

lll

Drogba's playing skill was honestly going too quickly. Probably would be great in the locker room and during half-time meetings, Frankly, he's better than torres, but still not on par with any strike we should have signed or would panic sign--especially given his wages. Lampard can play deeper, pass the ball, and take long shots, while Terry is still not too old. Strikers however need the pace and reflexes of youth most of all, not even counting other traits that disappear with age. Besides Drogba left on a good note. He could still boss the set-pieces I guess, but the dynamic, instant runs when the ball's being passed around the final third would be a new weak spot for him. This is not even factoring in the injury risk of a player his age with the requirements of his position. How quickly would he tear a ligament with Skrtel, Colo, Agger, or, god forbid, Vidic or Kompany tackling him hard.

I do agree with your genera assessment. Essien is still playable after his injury, and Raul Meireles could be brilliant. Both are young enough to be competitive for a few more years and old enough to offer guidance. We should have replaced Essien, at least, immediately after his injury if we were going to take him off the team.

Probably right to offload Meireles, with the midfielders that came in

[Jase 43,479]

Probably right to offload Meireles, with the midfielders that came in

Right now, we could use someone like him in the double pivot. Our current midfielders are a bunch of softies and hardly looked combative enough!

[Fulham Broadway 16,920]

Right now, we could use someone like him in the double pivot. Our current midfielders are a bunch of softies and hardly looked combative enough!

It takes a working class lad like Terry, who learnt his craft on the Hackney marshes, ridiculed by the press, to motivate and cajole skilful players into the mindset to actually win the game

Its a shame that players can be ''worth'' so much yet dont have the balls and psychological steel to take a game by the scruff of the neck, and need to be motivated to realise its primarily about sticking the ball in the back of the fucking onion bag

[zolayes 14,489]

fucking Brits with their superior use of sarcasm didn't catch that one

sarcasm is the lowest form of wit ....well after scouse humour of course oh and Bruce Forsyth

[Jype 6,398]

You need to post the second verse where he tells us who we should appoint instead.

Isn't it obvious? Di Matteo should never have been sacked if Rafa fucking Benitez was the only alternative. It's not like we were in the relegation zone or something that bad with Di Matteo so why switch a club legend to a universally hated cunt who isn't even any better than RDM as a manager?

[Krypt 241]

It trruly is a sad state of affairs.With Benitez i just have no confidence in this team. The problem is they will now rush JT and Lamps back which may lead to them being out again this season.

We need someone to give the players a boot up the arse and install confidence in them. I just cant see how the FSW will do this , his probably lost te dressing room already .. if he ever had it.

[The only place to be 11,313]

Isn't it obvious? Di Matteo should never have been sacked if Rafa fucking Benitez was the only alternative. It's not like we were in the relegation zone or something that bad with Di Matteo so why switch a club legend to a universally hated cunt who isn't even any better than RDM as a manager?

1. I know Benitez is hated, but is he really not any better than Robbie as a manager? His resumé is pretty impressive.

2. Robbie's tenure in charge wasn't perfect by any means. The Champions League win glossed over a lot of things if we're being honest (the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle, the Super Cup, Juventus Home, Shaktar Away, West Brom Away, Swansea Away, Liverpool Home).

I'm not defending Rafa (in fact some of the things I've read about him today worry me greatly) but we have to be fair about this and look at why Roman might've done what he did. Once he decided that Robbie wasn't the right man for the job, he had to look at who was best from what was available. It was probably easy to remove sentiment from the appointment of Rafa because it was sentiment that led him to appoint Robbie.

[zolayes 14,489]

1. I know Benitez is hated, but is he really not any better than Robbie as a manager? His resumé is pretty impressive.

2. Robbie's tenure in charge wasn't perfect by any means. The Champions League win glossed over a lot of things if we're being honest (the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle, the Super Cup, Juventus Home, Shaktar Away, West Brom Away, Swansea Away, Liverpool Home).

I'm not defending Rafa (in fact some of the things I've read about him today worry me greatly) but we have to be fair about this and look at why Roman might've done what he did. Once he decided that Robbie wasn't the right man for the job, he had to look at who was best from what was available. It was probably easy to remove sentiment from the appointment of Rafa because it was sentiment that led him to appoint Robbie.

are you including his spell at Inter as impressive???

[Corner 456]

Apparently, Chelsea have insisted that there's no truth in the Avram Grant rumour.

[Jype 6,398]

1. I know Benitez is hated, but is he really not any better than Robbie as a manager? His resumé is pretty impressive.

2. Robbie's tenure in charge wasn't perfect by any means. The Champions League win glossed over a lot of things if we're being honest (the 2-0 defeat to Newcastle, the Super Cup, Juventus Home, Shaktar Away, West Brom Away, Swansea Away, Liverpool Home).

I'm not defending Rafa (in fact some of the things I've read about him today worry me greatly) but we have to be fair about this and look at why Roman might've done what he did. Once he decided that Robbie wasn't the right man for the job, he had to look at who was best from what was available. It was probably easy to remove sentiment from the appointment of Rafa because it was sentiment that led him to appoint Robbie.

1. How is it impressive? Only thing impressive about Benitez's managerial career is his work at Valencia but it's been 8 years since he left them and hasn't really achieved anything since, quite the opposite actually because his work at Inter and the last couple of seasons at Liverpool were nothing but laughable. Sure he won a CL title with Liverpool but we all know that came with a lot of luck, just like Di Matteo's Champions League triumph, so it's hard to give him too much credit over it.

2. Where have I said it was perfect? I had my doubts about Di Matteo's managerial abilities even before he got the job on a permanent basis and as the season went on I was proven right that maybe Di Matteo wasn't the long term manager we've wanted ever since Mourinho. Hardly a surprise to anyone because Di Matteo was always considered a stop gap by many. However, in my opinion that wasn't even close to being a good enough reason to sack him out of the blue and replace him with a clueless cunt like Benitez. I'm sure Di Matteo would have led Chelsea to a comfortable top4 finish and at the end of the day that's the only thing that matters this season. Maybe Abramovich decided that a top4 finish isn't enough and the team should be challenging for the title. Did our chances of getting that top4 finish, let alone the title race, improve after sacking RDM and hiring Rafa? Fuck no.

[The only place to be 11,313]

are you including his spell at Inter as impressive???

I'm including his whole resumé so that includes his time at Inter as well as his time at Liverpool and Valencia plus his two UEFA Manager of the Year titles.

When comparing him to Robbie, should we include his time at MK Dons and West Brom?

[The only place to be 11,313]

1. How is it impressive? Only thing impressive about Benitez's managerial career is his work at Valencia but it's been 8 years since he left them and hasn't really achieved anything since, quite the opposite actually because his work at Inter and the last couple of seasons at Liverpool were nothing but laughable. Sure he won a CL title with Liverpool but we all know that came with a lot of luck, just like Di Matteo's Champions League triumph, so it's hard to give him too much credit over it.

2. Where have I said it was perfect? I had my doubts about Di Matteo's managerial abilities even before he got the job on a permanent basis and as the season went on I was proven right. However, in my opinion that wasn't even close to being a good enough reason to sack him out of the blue and replace him with a clueless cunt like Benitez. I'm sure Di Matteo would have led Chelsea to a comfortable top4 finish and at the end of the day that's the only thing that matters this season. Maybe Abramovich decided that a top4 finish isn't enough and the team should be challenging for the title. Did our chances of getting that top4 finish, let alone the title race, improve after sacking RDM and hiring Rafa? Fuck no.

1. It's easy to say that his Champions League win involved a bit of luck, but so did Robbie's if we're being fair. Let's not just brush over his achievements and pretend like he isn't a well-regarded manager. Yes his time at Inter was disappointing, but that tends to happen when Mourinho leaves clubs. It will probably happen at Real too.

2. Clearly Roman never fancied Robbie but felt compelled to hire him after Munich. But it wasn't going to take much for him to sack Robbie and I'm sorry, but Champions League exits (probably), batterings in the Super Cup and losses away to West Brom and Swansea were always going to be more than enough reason for him to sack Robbie.

That meant he had to go to Plan B and that was Rafa. I hate being in a position where it looks like I'm trying to defend Benitez, but I'm actually trying to explain Roman's thinking.

I actually think whoever was in charge, we were going to suffer because we need a top manager and there really aren't many around.

[Jype 6,398]

1. It's easy to say that his Champions League win involved a bit of luck, but so did Robbie's if we're being fair. Let's not just brush over his achievements and pretend like he isn't a well-regarded manager. Yes his time at Inter was disappointing, but that tends to happen when Mourinho leaves clubs. It will probably happen at Real too.

2. Clearly Roman never fancied Robbie but felt compelled to hire him after Munich. But it wasn't going to take much for him to sack Robbie and I'm sorry, but Champions League exits (probably), batterings in the Super Cup and losses away to West Brom and Swansea were always going to be more than enough reason for him to sack Robbie.

That meant he had to go to Plan B and that was Rafa. I hate being in a position where it looks like I'm trying to defend Benitez, but I'm actually trying to explain Roman's thinking.

I actually think whoever was in charge, we were going to suffer because we need a top manager and there really aren't many around.

1. If you even read my post, you would've noticed that I already admitted Di Matteo's CL win was a lucky one. People outside of Chelsea don't give him the tiniest bit of credit and always shrug it off as the luckiest win in CL history, so why the fuck should we give Benitez any more credit? And sure, Rafa has won a couple of titles and individual awards but overall his career has been disappointing.

2. Agree with you on the first part, but again I ask why did Roman feel the need to sack Robbie if he didn't have a better alternative lined up. Changing managers just for the sake of changing isn't the way to go.

[zolayes 14,489]

explaining Roman's thinking means to buy on a whim ...Notice if any player has a decent game against us ...Roman chases them ..

He really thinks he is the manager ,,as Jose said ..if he was the owner we would go bust if Roman was the manager we would get relegated

[The only place to be 11,313]

1. If you even read my post, you would've noticed that I already admitted Di Matteo's CL win was a lucky one. People outside of Chelsea don't give him the tiniest bit of credit and always shrug it off as the luckiest win in CL history, so why the fuck should we give Benitez any more credit? And sure, Rafa has won a couple of titles and individual awards but overall his career has been disappointing.

2. Agree with you on the first part, but again I ask why did Roman feel the need to sack Robbie if he didn't have a better alternative lined up. Changing managers just for the sake of changing isn't the way to go.

1. He's won a couple of titles (with Valencia in a league that either Barcelona and Real Madrid have won in 23 of the last 27 seasons!) and been named the best manager in Europe twice. Is that really 'disappointing'?

2. In Roman's mind he did have someone better lined up.

explaining Roman's thinking means to buy on a whim ...Notice if any player has a decent game against us ...Roman chases them ..

He really thinks he is the manager ,,as Jose said ..if he was the owner we would go bust if Roman was the manager we would get relegated

Roman doesn't just buy on a whim though. Again, that's more media bollocks. He may do now and then, but if you look at the club's buys in recent years they've been geared towards buying young talented players who we can either develop internally or send out on loan. Players like Torres and Shevchenko are the exception rather than the rule now.

It's almost as if you have some kind of agenda against our owner.

[Las7 951]

At the end of the day it depends on the team,” said the Blues' 'interim' manager. “So maybe some players can show character, but if you have one or two players that are not playing at the level then the team will suffer.

“I think in the second half we had this situation. So we needed to change players, and you could see that we were a little bit more comfortable in possession, but still we weren't controlling he first ball, second ball – for them that was important.”

Benitez has said that the team needs to help Torres – who has played every minute of first team football since the 'interim' manager's arrival, but is yet to find the back of the net.

Benitez said he was angry after the defeat on Saturday, at that he let Chelsea's players know how he felt.

“Normally when you lose a game you are not happy. Yes (I was angry). I think they know that this is not the ideal situation, and they know that if I am here it because something was wrong.

"So it was too many games in the last two months that the team was not at the level that was expected.”