Rafael Benitez

[barryj]

40 minutes ago, Bailey said:

What a twat! 

Gloat in defeat or point out that they’re right about certain things with Rafa and are concerned.  Two different things! 

[MC11]

2 hours ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

Benitez's best mate at it again. Made me genuinely angry reading such a misinformed, arrogant tweet.

Balague is completely irrelevant in modern football just like Benitez

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

1 hour ago, Romey 1878 said:

I think the one thing everyone can agree on is that we are an absolute shitshow of a club right now and we all hope that we can find our way out of it. We all have different ideas of how we should go about getting out of it but the crux of it is that we're all on the same side really.

Totally agree

If I’m honest if we were in this mess with Rafa had he come straight in after Moyes I too would be screaming for his head. I think we all agree what we are seeing just isn’t good enough for our club. But the fact we keep changing managers and keep ending up with the same results says to me the players are the problem

Under Benitez for me there are huge mitigating circumstances, the main one being the unprecedented number of long term injuries we’ve had to key players. None of our previous 5 managers could get a tune out of this lot even with a fully fit squad so I think it’s grossly unfair to expect Benitez to under these circumstances

I have to admit many more days like yesterday will quickly see my patience wearing thin but I just think he tried to experiment to try and find the right solution with the players he had available and it failed spectacularly, although he should have seen it was not working and changed it at half time if not before 

I just think we need to give home a chance to see what he does with a fully fit squad and a few of his own players. If we get shut now what message does that send out to any future potential managers?

 

[MC11]

1 minute ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

Totally agree

If I’m honest if we were in this mess with Rafa had he come straight in after Moyes I too would be screaming for his head. I think we all agree what we are seeing just isn’t good enough for our club. But the fact we keep changing managers and keep ending up with the same results says to me the players are the problem

Under Benitez for me there are huge mitigating circumstances, the main one being the unprecedented number of long term injuries we’ve had to key players. None of our previous 5 managers could get a tune out of this lot even with a fully fit squad so I think it’s grossly unfair to expect Benitez to under these circumstances

I have to admit many more days like yesterday will quickly see my patience wearing thin but I just think he tried to experiment to try and find the right solution with the players he had available and it failed spectacularly, although he should have seen it was not working and changed it at half time if not before 

I just think we need to give home a chance to see what he does with a fully fit squad and a few of his own players. If we get shut now what message does that send out to any future potential managers?

 

Duncan. This is much much worse than any other manager has served up. This is complete and utter dross. 

[StevO]

2 hours ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

Benitez's best mate at it again. Made me genuinely angry reading such a misinformed, arrogant tweet.

He’s no different to Bill getting his mates in the media to talk him up. My mates probably think I’m good at my job too, shows what they know! 

[plaidharper]

1 hour ago, Bailey said:

What a twat! 

indeed

[Wiggytop]

I’ve been leaning on the side of giving him time, yesterday has really tested my patience.

1. He really hung Seamus out to dry on the left, he’s never been the best at delivering a good ball in to the box from the right, so to stick him on the left and expect anything decent was deluded to say the least.

2. A two man midfield does not work for us, we were over run, making Allan and Doucoure look awful, Duke in particular did look rusty, possibly knew we were g kit to be over run and tried to overcompensate.

3. To not see the above and make a change until 85th minute was inexcusable, everyone in the ground could see it, and were calling for it, it’s either total stubbornness or he can’t see things when they are wrong, both are a big worry.

4. Rondon on instead of Dobbin or Simms, I get the experience aspect, but Rondon has shown nothing to make me think he can change a game, surely one of the youngsters feeding of DCL earlier on would have been better. I don’t approve on booing players in the way Rondon was, it’s hardly going to fill him with confidence, but I realise it was fans emotions and reaction to another bad decision.

Any goodwill he had with the on the fence supporters is disappearing fast 

We are on BBC live on Saturday, they smell an upset coming, at the moment so do I.

 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

47 minutes ago, MC11 said:

Duncan. This is much much worse than any other manager has served up. This is complete and utter dross. 

For all the reasons I’ve stated above

[Palfy]

11 minutes ago, Wiggytop said:

I’ve been leaning on the side of giving him time, yesterday has really tested my patience.

1. He really hung Seamus out to dry on the left, he’s never been the best at delivering a good ball in to the box from the right, so to stick him on the left and expect anything decent was deluded to say the least.

2. A two man midfield does not work for us, we were over run, making Allan and Doucoure look awful, Duke in particular did look rusty, possibly knew we were g kit to be over run and tried to overcompensate.

3. To not see the above and make a change until 85th minute was inexcusable, everyone in the ground could see it, and were calling for it, it’s either total stubbornness or he can’t see things when they are wrong, both are a big worry.

4. Rondon on instead of Dobbin or Simms, I get the experience aspect, but Rondon has shown nothing to make me think he can change a game, surely one of the youngsters feeding of DCL earlier on would have been better. I don’t approve on booing players in the way Rondon was, it’s hardly going to fill him with confidence, but I realise it was fans emotions and reaction to another bad decision.

Any goodwill he had with the on the fence supporters is disappearing fast 

We are on BBC live on Saturday, they smell an upset coming, at the moment so do I.

 

Swindon Town are live against City as well do you think they smell an upset there as well

[plaidharper]

2 minutes ago, Palfy said:

Swindon Town are live against City as well do you think they smell an upset there as well

David vs Goliaths are just too appealing to pass up.  Might not happen but if it did, and you missed it...

Just hope Rafa takes it serious.  If we play 5 at the back again, I will be worried and it will make for good TV for the neutral. 

My friend who is a Man U fan actually texted me during the Brighton game "Your misery is entertaining for the neutral."  So we are already there.

[Palfy]

6 minutes ago, plaidharper said:

David vs Goliaths are just too appealing to pass up.  Might not happen but if it did, and you missed it...

Just hope Rafa takes it serious.  If we play 5 at the back again, I will be worried and it will make for good TV for the neutral. 

My friend who is a Man U fan actually texted me during the Brighton game "Your misery is entertaining for the neutral."  So we are already there.

He has to take it seriously if he doesn’t even I will change my feelings towards him, we need a win any type of win to breed a bit of confidence. 

[Zoo 2.0]

4 hours ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

Benitez's best mate at it again. Made me genuinely angry reading such a misinformed, arrogant tweet.

This is childish behaviour that I can get behind, Amazon have had to disable reviews because there are so many coming through .

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

52 minutes ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

This is childish behaviour that I can get behind, Amazon have had to disable reviews because there are so many coming through .

I shouldn’t like it but I do !

[FairWooney]

I've generally been on the side of giving him the chance, I wasn't big on him joining not because I have a big issue with him but he divides the crowd so much and so many don't want him here with a passion that when things go wrong he'll really get the anger of the crowd.

Early on when we started well we could see his "defensive" and "negative" tactics weren't actually so bad, we were seeing good fast counter attacks producing goals.  However with a few injuries that pace in attack seemed to disappear (apart from Gray) and there hasn't really been any other plan but adding more in defense.

I've seen some saying "3 in defense doesn't work for us", well maybe it would IF there was any sign of it being 3 in defense!  I would call Sundays team a flat back 5 with standard occasional runs forward from the 2 full backs like you'd see in any 4 man defense.  

Time and time again we've done better when a 3rd player has joined the midfield and yet he has chosen to ignore this apart from when it is clearly obvious in the second half of games.  By adding the extra player in defense all you are doing is allowing the opposition to push on further towards goal and control things before relying on the defense to deal with things.

Rafa bemoaned mistakes costing us and yes this is correct players have made mistakes that cost us in that game and many of the recent games but we have also been second best in most (if not all) of those games and mistakes that cost you goals are a lot more likely when the team is under pressure and doesn't have the ball all game.

In the Brighton game you could see how well drilled they were, they attacked with intent and purpose compared to our side who didn't seemed to know what they were doing when they had the ball.  Apart from Gray and Gordon who looked to be direct and create things around the box the others didn't seem to know what to do and even in the last 10 minutes when we were putting them under some pressure we had players lingering on the ball looking around unsure what to do with it.

Digne being on the bench was an infuriatingly childish bit of gamesmanship , whether he was showing Digne or the fans that the player is fit and available but not going to be selected above others I don't know but ultimately if he has no intention of playing him he shouldn't be on the bench and it back fired on him somewhat when he got a huge applause from the crowd whilst warming up!  

Can Rafa recover things?  I really don't see it, we may get some results and pull away from any relegation threat but i'm dubious he can win over fans, improve performance of the team or individual to any great extent or give performances that make people want to watch.

[Bailey]

 

 

 

[Bailey]

 

 

[Bailey]

 

 

 

[barryj]

19 hours ago, plaidharper said:

My friend who is a Man U fan actually texted me during the Brighton game "Your misery is entertaining for the neutral."  So we are already there.

That’s rich! 

[Bailey]

Not sure if this has been posted before. 

I don't understand is why there was money... Brands was clearly looking to spend... and then all of a sudden it dried up. 

Then all of a sudden again cheques are being written with no money having been received yet and with Digne back in the squad. 

Something just doesn't add up.

 

 

[Cornish Steve]

2 hours ago, Bailey said:

 

 

 

I remain impressed with Brentford. What would their manager achieve with our current players?

[AlbanyNYToffee]

2 hours ago, Bailey said:

Not sure if this has been posted before. 

I don't understand is why there was money... Brands was clearly looking to spend... and then all of a sudden it dried up. 

Then all of a sudden again cheques are being written with no money having been received yet and with Digne back in the squad. 

Something just doesn't add up.

 

 

Agreed and neither does the fact Patterson is way younger than Dumfries and slightly older than Livramento. With Brands gone it would suggest Rafa is picking players and surely Patterson does not have the experience he was supposedly demanding. 

[AlbanyNYToffee]

17 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

I remain impressed with Brentford. What would their manager achieve with our current players?

Me too and Graham Potter. But the answer is nothing because our biggest issue has never been the manager. 

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

34 minutes ago, Cornish Steve said:

I remain impressed with Brentford. What would their manager achieve with our current players?

My guess would be about the same as the last 6 or 7 managers that have tried …. Fuck all

[RuffRob]

2 hours ago, AlbanyNYToffee said:

Me too and Graham Potter. But the answer is nothing because our biggest issue has never been the manager. 

I agree, I think it's just all to easy to be blaming whoever the managers is that we are not seeing near instant improvements - the make up of the squad is the main problem. Sacking the manager and simply appointing somebody else is actually part of the clubs problem.

If Benitez had a full strength squad available and been able to put a more consistent team out over this run of bad results, I would be a little more concerned, but he hasn't - very much the opposite. I am not sure who would have been getting results with this squad. 

Even with a near fully fit squad we are average mid table team at best, you add to that injury crisis and we are a bottom half team.

I am actually liking what I have seem so far in the transfer windows under Benitez - summer signings have been excellent value, these two young backs that have come in are show a bit of forward thinking that I can get behind. It's not all negative, there are some green shoots to nurture. I have said it before, I am prepared to see a step backwards (i.e the moving on of the likes of James, Gylfi etc and bringing in quality young talent ) in order to actually a more sustainable squad being developed. To me the squad is actually moving in the direction I would like to see it move. 

As frustrating as the recent result have been, I would actually quite like to see how Benitez gets on with a more consistent pool of players to draw upon week after week after week and how this transfer windows signings will improve the team. I want to give the bloke a fair chance. 

Graham Potter did out do Benitez tactically this weekend, but he has been at Brighton and 'his' set of players for over 2 and a half years now.

 

[Shukes]

23 hours ago, duncanmckenzieismagic said:

I shouldn’t like it but I do !

Mate I kinda felt bad…. But laughed reading it at the same time hahaha! 

[Matt]

My only concern for the last few months has been whether he can stop the rot and lift players spirits. Depleted squad and squabbles are valid reasons but do not excuse the absolute lack of will to perform and fight for 90 minutes from what I've seen us play (granted not that much with the visa and house purchase issues). Transfers should give an initial boost but if we don't see a change in attitude then it's not about the squad, it's about the lack of the managers ability to motivate. That's my only concern, and if he can we will do well with him. But I'm not sure he can pick the players up. I hope to be proven wrong. 

[StevO]

There are managers out there who can set up a team to be positive and to exploit the opposition. This interview alone has me jealous of Wolves for picking this guy up. He’s got a handful of decent players and a load of average ones. They might not be right up there at the top of the league, but I’d take what they are doing over what’s happening here. 
 

 

[StevO]

40 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

I agree, I think it's just all to easy to be blaming whoever the managers is that we are not seeing near instant improvements - the make up of the squad is the main problem. Sacking the manager and simply appointing somebody else is actually part of the clubs problem.

If Benitez had a full strength squad available and been able to put a more consistent team out over this run of bad results, I would be a little more concerned, but he hasn't - very much the opposite. I am not sure who would have been getting results with this squad. 

Even with a near fully fit squad we are average mid table team at best, you add to that injury crisis and we are a bottom half team.

I am actually liking what I have seem so far in the transfer windows under Benitez - summer signings have been excellent value, these two young backs that have come in are show a bit of forward thinking that I can get behind. It's not all negative, there are some green shoots to nurture. I have said it before, I am prepared to see a step backwards (i.e the moving on of the likes of James, Gylfi etc and bringing in quality young talent ) in order to actually a more sustainable squad being developed. To me the squad is actually moving in the direction I would like to see it move. 

As frustrating as the recent result have been, I would actually quite like to see how Benitez gets on with a more consistent pool of players to draw upon week after week after week and how this transfer windows signings will improve the team. I want to give the bloke a fair chance. 

Graham Potter did out do Benitez tactically this weekend, but he has been at Brighton and 'his' set of players for over 2 and a half years now.

 

I like what I’ve seen in the transfer window.
 

Fucking hate what I’ve seen on the football pitch though. And that is one win in about four months, relegation form and no sign of anything football being played. 

[RuffRob]

 

2 minutes ago, StevO said:

I like what I’ve seen in the transfer window.
 

Fucking hate what I’ve seen on the football pitch though. And that is one win in about four months, relegation form and no sign of anything football being played. 

Don't get me wrong, no Everton fan has enjoyed the football this past few months, I am guessing its not actually been than much fun for Benitez either with the lack of players available and the real ability of the players we actually have - I would totally be down on him if we are watching 'his' team play, but that's not what we are really getting this past few month is it? I am sure he is as disappointed as we are with the showings we are getting from most of the incumbent players. Has he been able to actually stick the same team out in two consecutive games since he has been here?

Two players who actually shone out in the Brighton game - Gordon and Grey (again).  Gordon looks a different player this season under Benitez and Grey is arguably one of the premier league signings of the season and first name down on our team sheet. The signing look decent enough to me so there are actually positives about the place for those prepared to look. 

I think Benitez deserves a change of a proper run with this team with a fit DCL actually spearheading the attack. DCL is fundamental to this team in its current form and him being out really has been massive. 

 

[patto]

7 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

 

Don't get me wrong, no Everton fan has enjoyed the football this past few months, I am guessing its not actually been than much fun for Benitez either with the lack of players available and the real ability of the players we actually have - I would totally be down on him if we are watching 'his' team play, but that's not what we are really getting this past few month is it? I am sure he is as disappointed as we are with the showings we are getting from most of the incumbent players. Has he been able to actually stick the same team out in two consecutive games since he has been here?

Two players who actually shone out in the Brighton game - Gordon and Grey (again).  Gordon looks a different player this season under Benitez and Grey is arguably one of the premier league signings of the season and first name down on our team sheet. The signing look decent enough to me so there are actually positives about the place for those prepared to look. 

I think Benitez deserves a change of a proper run with this team with a fit DCL actually spearheading the attack. DCL is fundamental to this team in its current form and him being out really has been massive. 

 

No Everton fan has enjoyed the football in the last 5 years it’s been a disaster