Rafael Benitez Discussion Thread

I wouldn't.

Simeone might one day prove to be a great manager and what he did with Atleti was impressive but he has a long way to go to prove he can do it consistently and across different teams and leagues.

Most notably, managers have struggled to adjust to the Premiership whereas Rafa has a proven pedigree so giving the reigns of a club like City to Simeone would be a huge gamble.

Bottom line is that Rafa accumulated the highest points total for LFC for decades and made us the top-rated team in Europe whilst he was here.

I always smile at the "top rated team in Europe" one. We couldn't even win the league in our own country FFS, not even once, so how were we the "top ranked team in Europe"? That's right, in the highly esteemed UEFA rankings . Does anybody off the top of their heads have any idea who the "top ranked team in Europe" is today? Exactly (I have no idea either, I don't give a f*ck and neither does anybody else which is precisely the point).

In the rankings Switzerland under Hodgson were ranked 3rd in the world for a whle. Were they the third best national team in the World and did/does anyone care? Were they f*ck and do they f*ck, but that doesn't stop Hodgson trumpeting the stat whenever he gets the chance.

The one title challenge over the six seasons Benitez was in charge was an excellent effort and we got loads of points, nobodies denying that. Does make you wonder though if the team was capable of that (or indeed the "number one team in Europe"), why did we come absolutely nowhere near the other five times?

Anyway I'm done with the thread for the time being so everyone else can have the last word. I'm surprised people some people don't rate Simeone's achievements at Athletico (well beyond surprised, astounded would be closer), but there it is. Worship away the threads all yours.

Does anybody off the top of their heads have any idea who the "top ranked team in Europe" is today?

Real Madrid.

Liverpool were top dog under Rafa.
Pity Hicks and Gillett pulled the rug out.

Funnily enough mate I generally quite enjoy discussing past managers, both of our own and other clubs. This last few pages though is a graphic illustration of why I long since gave up on talking about Benitez, save for correcting factual errors his cult chuck in sometimes on this thread "Rafa's a trophy machine, he won three trophies with us" etc etc. You cannot have a sensible discussion about the man without getting covered in mouth foam and gibberish from his supporters.

I made the mistake here of getting involved with this character who has accused me before via insinuation of not being a Liverpool fan because I don't agree with him. I should have known better. I won't be making the same mistake again.

What mistake?

You're going to get the "wum/non-LFC fan" treatment, because you don't swear blind allegiance to someone who left us with quality players snowballing down the league  4 years without silverware. To them, all his failures was someone else's fault and there's always a "but" ready to cover them. Today, it's Juventus fault. All they've done is actually win football games.

Simply explaining that a rival coach in this league, simply walks into clubs and actually does the job Rafa was hired for, multiple times over, adds to the treatment you get. He once left Rafa with a fantastic squad full of champions to retain major trophies, but somehow Rafa found a way to tear it up. He's not football's greatest diplomat, but as one of the most successful coaches in the sport, he'll never need to go to Newcastle for a job. Or Eurosport either.

I always smile at the "top rated team in Europe" one. We couldn't even win the league in our own country FFS, not even once, so how were we the "top ranked team in Europe"? That's right, in the highly esteemed UEFA rankings . Does anybody off the top of their heads have any idea who the "top ranked team in Europe" is today? Exactly (I have no idea either, I don't give a f*ck and neither does anybody else which is precisely the point).

In the rankings Switzerland under Hodgson were ranked 3rd in the world for a whle. Were they the third best national team in the World and did/does anyone care? Were they f*ck and do they f*ck, but that doesn't stop Hodgson trumpeting the stat whenever he gets the chance.

The one title challenge over the six seasons Benitez was in charge was an excellent effort and we got loads of points, nobodies denying that. Does make you wonder though if the team was capable of that (or indeed the "number one team in Europe"), why did we come absolutely nowhere near the other five times?

Anyway I'm done with the thread for the time being so everyone else can have the last word. I'm surprised people some people don't rate Simeone's achievements at Athletico (well beyond surprised, astounded would be closer), but there it is. Worship away the threads all yours.

Top ranked team mick, 2  CL final and semis an a quarter in 6 years even with Gillette and hicks.

Couldn't win the league? Have a look at Chelsea's squad mick at that time not to mention utd and arsenal. He got CL football every year,  made a fortune in the CL and had to use second stringers all the time. Squads win leagues mick.

If you mention simeone then mentio Rafa.

What mistake?

You're going to get the "wum/non-LFC fan" treatment

Was that meant to be ironic?

As for your man, he walked into a team of superstars spent a 100 million more and got 1 title in 3 years.

Same again last year he got 3rd. So he gets Fabregas, Costa, courtois ships out Schurrle, gets in cuadrado. The man is a genius.

Was that meant to be ironic?

As for your man, he walked into a team of superstars spent a 100 million more and got 1 title in 3 years.
 Same again last year he got 3rd. So he gets Fabregas, Costa, courtois ships out Schurrle, gets in cuadrado. The man is a genius.

You really are a very strange person. I can't decide whether you deliberately put things in your posts which you know are factually incorrect just to get a reaction, or whether you are just clueless. It really is a very odd posting style indeed.

You really are a very strange person. I can't decide whether you deliberately put things in your posts which you know are factually incorrect just to get a reaction, or whether you are just clueless. It really is a very odd posting style indeed.

This poster was referring to Mourinho. Mourinho spent how much at Madrid? How much did they spend in the 2 years prior to him arriving? He won 1 league in 3 years and no CL. Now in the EPL he has been there for 5 seasons in total and won 2 leagues; given that he re-defined spending during the first 3 seasons and Ranieri had already assembled a team the year previous to his arrival. Given that this year he added to a very strong squad, Fabregas, Costa and Courtois (back off loan) and now Cuadrado. What I am in effect saying Mick is, which part of that is a genius manager and which part is a cheque book manager.  Pretty straight forward mate.

If he's not a chequebook manager, then why has Mancini won an EPl title in 3 seasons, Pellegrini in 1 full season and Ancellotti in 2 full seasons, managing ... chelsea and man city. Now what do chelsea and man city have in common Mick .. stay with me... they spent vast sums to win the EPL.

What is hard about that Mick.

Wow....all of this from a couple of simple sentences of "Ladbrokes have shortened the odds to 6/1 on him being Newcastle's next manager." and "If Man City had any brains they would hire him."

Like as said early doors, Citeh would more than likely go for someone like Pep or Diego. Rafa's opportunity to go to a big spending club upon where he would be given free rein of the cheque book has in all probability gone when he turned down Real and opted to stay with us instead.

All I was trying to say was the he'd be the ideal person and candidate to make an immediate impact whilst vying for silverware with a team and resources already in place.

Come on peeps, need to calm down a bit. Most of the replies that followed aren't even relevant or pertinent to this the 'Benitez' thread. Lets not denigrate the man any further by turning this into a Maureen thread.

Wow....all of this from a couple of simple sentences of "Ladbrokes have shortened the odds to 6/1 on him being Newcastle's next manager." and "If Man City had any brains they would hire him."

Like as said early doors, Citeh would more than likely go for someone like Pep or Diego. Rafa's opportunity to go to a big spending club upon where he would be given free rein of the cheque book has in all probability gone when he turned down Real and opted to stay with us instead.

All I was trying to say was the he'd be the ideal person and candidate to make an immediate impact whilst vying for silverware with a team and resources already in place.

Come on peeps, need to calm down a bit. Most of the replies that followed aren't even relevant or pertinent to this the 'Benitez' thread. Lets not denigrate the man any further by turning this into a Maureen thread.

You can't disentangle their fates. It's like Harry Potter and Voldemort. Mourinho turned Chelsea into a horcrux.

To bring the thread back to reality I would like to state that RAFA is a far better manager than Don Welsh ever was  .I will be forever thankful that he was our boss when twit and tw*t had control of the club, I honestly believe that no other manager could of handled them like RAFA did

To bring the thread back to reality I would like to state that RAFA is a far better manager than Don Welsh ever was  .I will be forever thankful that he was our boss when twit and tw*t had control of the club, I honestly believe that no other manager could of handled them like RAFA did

That's how I feel about it too. He could have jumped ship, taken care of his career but he stayed and took them to task.

Chap had us competing amongst the big boys on a budget less than our competitors.

Made us believe again.

YNWA Boss. 

Chap had us competing amongst the big boys on a budget less than our competitors.

Made us believe again.

YNWA Boss. 

And he was able to persuade top class players to come to Anfield .

I always smile at the "top rated team in Europe" one. We couldn't even win the league in our own country FFS, not even once, so how were we the "top ranked team in Europe"? That's right, in the highly esteemed UEFA rankings . Does anybody off the top of their heads have any idea who the "top ranked team in Europe" is today? Exactly (I have no idea either, I don't give a f*ck and neither does anybody else which is precisely the point).

In the rankings Switzerland under Hodgson were ranked 3rd in the world for a whle. Were they the third best national team in the World and did/does anyone care? Were they f*ck and do they f*ck, but that doesn't stop Hodgson trumpeting the stat whenever he gets the chance.

The one title challenge over the six seasons Benitez was in charge was an excellent effort and we got loads of points, nobodies denying that. Does make you wonder though if the team was capable of that (or indeed the "number one team in Europe"), why did we come absolutely nowhere near the other five times?

Anyway I'm done with the thread for the time being so everyone else can have the last word. I'm surprised people some people don't rate Simeone's achievements at Athletico (well beyond surprised, astounded would be closer), but there it is. Worship away the threads all yours.

Well actually winning the Champion's League and reaching the final two years later meant that we had as much right to think we could win the competition as anyone else in Europe. That's completely different to Hodgson's England.

The reason we didn't come close the previous four times was because Rafa had to revuild the whole squad to and that takes time.

Were you expecting that he would take the shambles of the Houlier team and go on to storm the league with it? He is a top top manager not a magician.

It is puzzling why you have such a downer on recognising our success though.

If Champion's League, FA Cup, Chamion's League runner-up in teh first three seasons doesn't reach your standards then I presume you will be judging our present manager by the same standards?

Also it has to be said that Mourinho is an absolute top flight manager. He may end his career as the greatest manager of all time in terms of the things he has won.

Yes, the football is sh*t and yes he has had money to spend but it takes talent to handle a squad of preening multimillionaires whi are completely divorced from the realities of everyday life.

Was that meant to be ironic?

As for your man, he walked into a team of superstars spent a 100 million more and got 1 title in 3 years.

Same again last year he got 3rd. So he gets Fabregas, Costa, courtois ships out Schurrle, gets in cuadrado. The man is a genius.

And?

By your logic, us and City should be 20 points clear of the field this year, given all the new players we splashed out for. Unfortunately we're not, because football is won and lost on pitches, not in a bank account in RBS.

Rafa has had plenty of cash to spend down the years. His failure rate is down to his ability to win enough games over 9 months, not because of who spent what, when, and why. He even coached Chelsea and still couldn't win the league, with all their resources.

Mourinho has won a league in 4 countries, whatever you think of him that commands respect, and would if it was someone else. Rafa has won them at one club in one country, which wasn't even us, yet he has a cult following here. Istanbul is fondly remembered, rightly so. I also remember our last game at the Ataturk 18 months later to play Galatasaray and lost. Strangely enough, we rarely hear about that night. Must have been a Chelsea-City-manc conspiracy.

He had an eye for talent that's for sure. Not being disrespectful to anybody who has signed players since he left but I'd loved to have seen what Rafa would have done with that money. More often than not he had to bring in freebies because of financial restrictions.

Also it has to be said that Mourinho is an absolute top flight manager. He may end his career as the greatest manager of all time in terms of the things he has won.

Yes, the football is sh*t and yes he has had money to spend but it takes talent to handle a squad of preening multimillionaires whi are completely divorced from the realities of everyday life.

Mourinho, the greatest manager of all time? That's the greatest joke of all time!

He had an eye for talent that's for sure. Not being disrespectful to anybody who has signed players since he left but I'd loved to have seen what Rafa would have done with that money. More often than not he had to bring in freebies because of financial restrictions.

Mourinho, the greatest manager of all time? That's the greatest joke of all time!

Also it has to be said that Mourinho is an absolute top flight manager. He may end his career as the greatest manager of all time in terms of the things he has won.

Yes, the football is sh*t and yes he has had money to spend but it takes talent to handle a squad of preening multimillionaires whi are completely divorced from the realities of everyday life.

Real Madrid.

Liverpool were top dog under Rafa.
Pity Hicks and Gillett pulled the rug out.

Correct mate.
How the hell can you begin to make a balanced assessment of the man's time with LFC when he was faced with blatant undermining by owners whose methods were as nefarious as to be the subject of legal proceedings.
Basing any criticism purely in a footballing context is only half the story, H&G are as much an affecting factor in Rafa's CV as any game played in his tenure.

Not sure what your point is to be honest so not sure how to reply...

Not sure what your point is to be honest so not sure how to reply...

As you laughed off his suggestion that Mourinho may be the greatest Manager by the time he retires, I was trying to state the fact that he was only trying to say that Mourinho may be the greatest manager of all time in terms of things he has won by the time he retires and not generalizing him as  the greatest manager .

Which is why it was silly for the poster to write that Rafa is better then Jose PERIOD.

I'm a huge Rafa fan as most on here know but only an idiot would question the success Mourinho has had and anyone could quite confortably argue that Morinho is the better manager which is why I questioned such a bold statement.

For the record I think Mourinho is a tit and never wanted him as a manager of our club as some did but to doubt his ability as a football manager is a bit silly.

I never questioned the success of Mourinho.I merely said that the way some post was referring to Benitez as he took Chelsea from 2nd to 3rd.I was just pointing out that same Mourinho last year went trophyless with such a expensive chelsea squad.No doubt Mourinho is a more successful manager and i am not denying that but in term of mangerial capabilities Benitez is better while adding the obvious fact of such strong squads(not just 11)he always had since his first chelsea stint compared to Benitez.

The only thing Maureen will be remembered by is being the biggest Kunt in football ever!