"Before Rafa took over Chelsea were in the title race but failed to challenge in the end"
Chelsea had 24 points from 12 games when Rafa took over from di Matteo. It's 2ppg, extroplate that over 38 games and you get 76 points. In the end, Chelsea finished with 75 points and the Europa League trophy. Statistically their league form didn't decline nor improve, so it all highlights the issue that no team can be determined to be "in a title race" after merely 12 games, especially a team that finished outside the top 4 in the previous season.
"Napoli finished 2nd in Serie A before Rafa took over but finished 3rd in his first season"
What a lot of people don't know is that Napoli achieved a record points total (over 38 games) the season before Rafa took over. That record was 78. In Rafa's first season, he emulated that points record and won the domestic cup. Whether their league position was different or not, he equalled the club's record points total and won a trophy, despite selling their best player Thomas Edison Cavani.
"Rafa has failed to win the World Club Cup twice!" [rinse:repeat]
It's really ironic reading this over and over again because, the same people who post this also undermine the Italian Super Cup victory he achieved late last year in Doha. These "charity" trophies really are a curse; it seems you're damned whether you win it or not.
The final point I'd like to raise is Rafa's "inability" to win a league title for x number of years. Maybe this season under Brendan can show people that managing a squad over multiple competitions is not easy by any means. It's been so long that we almost forget just how deep we used to go in European competitions and on top of that ensuring we qualified for the Champions League every season bar Rafa's last. Considering the financial constraints, what Rafa achieved was remarkable and it is fascinating to now see how Rodgers copes over the next few seasons.
At the end of it all, Rafa got 2 major trophies in 6 years for us. Approaching his third full year, Brendan has a good chance of picking up his first. Let's hope he does it!
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