Whoever comes in, in my view unless the fans completely 100% get behind him from the off then he is doomed. Then, the owners need to give him three seasons AT LEAST in order for his plans to work. They need to back him properly in the transfer market, and they need to back him through any upcoming controversy (unlike how they acted with Kenny). All this talk of "outsiders" is nonsense, as is the "but he gets us" cobblers which is often peddled out. Whoever we are going to give it to lets give it to whoever seems like the best candidate from a football standpoint, lets forget all this colloquial nonsense which has bogged the club down for too many years. In my opinion we actually have a squad which will do pretty well next season as long as we don't get a complete fool in, this is a golden opportunity for whoever gets it and for the club to pick the right man.
My take on the candidates most talked about:
Rafa- Obviously would be the first choice of many and I can see why even though he wouldn't be mine. In terms of unity he definately appeals because nearly all of the Liverpool based fans would be over the moon, the rest of us would support him in any case and certainly for a while everyone would swing in behind him. Has he perhaps looked back on his last couple of jobs and come to the conclusion that yes, maybe he did make the odd mistake? If he has and particularly if he gets his esteemed assistant back in tow, we could do worse that much is certain. If he does get it, his control freakery would have to be kept in check (and I don't think these particular owners would have too much difficulty with that) but it may work. I don't however think he will get it.
Martinez- A kind of Rafa clone in many respects, and for that reason for me I think you may as well give it to the real thing if you're going to go down that route. That said, did a good job at Swansea and has done decent at Wigan too, so deserves a crack at a bigger job. Could he do the Liverpool job? Well I suppose nobody knows until he gets a try, and I do think he is in serious contention to get it. Wouldn't be my choice, but I'd back him 100% if he is to be the man.
Rodgers- Has done an absolutely astounding job at Swansea all things considered, and does play the modernist way of tip tap Barcelona football. Could better/more egotistical players be convinced to just about forget their previous teachings and adopt his style? My guess is they probably could, and I'd quite like to see him given a shot at a big club. My guess is it won't be us, but if it was I'd be quite excited about seeing how we would evolve.
Villas-Boas. Like the previous two, fits in with the "young and hungry" mantra which the owners go for by all accounts. Did a brilliant job at Porto I think it was, and is schooled (like Brendan Rodgers) in the Mourinho philosophy. Given he is the most successful manager in the modern era that's no bad thing, but equally I think as far as Mourinho himself is concerned, there would be too much history between him and a section of our fans to be accepted. Both Rodgers and Villa-Boas though are probably far enough removed to be not treated with prejudice by our supporters though, and like Martinez I think Villas-Boas is in very serious contention. He bombed out a bit at Chelsea, but the dressing room there rules the club and handling the bigger personalities is a thankless task. He speaks well, seems like a good guy to me with some interesting philosophies on how the game ought to be played. Before we gave the job to Kenny I kind of liked the idea of AVB, and I wasn't put off by Abrhamovic's ridiculous decision to sack him after 6 months. He'd be hungry to right the wrongs and would take the job in a flash. He'd be my first choice.
I think talk of Guardiola, Mourinho and the like is fantasy land, for me it'll be between these kind of blokes above plus perhaps Deschamps, Rjyiikjard and blokes of that ilk. I'm going to 100% support whoever gets it, no silly pictures or videos, no "he doesn't get us" nonsense. Whoever gets it it won't be his fault that Kenny got the bullet. Nor will it be his fault that he isn't Rafa Benitez (if Rafa doesn't get it). As a club though, it is absolutely imperative that from here on in we have some stability. Support the manager, whoever it ends up being.
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