Won the CL with a hugely unfancied Liverpool team against a Milan side that's one of the greatest sides in recently memory.
Had it not been for the cowboys at the time we'd have been far far more successful under Rafa than we were.
I think he is one of the best in the world. A level below Sir Alex, Jose, etc but for Newcastle, with the right backing, he could have been a HUGE success.
Probably is a great manager. Not many who have won more anyway and he's shown he can also manage on a budget.
Saw out his contract at Newcastle and then took a very highly paid job. That's about it.
His big issue is league consistency, even at Newcastle in the Championship he made heavy weather of promotion.
He tends to tinker with his side at inappropriate times which tends to halt momentum, for example, when we were on a run of 5 ish wins on the bounce then he decided to rest Hazard and Mata for the QPR game and we got beat.
comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 10 minutes ago
I think he is one of the best in the world. A level below Sir Alex, Jose, etc but for Newcastle, with the right backing, he could have been a HUGE success.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Inclined to agree. Not absolute elite but not many better.
In the last 20 years in Spain, Real or Barca have won the league 16 times. Atletico are one, Deportivo won it once but their manager (Irureta) never really followed it up with anything.
Rafa won it twice with Valencia and followed it up with 2 Europa League/UEFA Cup wins, FA Cup, Italian Cup and CL. The biggest blot on his copybook is probably Real Madrid. Let's be honest, not many have achieved more.
I think the appreciation for his job at Newcastle is in no small part viewed through the lens of very limited investment from the owner and complete lack of stability at the club - it's been for sale for years and the relationship between the owner and fans is utterly broken. In that scenario, he did well.
He's a top man and manager
D.A when are you going to join us on the Chinwag mate ?
Comment deleted by Site Moderator
comment by NPE (U22020)
posted 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
Benitez is a very good manager and Chelsea fans were disgraceful towards him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was sceptical when we 1st had him...was impressed though fairly soon...waste of a good manager in China really
“Won the CL with a hugely unfancied Liverpool team against a Milan side that's one of the greatest sides in recently memory.”
Surely you’re confusing that team with the late 80s/early 90s Milan team?
Re: the OP. I don’t personally have an issue with Rafa. I’m grateful for the fact he oversaw us retaining our CL status (at that time) and completing the European trophy set………….. But I agree with TP/DA that Rafa is not in that top ‘elite’ bracket of managers. But I also think Newcastle were fortunate to have him.
Was/is he better than Robbie? Committing treason here, but 100% yes
Incidentally, it now occurs to me that were we to win the Champions League again someday, we’d be the only British club ever to have won the set multiple times and that would never be equalled unless the Cup Winners Cup returned.
I'd say that Milan side was a top 10 side in the 00's
“Won the CL with a hugely unfancied Liverpool team against a Milan side that's one of the greatest sides in recently memory.”
--------------------------------------------------------
Lets not get excited here. They were a good team made up of experienced professionals with a fantastic young manager, were favorites for the final itself for sure.
One of the best team's in recent memory? That's incredibly generous. That particular team only won Serie A once.
Was/is he better than Robbie? Committing treason here, but 100% yes
-------------------------------------------------
Yep, agreed.
He might not be an elite manager (in my eyes at least) but in that particular season from a pure football standpoint he was the right guy and the right time.
We had a jam packed schedule, a very thin squad and were conceding goals far too easily, all problems he remedied. Even looking further ahead knowing the plan was to bring Mourinho back he was the perfect transition guy to get the squad accustomed to Jose's style. Everything from the football side of that appointment was correct, was just a shame his prior comments towards us put a spanner in the works (which I don't blame the fans for btw, just was what it was).
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Lets Talk About Rafa
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posted on 2/7/19
Won the CL with a hugely unfancied Liverpool team against a Milan side that's one of the greatest sides in recently memory.
Had it not been for the cowboys at the time we'd have been far far more successful under Rafa than we were.
posted on 2/7/19
I think he is one of the best in the world. A level below Sir Alex, Jose, etc but for Newcastle, with the right backing, he could have been a HUGE success.
posted on 2/7/19
Probably is a great manager. Not many who have won more anyway and he's shown he can also manage on a budget.
Saw out his contract at Newcastle and then took a very highly paid job. That's about it.
posted on 2/7/19
His big issue is league consistency, even at Newcastle in the Championship he made heavy weather of promotion.
He tends to tinker with his side at inappropriate times which tends to halt momentum, for example, when we were on a run of 5 ish wins on the bounce then he decided to rest Hazard and Mata for the QPR game and we got beat.
posted on 2/7/19
comment by Busby (U19985)
posted 10 minutes ago
I think he is one of the best in the world. A level below Sir Alex, Jose, etc but for Newcastle, with the right backing, he could have been a HUGE success.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Inclined to agree. Not absolute elite but not many better.
In the last 20 years in Spain, Real or Barca have won the league 16 times. Atletico are one, Deportivo won it once but their manager (Irureta) never really followed it up with anything.
Rafa won it twice with Valencia and followed it up with 2 Europa League/UEFA Cup wins, FA Cup, Italian Cup and CL. The biggest blot on his copybook is probably Real Madrid. Let's be honest, not many have achieved more.
I think the appreciation for his job at Newcastle is in no small part viewed through the lens of very limited investment from the owner and complete lack of stability at the club - it's been for sale for years and the relationship between the owner and fans is utterly broken. In that scenario, he did well.
posted on 2/7/19
He's a top man and manager
posted on 2/7/19
D.A when are you going to join us on the Chinwag mate ?
posted on 3/7/19
Comment deleted by Site Moderator
posted on 3/7/19
comment by NPE (U22020)
posted 1 hour, 9 minutes ago
Benitez is a very good manager and Chelsea fans were disgraceful towards him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I was sceptical when we 1st had him...was impressed though fairly soon...waste of a good manager in China really
posted on 3/7/19
“Won the CL with a hugely unfancied Liverpool team against a Milan side that's one of the greatest sides in recently memory.”
Surely you’re confusing that team with the late 80s/early 90s Milan team?
Re: the OP. I don’t personally have an issue with Rafa. I’m grateful for the fact he oversaw us retaining our CL status (at that time) and completing the European trophy set………….. But I agree with TP/DA that Rafa is not in that top ‘elite’ bracket of managers. But I also think Newcastle were fortunate to have him.
Was/is he better than Robbie? Committing treason here, but 100% yes
Incidentally, it now occurs to me that were we to win the Champions League again someday, we’d be the only British club ever to have won the set multiple times and that would never be equalled unless the Cup Winners Cup returned.
posted on 3/7/19
I'd say that Milan side was a top 10 side in the 00's
posted on 3/7/19
“Won the CL with a hugely unfancied Liverpool team against a Milan side that's one of the greatest sides in recently memory.”
--------------------------------------------------------
Lets not get excited here. They were a good team made up of experienced professionals with a fantastic young manager, were favorites for the final itself for sure.
One of the best team's in recent memory? That's incredibly generous. That particular team only won Serie A once.
posted on 3/7/19
Was/is he better than Robbie? Committing treason here, but 100% yes
-------------------------------------------------
Yep, agreed.
He might not be an elite manager (in my eyes at least) but in that particular season from a pure football standpoint he was the right guy and the right time.
We had a jam packed schedule, a very thin squad and were conceding goals far too easily, all problems he remedied. Even looking further ahead knowing the plan was to bring Mourinho back he was the perfect transition guy to get the squad accustomed to Jose's style. Everything from the football side of that appointment was correct, was just a shame his prior comments towards us put a spanner in the works (which I don't blame the fans for btw, just was what it was).
Page 1 of 1