2021/22 Rafael Benitez

[davek]

45 points and safety by Easter.

That's the job Benitez has to do here.

50 odd point season will be an achievement of sorts given the extent of the injury crisis and the lack of spending.

Depending on how well other teams off the pace of Euro spots are doing, that'll get us up to about midtable.

 

[Toff33Blues99]

45 points and safety by Easter.

That's the job Benitez has to do here.

50 odd point season will be an achievement of sorts given the extent of the injury crisis and the lack of spending.

Depending on how well other teams off the pace of Euro spots are doing, that'll get us up to about midtable.

I would expect a lot of managers to achieve such a pathetic total with our squad. I thought FSW was a foot ball genius yet his lovers have such little faith in him

 

[nsno-chris]

45 points and safety by Easter.

That's the job Benitez has to do here.

50 odd point season will be an achievement of sorts given the extent of the injury crisis and the lack of spending.

Depending on how well other teams off the pace of Euro spots are doing, that'll get us up to about midtable.

That’s a sackable offence

 

[toffeeblue9]

45 points and safety by Easter.

That's the job Benitez has to do here.

50 odd point season will be an achievement of sorts given the extent of the injury crisis and the lack of spending.

Depending on how well other teams off the pace of Euro spots are doing, that'll get us up to about midtable.

Two weeks ago I would have said he needed to deliver more than that

Now, I'm not sure what I think an acceptable return is - the Doucoure and DCL injuries are probably going to de-rail us. He isn't to blame for that, nor is he to blame for the paucity of the squad outside the first XI (with the exception of Rondon). I still don't think I'd be pleased if he finished lower than Ancelotti did last season, but on the face of it a European push might be a big ask with the way this last week has gone.

 

[ToffeeTim]

45 points and safety by Easter.

That's the job Benitez has to do here.

50 odd point season will be an achievement of sorts given the extent of the injury crisis and the lack of spending.

Depending on how well other teams off the pace of Euro spots are doing, that'll get us up to about midtable.

50 points with the same squad that got 59 last season isn't acceptable.

 

[degsy]

And the million dollar question is who?

We can't poach anyone in a job as we are screwed with FFP.

The list of out of work managers who would want to take us on isn't great at all.

Looking at the candidates mentioned for the Barcodes job I bave to agree

 

[deipnosophist]

And the million dollar question is who?

We can't poach anyone in a job as we are screwed with FFP.

The list of out of work managers who would want to take us on isn't great at all.

...Vitor Pereira is the obvious candidate

 

[4737carlin]

50 points with the same squad that got 59 last season isn't acceptable.

Its not the same squad when your main players are injured for a long run, dont forget Carlo left a terrible platform to build on

 

[ToffeeTim]

Its not the same squad when your main players are injured for a long run, dont forget Carlo left a terrible platform to build on

Richarlison missed some games last year, DCL had hamstring troubles, Doucoure had a broken foot, Allan had two hamstring injuries, Digne broke his ankle, Coleman had lots of minor injuries, James was barely fit after Christmas, Mina had several injuries, Pickford had a shoulder injury, I could go on....

Of course injuries could be a big factor for us this year, but it's completely wrong to say we didn't have injuries last year. A 10 point drop off from last season would absolutely not be a successful season, whatever way you try to spin it. There's a lot of revisionism going on. If Benitez gets 10 points less than Ancelotti and finishes lower than 10th, then I don't see any argument where he deserves a second season.

 

[4737carlin]

Richarlison missed some games last year, DCL had hamstring troubles, Doucoure had a broken foot, Allan had two hamstring injuries, Digne broke his ankle, Coleman had lots of minor injuries, James was barely fit after Christmas, Mina had several injuries, Pickford had a shoulder injury, I could go on....

Of course injuries could be a big factor for us this year, but it's completely wrong to say we didn't have injuries last year. A 10 point drop off from last season would absolutely not be a successful season, whatever way you try to spin it. There's a lot of revisionism going on.

But did they have them all at the same time?

 

[ToffeeTim]

But did they have them all at the same time?

Some did, but not all. Exactly the same as this season. I'm hoping Richarlison is back this week for example.

 

[LeeCarsley]

sadly for the people who want FSW out, the alternative to Benitez is Duncan Ferguson, who with the squad we currently have will absolutely get relegated. Suffer through him for season and then we'll see what happens. If he's that bad Moshiri can just replace him with his best mate Dunc next season anyway!

 

[Papa Shango]

Its not the same squad when your main players are injured for a long run, dont forget Carlo left a terrible platform to build on

Gray and Townsend are improvements on the squad we had.

I suppose you can throw in James and Sigurdsson (!) as squad losses from last season to balance it out.

 

[woodsyni]

I know I'll be shot down for this, but I don't think it's just about points (as long as it's enought to stay up). There are so many other factors that would signal improvement for me. Fight, team spirit, courage, pride, creating excitement, playing style, fitness, recruitment/squad pruning.... basically stuff to get you off your seat and provide a platform for improvement. It'll all be down to if it feels we're on an upward trajectory at last.

 

[4737carlin]

I know I'll be shot down for this, but I don't think it's just about points (as long as it's enought to stay up). There are so many other factors that would signal improvement for me. Fight, team spirit, courage, pride, creating excitement, playing style, fitness, recruitment/squad pruning.... basically stuff to get you off your seat and provide a platform for improvement. It'll all be down to if it feels we're on an upward trajectory at last.

Correct, it not just about points take the West Ham game, fine line, last season we had rubbish teams playing us off the park, we are playing better, were looking better and we have some kind of belief and direction, we havent had that for a long time.