2021/22 Rafael Benitez

[barneygumble]

You keep saying he had to sign Rondon. He didnt have to sign anyone. I have no doubt our young players coming up can do the same job better than Rondon can. Rondon was decent a decade ago, but not a single person on here wanted him signed for a reason. If we can see it, why in the world couldnt the manager?

In my opinion, we don't sign Rondon, if Calvert-Lewin doesn't get injured.

We had to sign a striker, or we were literally placing our trust in a player who's only first team experience was 2 minutes in a pre-season game.

Dobbin and Simms could be the future, they're not what we needed. Everyone knew Rondon was a stop gap. Regardless of whether he was wanted or not, nobody envisaged him being as bad as he has been.

Have you seen Dobbin and Simms play to suggest they'd have handled the pressure?

It shouldn't fall on Benitez, personally . Last season we were lucky enough to not miss Calvert-Lewin. Same way we need to replace Coleman, we didn't get an adequate backup, and we didnt get a replacement Right back.

Rondon is a joke but we left ourself in this position.

 

[4737carlin]

Would people here be happy with Liam Manning? A young manager, who has made MK Dons play offensive and entertaining football.

This is the type of manager we will have to look at, forget these Hollywood names like Emery and Ten Hag, your on the right lines here mate, last time we went lower leagues was the last time we really got it correct with Moyes

 

[barneygumble]

They probably aren't ready, I agree. But playing a player who is young and hungry with scope to improve is better than playing a slow and immobile player well past their best.

Blooding young players is literally the only thing we haven't tried at this club and it's probably the only thing that could potentially work. That means developing our own players so that means the academy needs to be improved immediately.

As in my last post, it should never have came to it. We let Josh King walk out the door, after Ancelotti didn't give him a chance.

We've had 4 years to find a back up to DCL, and we've signed Kean who's a flop, and had to rely on Rondon. It should never have came to that.

I'd give them a go, but back in August when DCL got injured, if you'd have said lets rely on Dobbin and Simms, everyone would have said the same thing.

 

[Zatara]

He knew we had a finished Coleman as first choice RB and captain
He knew we had Davies as back up
He knew we had no wingers that resemble footballers
He knew we had no back up for DCL
He knew he had no money to spend
He knew these players are gutless
He knew the fans would be against him
He knew he had to hit the ground running to get the fans onboard
He knew the owner and DoF were useless as we he wouldn't be inheriting all of the above

He knew what he was walking into and what he had to work with and he was happy to put pen to paper on his sweet multi million pound a year contract that got him 'home'

I will continue to ask you then, who was he meant to bring in on free transfers who are going to add pace and energy?

Honestly, I've no clue, but you seem to be holding it against him, so I guess you know? I'm not being arsey either, just curious.

He's had a shoestring, and signed a backup striker, who we shouldn't of had to sign in the first place (we had King who was more than acceptable) and a backup goalkeeper.
Every manager brings in a favourite. Martinez signed Kone, Robles and McCarthy. Koeman brought in Martina and Stekelenburg. Silva signed Richarlison. Ancelotti brought in James and Allan. It's a common thing. He thought Rondon could do a job, he got it wrong.

Benitez was allowed to sell players

It is ludicrous to suggest Potter would be a candidate to replace Rafael in a week or so. He has higher ambitions than coming on board a leaking ship. The probability is that the replacement would be another controversial appointment from a lower level or a second chance for failures like Lampard or another recently sacked manager. Take your pick. If it could fixed that the pitch is too frozen to play the RS that would give some time to act.
I think Rafael will stay anyway.

There is a world full of football managers.

How is that so hard for you to understand?

 

[everton1953]

How about giving Rooney an escape hatch out of Derby? It would probably split this forum again but so will any likely appointment. Rooney is quite overweight which could make him a target for our anti fat agitators.

 

[sdk]

Would people here be happy

NO

 

[Carloblues]

If he hasnt got a clue why do you think Moshiri can get the next one right? That's another problem, we cant trust him. Besides that why couldnt we attract one of these managers in the summer then?

I don't trust him to get the next one right, but that's not a reason to stick with the one we have now.

I think he done well to get Carlo, even though I don't think he done a particulary good job, it was the right idea.

 

[barneygumble]

Benitez was allowed to sell players

Who are we selling?

We sold Kean. Outside of Kean, who's a sellable asset, that we could actually afford to lose?

Iwobi? Davies? Gomes? Holgate?

Face it, the only plays with any resale value, closing the season were Pickford, Godfrey, Mina, Richarlison, Doucoure and Calvert-Lewin. It's all well and good but what are we getting? £10m Gomes? £5m Davies, Holgate? £2m Kenny?

We're paper thin, but the players we want to ditch, we can't actually get shut of.

 

[riddick]

If we sack FSW, we'd have had 9 managers in 8 years.

As far as I see it, we're unlikely to get relegated under his stewardship. I can see a lot of our players leaving for clubs with higher ambitions in the next two or three seasons (namely Allan, DCL, Richarlison, Pickford, and Digne). By the time our new stadium is built, we'd have effectively started from a clean slate FFP wise and can rebuild from there onwards.

You can't spend 8 seasons wrecklessly spending on players that massively underperform and expect a new manager to come in and just fix things overnight. Ancelloti - a three times CL winner - got 10th with these lot. We can't expect miracles.

Im probably going to get crap for this but we got 10th in spite of Ancelotti. He had no interest in actually managing the team. We played some of the most negative boring football I've ever seen under him.

 

[Egil Olsen]

NO

Probably not. It was not serious either, but certainly a manager we should follow.

 

[tommye]

We've had 12 games under him in the PL.

Before the injuries kicked in and when we were getting results I seem to remember most on here saying they could see the massive change in attitude to getting behind the ball and closing down. We were then able to use the pace and width we had on the counter. But when that's robbed off you (especially DCL's hold up play and ability to provide a figure up there to make the ball stick to build up those counter attacks) and Doucoure's punch from midfield following those attacks up those tactics dont work.

Can we play another way? Well we cant play possession football with the players we have, so we'll just have to be patient until Doucoure and DCl are available...and get to the January window and buy a quality player who can deputise for either should they get another injury.

Time and resources. That's what Benitez has to get in order to be judged.

I think the owners of this club get that and wont be swayed by the noisy minority in the coming weeks.

So no then?

 

[riddick]

In my opinion, we don't sign Rondon, if Calvert-Lewin doesn't get injured.

We had to sign a striker, or we were literally placing our trust in a player who's only first team experience was 2 minutes in a pre-season game.

Dobbin and Simms could be the future, they're not what we needed. Everyone knew Rondon was a stop gap. Regardless of whether he was wanted or not, nobody envisaged him being as bad as he has been.

Have you seen Dobbin and Simms play to suggest they'd have handled the pressure?

It shouldn't fall on Benitez, personally . Last season we were lucky enough to not miss Calvert-Lewin. Same way we need to replace Coleman, we didn't get an adequate backup, and we didnt get a replacement Right back.

Rondon is a joke but we left ourself in this position.

Would rather have signed Andy Carroll. He can't run either but at least he provides SOMETHING by being a monster in the air still. Rondon? Offers nothing.

 

[Martin Alvito]

This is the type of manager we will have to look at, forget these Hollywood names like Emery and Ten Hag, your on the right lines here mate, last time we went lower leagues was the last time we really got it correct with Moyes

The Prem TV contract is such a large part of most clubs' budgets that very few of them will take that kind of chance. Ironically, it's clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea and United that can afford to roll the dice on an unproven manager, since the deck is so heavily stacked in their favor.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

The Prem TV contract is such a large part of most clubs' budgets that very few of them will take that kind of chance. Ironically, it's clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea and United that can afford to roll the dice on an unproven manager, since the deck is so heavily stacked in their favor.

When Mr Alvito speaks.

You listen.

 

[Martin Alvito]

Would rather have signed Andy Carroll. He can't run either but at least he provides SOMETHING by being a monster in the air still. Rondon? Offers nothing.

Andy Carroll is about the last guy you want for injury cover, though. As a Plan B signing on the cheap, maybe. But never as cover.