2021/22 Rafael Benitez

[Noisy noise annoys]

Not all 3 as one was Diaz and James was going to part of the fee.

Dumfries was the other, he's gone

 

[willo30]

@willo30

Thanks for removing Rondons wages, signing on fee and agents fee.

Eh??

This place is getting out of hand now.

Using that logic Coleman hasn't been the bargain we've all thought if we have had to pay him all these years.

I'm out. I'll leave you all to it.

 

[Gilbert..]

Doucoure only just returned, Yerry Mina - our best centre half - out, Richarlison has been injured and was suspended for the last game, and Calvert Lewin.

The entire spine of our squad, arguably our four best players full stop.

I replied to a post that said Ancelotti had "arguably a weaker squad to work with" - he didn't. He flat out, 100% did not.

Mina is in and out for every manager. Richarlison has played and been involved in 10 games this season. Doucoure 9.
Please stop making up positions for iwobi.
Im not arguing the case for either who has the strongest squad as it basically the bloody same.
But that was so rose tinted to benitez.
The clubs on one of its worst runs for years.
You know what. He has to own some of it.

 

[Tubey]

Mina is in and out for every manager. Richarlison has played and been involved in 10 games this season. Doucoure 9.
Please stop making up positions for iwobi.
Im not arguing the case for either who has the strongest squad as it basically the bloody same.
But that was so rose tinted to benitez.
The clubs on one of its worst runs for years.
You know what. He has to own some of it.

Haha it wasn't 'rose tinted' (I'm fairly sure you don't know what the term actually means!) - it was a fact - I listed the starting attack for both games 12 months apart.

Benitez didn't have DCL or Richarlison or Mina and only just got Doucoure back. An absolute fact. The entire spine of the squad. Ancelotti did. It is what it is.

 

[Marius57]

Eh?

We played Iwobi and Rondon up front in a 4411. We played a 343 with Ancelotti in the corresponding fixture last year.

Rondon is playing as DCL is injured. We got rid of Rodriguez as we were crippled by his wages and, yes, Benitez didn't fancy him, but he wasn't given money to replace him.

The bias here is from you my friend. Ancelotti provably had more options available to him this time last year than Benitez. So much so he had Mina and Sigurdsson available on the bench.

He had no fullbacks and played davies and iwobi as wing backs.

 

[davek]

Issue is Dave even after his now 15 games in charge, there's been no evidence to suggest that he will be a success here. Ancelotti was working with an arguably weaker squad and manager to get much more out of them by utilising the same 'pragmatic' tactics.

15 games where we were competitive WITH the first team available, and not when they weren't.

I know what conclusions I draw. The same as the owner probably.

 

[Tubey]

He had no fullbacks and played davies and iwobi as wing backs.

Yeah, he still had largely the same ridiculously put together squad to deal with. I'm not saying Ancelotti worked with Real Madrid here!

Point being made is he didn't have a weaker squad. He had a marginally better one and his attack which bailed us out was available to him much more often.

 

[Gilbert..]

Haha it wasn't 'rose tinted' (I'm fairly sure you don't know what the term actually means!) - it was a fact - I listed the starting attack for both games 12 months apart.

Benitez didn't have DCL or Richarlison or Mina and only just got Doucoure back. An absolute fact. The entire spine of the squad. Ancelotti did. It is what it is.

It means you thought you could slip in a load of bollox and hope it would slide.
The big thing from this and last year is calvert lewin..
Benitez brought in Rondon to cover such issues.
There you go.

 

[Tubey]

15 games where we were competitive WITH the first team available, and not when they weren't.

I know what conclusions I draw. The same as the owner probably.

This.

People still amazingly pretending the injuries aren't a factor because it completely nukes their argument. Sad really.

 

[Marius57]

15 games where we were competitive WITH the first team available, and not when they weren't.

I know what conclusions I draw. The same as the owner probably.

Have we ever gone 15 games with the first team available?

 

[barneygumble]

For the first time, I think he’ll be done in the near future.

When the very “uninterested” media actually start paying attention and saying how it’s all gone to pit and aiming questions at the board, the first thing they’ll do is say “we’re listening”, and act.

Still can’t forgive the board for literally adding to the already fragile mood of the supporters by appointing some as divisive as him.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

I have not looked for the primary source but according this piece we had the second highest cost of injured players last season.

Everton also had their own injury crisis, with 13 players missing a combined 710 days through injury, costing the Toffees over £9.5 million in wages – the second highest total in the league.

The Premier League Teams 2020/21 Worst Hit By Injuries

Starting XI of most expensive injured players revealed

sustainhealth.fit

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

I have not looked for the primary source but according this piece we had the second highest cost of injured players last season.

The Premier League Teams 2020/21 Worst Hit By Injuries

Starting XI of most expensive injured players revealed

sustainhealth.fit

More findings but not cost based

 

[JimmyK]

For the first time, I think he’ll be done in the near future.

When the very “uninterested” media actually start paying attention and saying how it’s all gone to pit and aiming questions at the board, the first thing they’ll do is say “we’re listening”, and act.

Still can’t forgive the board for literally adding to the already fragile mood of the supporters by appointing some as divisive as him.

I agree with you there I saw his mate King had written an article blaming everyone but him and the first thing I thought was that was probably the worst thing you could do for him because the board won't sack themselves so they'll do something else to make a statement instead and that is likely to be sacking him.

 

[North wales blue]

I don’t like him here myself or want him here but the board put him here so they should of backed him ,
hopefully he’ll be gone very soon