Install the app
How to install the app on iOS

Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.

Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.

 

2021/22 Rafael Benitez

Well?

  • IN

  • OUT

Results are only viewable after voting.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Saint Domingo said:
The coach ultimately takes responsibility for it as he selects them but these players have been making mistakes under numerous managers for years.

I’ve seen signs of us improving defensively (again this will be laughed at) but apart from the first set piece against Liverpool when we completely lost our heads for the first ten minutes, I didn’t feel we’d concede from a set piece. I didn’t feel that against Brentford or Spurs either.

There’s a lot to man about, obviously, but there’s some green shoots of improvement as well. If we can reduce the individual errors and be more clinical upfront the bits in between aren’t actually looking so bad. We executed attacking passing moves against one of the best sides in the world numerous times. That’s surely coaching. Once Townsend and Gray get in behind then mis hit it, or Doucoure doesn’t put his laces through it, the chance is gone but the attacking moves as a team are there. Same as they were against Brentford, yes Rondon missed the opportunities but I don’t see a team like we had under Koeman that had absolutely no clue what it was doing in either box. I see a team being coached but everything being undermined currently by extreme sloppiness.

Benitez needs to stamp this out or he will get fired, but if he can there’s something to build on in my view. I’m not seeing a completely broken team here like the end days of Koeman. This for me feels similar to Silva, the coaching principles are there for performances to be good but the players at the moment are not executing it.

Now we have the choice of changing the players, keeping the coaching principles and moving forward, or we go back to Allardyce and even what Ancelotti reverted to of accepting the players are rubbish and playing park the bus football every game. I’d rather do the first one but it’s a riskier road. The players definitely don’t want to do the first one as they know they’ll be out. They want a pragmatist to come in and rescue the season with some results and have Keane and Coleman sat deep, three in midfield just defending, and then long balls to DCL and Richarlison. That gets points, we’ve seen it before but we’re going nowhere with that.
Click to expand...


This is absolute nonsense but is certainly something Benitez would 100% parrot.

The tactical set up was, in a word dumb. Perhaps it would charitable too describe it as amateurish or maybe even touchingly optimistic.

You and Benitez both highlight player mistakes as being critical but that is exactly the point of the high pressing approach that teams like Liverpool employ. They seek to create situations where opposition mistakes lead to goals. Benitez set us up to play right into their hands and we did (players being human and all).

Also Benitez must be fully aware the players are at low confidence and were facing an emotional match with a impatient and disgruntled supporters. Why set them up to almost certainly fail (which we did with complete predictability).

As to getting in behind them so what? Liverpool and other high pressing sides normally concede a few decent attacks every game on account of their high pressing style. Managing to get a few of those attacks is no achievement. What counts is the end result and that was a comprehensive (near historical) drubbing.

All the punditry and a significant number of the supporters at the game felt it was poor, many voted with their feet, not just because they are angry with the board, plenty were disgusted with the performance.

The situation called for entirely different (and yes ugly tactics) because as a club we are desperate for points, desperate for a positive result.


Instead Benitez seems only interested in stubbornly proving some academic point about his own tactical ideas, because as it always is with this manager no matter where he goes it is always all about him.

I honestly think he enjoys the stick he is getting in regards to his RS heritage because its just more confirmation of the above and that everything at the club must orbit around him.

He would rather see us relegated playing his way than adapt and have us improve upon last year's position.
 

Be interesting to see if he starts to make noises about a lack of backing in January. If results don't improve, history suggests he'll go into self preservation mode and start calling out the board.

Only thing preventing him from doing is that this is his dream job in terms of location and it's likely he'll want to cling on for as long as possible.
 
Cork Evertonian said:
Are you having a go at the fans lad? Go back to rawk.
Click to expand...


My point was that time and time again the fans have called for the managers head and the club has pulled the trigger and its ultimately got us nowhere. 6 managers in 6 seasons shows this tactic is not working.

We seem to be going round in circles the past 5 years and the club is rotten to the core and maybe just maybe this manager should be backed so he can bring his own players in before we give him the sack.

Not one manager out there could come in and get a tune out of the shambles we call a squad.

The manager should be allowed to put his own stamp on the squad and get rid of the crap.

The blame for all this is down to the shockingly way we wasted money with previous managers and now this curre t one is bearing the brunt of those mistakes when he can only work with what has been left for him.
 
Theoneandonly said:
Trail of destruction. Identifying areas of the squad which need work on. Doing internal reviews on club staff which resulted in some of our medical staff getting the boot. Ordering our youth sides to adopt 1st team tactics and work in cohesion. Potentially getting rid of Brands.
Click to expand...
Needs to sort his own job out first. If and when he begins to start making a reasonable hand of what is going on on the pitch, then he can worry about other peoples remits.

He has us 5 points off the 18th placed team who have a game in hand over us. It may have escaped your notice, but, his team gas taken 2 points from the last 24 available. It is also highly likely that we will be in 16th place after the Arsenal game.
 

ranxerox said:
This is absolute nonsense but is certainly something Benitez would 100% parrot.

The tactical set up was, in a word dumb. Perhaps it would charitable too describe it as amateurish or maybe even touchingly optimistic.

You and Benitez both highlight player mistakes as being critical but that is exactly the point of the high pressing approach that teams like Liverpool employ. They seek to create situations where opposition mistakes lead to goals. Benitez set us up to play right into their hands and we did (players being human and all).

Also Benitez must be fully aware the players are at low confidence and were facing an emotional match with a impatient and disgruntled supporters. Why set them up to almost certainly fail (which we did with complete predictability).

As to getting in behind them so what? Liverpool and other high pressing sides normally concede a few decent attacks every game on account of their high pressing style. Managing to get a few of those attacks is no achievement. What counts is the end result and that was a comprehensive (near historical) drubbing.

All the punditry and a significant number of the supporters at the game felt it was poor, many voted with their feet, not just because they are angry with the board, plenty were disgusted with the performance.

The situation called for entirely different (and yes ugly tactics) because as a club we are desperate for points, desperate for a positive result.


Instead Benitez seems only interested in stubbornly proving some academic point about his own tactical ideas, because as it always is with this manager no matter where he goes it is always all about him.

I honestly think he enjoys the stick he is getting in regards to his RS heritage because its just more confirmation of the above and that everything at the club must orbit around him.

He would rather see us relegated playing his way than adapt and have us improve upon last year's position.
Click to expand...
He is tactically bereft. He could easily relegate us if he is allowed to continue.
 
Big_Duncs_Fod said:
My point was that time and time again the fans have called for the managers head and the club has pulled the trigger and its ultimately got us nowhere. 6 managers in 6 seasons shows this tactic is not working.

We seem to be going round in circles the past 5 years and the club is rotten to the core and maybe just maybe this manager should be backed so he can bring his own players in before we give him the sack.

Not one manager out there could come in and get a tune out of the shambles we call a squad.

The manager should be allowed to put his own stamp on the squad and get rid of the crap.

The blame for all this is down to the shockingly way we wasted money with previous managers and now this curre t one is bearing the brunt of those mistakes when he can only work with what has been left for him.
Click to expand...

These points only make sense if you still believe Benitez is the best manager out there for us. I don't follow that logic considering we have our worst record in 22 years. And I also don't see any historical evidence of Benitez overhauling a poor old squad into a young hungry squad.
 

Status
Not open for further replies.

Welcome to GrandOldTeam

Get involved. Registration is simple and free.

Register
Back
Top