Rafa Benitez may be available on Monday.

[Anubis]

[Il Fenomeno]

And why was that exactly?

 

Have you ever looked into that?

 

I`ll give you a hint though, its funny how people can use our failure to beat Luton in the FA Cup so we needed a replay to go though and then to turn it into something to be proud of.

 

So some games don't count now?

[MLB]

People still talking about this? Genuinely can't get my head around it.

[Dicko]

I think you'd be surprised Robbie. People can see it. Molby's right in that the majority of the players are Rafa's 'legacy'. It's not a legacy that does him credit. However, Hodgson should be doing better with what he has at his disposal.

But it's got to go both ways Stringy.

Benitez was sacked because he totally underperformed with the squad he had available, something his critics vehemently latched on to as a reason he had to go.

 

Yet since Hodgson has taken over all we've had is excuses from him and his cronies about how shite the situation he inherited was. Completely disregarding his own assessment to Broughton in his interview which Broughton subsequently revealed in the press conference and his own assertion that we were ridiculously overstaffed.

 

So he either left a poor squad that isn't strong enough to get into the top four, or he underperformed last season in not getting the squad into the top four.

 

It can be one or the other but not both.

[coop]

Rafa was always going to struggle this season with Inter and in all fairness it was a job in my opinion to avoid for at least one season.

 

The reason being is how could you possibly better what Mourinho had done the season previous in the fact he had won the lot.

 

There is no getting away that injuries have not helped Rafa in his first season with Inter but whether or not that is to do with the training as we suffered ourselves last season during his tenure.

 

It will be a shame if he does get the sack at Inter as i would have thought his approach to the game is perfect for the Italian game.

 

Whether or not he is given time to be allowed to use what he would consider his strongest eleven for a sustained period only time will tell but i doubt if he does leave that he would be out of a job for long.

[Phoenix]

So some games don't count now?

 

Heres me wishing we had a replay against Northampton this season.

[ngogswilly]

Well if he gets sacked, he might take a year or two off and then this all might die down a bit with him being out of the public eye.

 

Doubt it though.

[Code]

So some games don't count now?

 

Its an achievement on par with being PL topscorer for the calendar year 2007 or 2008 or whatever it was some people used to say when they defended Robbie Keane.

 

Laughable in other words.

[stringvest]

They really cant though, Stringy. The amount of people who think we are giving Hodgson a hard time and its a disgrace because he is a nice man. The players are 'Rafas legacy' but it wasnt because of Rafa's legacy that we failed to beat Northampton. Just as its not Mourinhos legacy that Inter are shit at the moment. Its because of the impact the current managers have had with their respective teams.

 

I agree with that. The legacy is the players. The manager takes the vast majority of responsibility for what happens out there on the pitch, once the manager has his players in. I'm not sure either manager has reached that point yet, so it is fair to say that the 'legacy' players mean that the blame/credit heaped on the manager cannot be as great as it will be when the manager has introduced his own personnel.

[cestrianred]

Roy's already in Kenny's shadow, the last thing he needs is Rafa's.....

 

You are an utter knob.

[Torvald Utne]

well duh!

[stringvest]

But it's got to go both ways Stringy.

Benitez was sacked because he totally underperformed with the squad he had available, something his critics vehemently latched on to as a reason he had to go.

 

Yet since Hodgson has taken over all we've had is excuses from him and his cronies about how shite the situation he inherited was. Completely disregarding his own assessment to Broughton in his interview which Broughton subsequently revealed in the press conference and his own assertion that we were ridiculously overstaffed.

 

So he either left a poor squad that isn't strong enough to get into the top four, or he underperformed last season in not getting the squad into the top four.

 

It can be one or the other but not both.

 

My opinion on this is that the squad was fatally weakened by the loss of Alonso. My opinion on his departure was that it was down in the most part to Benitez's treatment of him. I'm not sure that we had a squad capable of getting into the top 4 last year. 5th or 6th was probably par. That's not really why he got mutually consented though, or rather not the major reason.

 

I think Hodgson is right when he says we were (and are) ridiculously overstaffed. A huge rump of 'meh' players who offer nothing but a barrier to youth/academy development and a demotivating factor to promising lads looking for a club to sign up with.

[Juan Galonso]

Because they've been shit, and certainly far less efficient.

 

Milito also got a lot of their goals last season. He's been injured and/or absolutely woeful all season.

 

They're not really controlling games due to having to play Muntari or ten year olds in the centre of midfield.

 

They miss Cambiasso, in the same way losing Alonso made a huge impact on our football.

 

But they press much higher up the pitch and try to keep the ball higher up the pitch as well.

 

Statistics won't always tell you very much about style of play.

 

We scored something like 120 goals in all competitions a few years ago, but probably only played a real free flowing style of football in 5-10 of those games.

 

I will take your word for them pressing teams further up the pitch. They certainly didn't do that in the two out of three times I have seen them this year v Spurs twice and AC Milan last week. Doesn't make a blind bit of difference though really does it when they have only scored 14 goals. Statistics currently say they are underachieving massively no matter how it is dressed up and whatever he is doing clearly isn't working in the same way largely it isn't working under Hodgson.

 

Maybe he has tried to change a winning formula too quickly and it has upset the balance that Inter clearly had last year. It just seems to me that Mourinho had the team as the sum of its parts and the blend was perfect, testament to his abilities as a coach.

[HornsOfJericho]

Turning the best team in Italy and Europe last year in to merely a top table team takes a special kind of shit. What the fuck has he done?

[Guest PurpleNose]

I will take your word for them pressing teams further up the pitch. Doesn't make a blind bit of difference though really does it when they have only scored 14 goals. Statistics currently say they are underachieving massively no matter how it is dressed up and whatever he is doing clearly isn't working in the same way largely it isn't working under Hodgson. Maybe he has tried to change a winning formula too quickly and it has upset the balance that Inter clearly had last year. It just seems to me that Mourinho had the team as the sum of its parts and the blend was perfect, testament to his abilities as a coach.

 

Thats exactly whats happening.

 

John, I'm not defending Benitez here, I'm just trying to dispell the myth that they're really defensive, just because their goal tally is low.

 

Wigan try to play nice football, but they score fuck all.

 

Mourinho had them playing extremely efficient football. They defended very deep, which suited their slow defenders, and caught teams on the break, which suited their fast forwards.

 

They were fucking boring, but won every week.

[RobbieOR]

I agree with that. The legacy is the players. The manager takes the vast majority of responsibility for what happens out there on the pitch, once the manager has his players in. I'm not sure either manager has reached that point yet, so it is fair to say that the 'legacy' players mean that the blame/credit heaped on the manager cannot be as great as it will be when the manager has introduced his own personnel.

 

The criticism wouldnt normally that bad and my motto always was to give managers time to sort it out. But a number of consequences have made it impossible for him to stay on. His press conferences, the performances of the team (If there was some indication we'd improve, theres no doubt he'd get some grace), If he had done something of note in his previous jobs and the fact that he's part of the old regime and most people just want a fresh, new slate. Its not that much to ask for really and 99.9% of fans would be of the same opinion if Rafa was here and we were this bad.

[TheHowieLama]

The criticism wouldnt normally that bad and my motto always was to give managers time to sort it out. But a number of consequences have made it impossible for him to stay on. His press conferences, the performances of the team (If there was some indication we'd improve, theres no doubt he'd get some grace), If he had done something of note in his previous jobs and the fact that he's part of the old regime and most people just want a fresh, new slate. Its not that much to ask for really and 99.9% of fans would be of the same opinion if Rafa was here and we were this bad.

 

These bits - he was not =and he had to go

[mypost]

But a number of consequences have made it impossible for him to stay on. His press conferences, the performances of the team (If there was some indication we'd improve, theres no doubt he'd get some grace), If he had done something of note in his previous jobs and the fact that he's part of the old regime and most people just want a fresh, new slate. Its not that much to ask for really

 

It is a lot to ask for. Changes of coach, (especially here) are not routine everyday events.

 

I don't see Roy as "part of the old regime", he was here for the tail end of it only. He does make up part of the "fresh, new" slate. His press conferences are a mandatory part of his role, they don't make it "impossible" for him to carry on. They're only words at the end of the day, talk is cheap, and can be spun whatever way someone wants. What can't be spun is results. Nobody really gives a shite if you're Zagalo or Holloway as long as you get results for the team.

[Il Fenomeno]

Its an achievement on par with being PL topscorer for the calendar year 2007 or 2008 or whatever it was some people used to say when they defended Robbie Keane.

 

Laughable in other words.

 

Scoring more goals than Manchester United (double winners), Chelsea & Arsenal in all competitions isn't 'laughable'.

[RobbieOR]

It is a lot to ask for. Changes of coach, (especially here) are not routine everyday events.

 

I don't see Roy as "part of the old regime", he was here for the tail end of it only. He does make up part of the "fresh, new" slate. His press conferences are a mandatory part of his role, they don't make it "impossible" for him to carry on. They're only words at the end of the day, talk is cheap, and can be spun whatever way someone wants. What can't be spun is results. Nobody gives a shite if you're Zagalo or Holloway as long as you get results for the team.

 

But Roy was appointed to guide us out of the old regime. He was appointed to steady the ship until new owners came in. His work here should be over as he's not up to the job.

[TheHowieLama]

Regardless of all other stuff two things Roy is not -- fresh ---new.

[Juan Galonso]

Thats exactly whats happening.

 

John, I'm not defending Benitez here, I'm just trying to dispell the myth that they're really defensive, just because their goal tally is low.

 

Wigan try to play nice football, but they score fuck all.

 

Mourinho had them playing extremely efficient football. They defended very deep, which suited their slow defenders, and caught teams on the break, which suited their fast forwards.

 

They were fucking boring, but won every week.

 

Bit of a difference with Wigan and their nice approach though mate and some of the superstars and class players Inter have got. Wigan play nice football yes but they don't have the calibre of players Inter have available to them like Etoo, Sneijder et al. It feels like nearly every goal they score is scored by Eto'o whereas under Mourinho they tended to share the goals around a lot more as he was getting the maximum out of them as he always does and set up a perfect team framework.

 

It is all well and good for Rafa having a player consistently banging the goals in in Eto'o don't get me wrong but if that is the be all and end all and all of a sudden nobody else seems to be chipping in with goals then the team suffers as a whole. That seems to be the make up of Inter under Rafa seeing things from a distance and whilst he is undoubtedly getting the best out of Eto'o the rest of the team seems to be suffering.

[TheHowieLama]

Benitez has always gotten career best out of one striker in his side, Mista, Torres now Eto'o.

[Moschops II]

People still talking about this? Genuinely can't get my head around it.

 

I'm just hoping that when Hodgson goes a line will finally be drawn under the whole thing and this demented, mind-numbing bollocks will stop.

 

I might be being too optimistic though.

[Guest TesticleOReilly]

Tedious as fuck.