Kick wrote:I will address our goals at the start of the season, Top 3 finish (not yet achieved.) CL knock out stages, Perhaps FAC or COC. (Both of Which Rafa failed in at semis)

I would have expected us to be much closer to United and probably top 2 by now. While Rafa didn't fail in CL, he persisted in COC, FAC and EL which made our EPL side much more tired and ultimately, If we had bundled out of FAC or COC earlier we'd be in a better position in the EPL. Not to mention the replay's we played due to Rafa's poor tactics. Rafa's will to win a trophy almost cost us CL next season.

I would have actually called rafa a success if he won the EL and got us top 2. Even if he bundled out of FAC and COC at much earlier stages.

You guys are impossible to please. What difference is there between top 3 and top 2? they're both automatically qualified for the CL and frankly he got the team when it was 4th ffs.

Kick wrote:Hey Seps, hows the Knee, pretty sore I bet? Keep hatin' mate. I gotta tell ya, Tasting this victory Champaign tastes pretty good.

Arquitecto wrote:

Kick wrote:Are we talking about the Same RDM that was undefeated in the first 8 games?

I would also like to put it out there that No Chelsea fan is happy at our management for hiring Rafa in the first place, we do not solely hate Rafa, we also have a strong dislike towards Roman for doing it.

I will also say, he did not fail but it was not a success. We did not improve, we did gain anything from appointing him. All he did was the least possible work to get the job done. He didn't go above and beyond that. He did nothing to make me change my mind about him. If he really wanted to prove himself, he would have tried to win the Chelsea fans hearts. He didn't.

Except his intention never was to win Chelsea hearts or a long term future at all. His words and statements clearly dictate his short-term interim endeavours which transcends into short term solutions, tactics and systems until Chelsea find a suitable replacement for him. The man is smart enough to understand that a whole fanbase who dislikes him will never endear to him for obvious reasons.

RDM's first 8 games are irrelevant to how his tenure ended. Keep in mind I condemn his sacking on multiple counts yet then again no surprise since Roman has little education on how to run a club let alone education. Yet his team was tactically a mess, had little cohesion, did not have the key points addressed and was a slur or inconsistency to which results were sketchy.

Benitez actually built a stable side with a squad who he has 0 familiarity with; keypoints of imbalance, besides JT, average CBs which is a nightmare for any tactician and a striker who is beyond help.

Once again, what is above and beyond the expectations? Forget all the outliers and factors running against him, did you really expect to have Chelsea finish above City in 2nd and win the Europa League despite the little depth, balance and propensity to use his squad given the circumstances? Not buying it.

I don't expect you or Chelsea fans to endear to him as such prejudices are built to last, especially in the release of circumstances of firing a club legendf without consent. Rafa performed against the mind-blowing inertia running against him. Also

-Made Torres at least half servicable.
-Developed Azpi to which RDM played Iva as RB instead, which was comedic
- Actually noticed Luiz is shambles in the back and would be of some use in the pivot.
-Improved Hazard's haphazard performances by changing Torres' channels of movement to allow him more freedom of space to perform, to which he finally has began to do.


I doubt he cares about winning their hearts as otherwise there would be an apology for his words, which they weren't. He was brought in to commit to a job, to which he adhered to professionally, secured 3rd spot ie the main objective and won Chelsea the Europa League against the odds v Benfica.

He'll be leaving with a smile on his face.

These are the reasons why he was not a failure. These are also the reasons why he wasn't a success. He did the job. No more, no less.

Torres was better under RDM, he could actually score in the EPL. Torres only scored in the EL and that was because he had to, Ba couldn't play in the EL.

Ivanovic is a solid RB and Azpilicueta needed time to adapt IMO.

Luiz is still our best CB, not sure why you think Rafa is a genius for moving him to CM, thats be mentioned for years.

Hazard was bossing it under RDM, remember his first few games with Mata out?

Torres was a walking shadow under RDM. He was clueless in countless aspects, had little discipline (hence why he drifted out wide for no reason) had no positional sense and scored just as frequently in the EPL as he did under Rafa. Difference is, with Rafa he found a position, how to lead the line, how to adhere to his roles and not arbitrary play like he did under RDM. With Rafa he is at least a player worth passing to, to build a side around.

Azpi was continually on the bench despite having enough experience in his belt to adapt quicker than what he was compiled to adapt to. I don't see how he could adapt on the bench considering he was seldom played in place for an above average at best RB in Ivanovic. No coincidence how Azpi skyrocketed under Rafa, even quote on quote by Azpi himself. Although RDM did not get a whole season to put him to the test.

Luiz is not your best CB. Scoring screamers and fancy passes from open spaces will not take away his comical positioning, non existent marking and ignoring the basics of defence 101. JT and Ivanovic as a CB are even better than him from a defensive point of view. Attack is different yet 10% of what you need from the back. Just today he struggled v Cardozo and that other forward (Rodrigo I think)

Hazard was indeed boss yet quickly faded out since the tactical set-up of his only exploited few channels which were eventually figured out due to:

-The limits RDM gave him
-Torres' complete lack of discipline hindering Hazard himself

Under Rafa he has displayed multiple facets of his game which hardly existed under RDM to which has limited his weaknesses and amplified his strengths.

Ask a neutral on who's Chelsea they would rather have, RDMs? Or Rafas? Results would be surprising.

What were Chelsea's expectations when Rafa came then?

A one year blimp, If City lose this weekend and we win, we could well finish second, How Silly would that make you look?

If we didn't drop points at Soton, QPR, West Ham and numerous other places, we'd be well and truely in top 2.

Kick wrote:

A one year blimp, If City lose this weekend and we win, we could well finish second, How Silly would that make you look?

If we didn't drop points at Soton, QPR, West Ham and numerous other places, we'd be well and truely in top 2.

and if United didn't lose to you and City at Old Trafford, they would have broken the 95 points record total. SAF WHAT A *****

If City didn't lose to Soton, Spurs, United (first game), they'd still be in the title race

If Arsenal played as well in first half of the season as second, they'd already be in top 4, and maybe closing in on top 2.

If I was a hollywood actor, I probably would have gotten the chance to hook up with Anne Hathaway.

If I didn't have a large penis and a a set of balls, I'd be a girl.

Arquitecto wrote:

Kick wrote:Hey Seps, hows the Knee, pretty sore I bet? Keep hatin' mate. I gotta tell ya, Tasting this victory Champaign tastes pretty good.

Arquitecto wrote:

Except his intention never was to win Chelsea hearts or a long term future at all. His words and statements clearly dictate his short-term interim endeavours which transcends into short term solutions, tactics and systems until Chelsea find a suitable replacement for him. The man is smart enough to understand that a whole fanbase who dislikes him will never endear to him for obvious reasons.

RDM's first 8 games are irrelevant to how his tenure ended. Keep in mind I condemn his sacking on multiple counts yet then again no surprise since Roman has little education on how to run a club let alone education. Yet his team was tactically a mess, had little cohesion, did not have the key points addressed and was a slur or inconsistency to which results were sketchy.

Benitez actually built a stable side with a squad who he has 0 familiarity with; keypoints of imbalance, besides JT, average CBs which is a nightmare for any tactician and a striker who is beyond help.

Once again, what is above and beyond the expectations? Forget all the outliers and factors running against him, did you really expect to have Chelsea finish above City in 2nd and win the Europa League despite the little depth, balance and propensity to use his squad given the circumstances? Not buying it.

I don't expect you or Chelsea fans to endear to him as such prejudices are built to last, especially in the release of circumstances of firing a club legendf without consent. Rafa performed against the mind-blowing inertia running against him. Also

-Made Torres at least half servicable.
-Developed Azpi to which RDM played Iva as RB instead, which was comedic
- Actually noticed Luiz is shambles in the back and would be of some use in the pivot.
-Improved Hazard's haphazard performances by changing Torres' channels of movement to allow him more freedom of space to perform, to which he finally has began to do.


I doubt he cares about winning their hearts as otherwise there would be an apology for his words, which they weren't. He was brought in to commit to a job, to which he adhered to professionally, secured 3rd spot ie the main objective and won Chelsea the Europa League against the odds v Benfica.

He'll be leaving with a smile on his face.

These are the reasons why he was not a failure. These are also the reasons why he wasn't a success. He did the job. No more, no less.

Torres was better under RDM, he could actually score in the EPL. Torres only scored in the EL and that was because he had to, Ba couldn't play in the EL.

Ivanovic is a solid RB and Azpilicueta needed time to adapt IMO.

Luiz is still our best CB, not sure why you think Rafa is a genius for moving him to CM, thats be mentioned for years.

Hazard was bossing it under RDM, remember his first few games with Mata out?

Torres was a walking shadow under RDM. He was clueless in countless aspects, had little discipline (hence why he drifted out wide for no reason) had no positional sense and scored just as frequently in the EPL as he did under Rafa. Difference is, with Rafa he found a position, how to lead the line, how to adhere to his roles and not arbitrary play like he did under RDM. With Rafa he is at least a player worth passing to, to build a side around.

Azpi was continually on the bench despite having enough experience in his belt to adapt quicker than what he was compiled to adapt to. I don't see how he could adapt on the bench considering he was seldom played in place for an above average at best RB in Ivanovic. No coincidence how Azpi skyrocketed under Rafa, even quote on quote by Azpi himself. Although RDM did not get a whole season to put him to the test.

Luiz is not your best CB. Scoring screamers and fancy passes from open spaces will not take away his comical positioning, non existent marking and ignoring the basics of defence 101. JT and Ivanovic as a CB are even better than him from a defensive point of view. Attack is different yet 10% of what you need from the back. Just today he struggled v Cardozo and that other forward (Rodrigo I think)

Hazard was indeed boss yet quickly faded out since the tactical set-up of his only exploited few channels which were eventually figured out due to:

-The limits RDM gave him
-Torres' complete lack of discipline hindering Hazard himself

Under Rafa he has displayed multiple facets of his game which hardly existed under RDM to which has limited his weaknesses and amplified his strengths.

Ask a neutral on who's Chelsea they would rather have, RDMs? Or Rafas? Results would be surprising.

What were Chelsea's expectations when Rafa came then?

Torres' hasn't scored in the EPL this year...... He was scoring much more often under RDM.

Ivanovic has proven time and time again he is quality at RB, in recent times, he has proven to be one of our better CB's though. Luiz' ability makes him our best CB. Not because he scores screamers.

Luiz didn't struggle today, he wasn't even in defence to compare anyway.

I don't think he had limits under RDM, I just think his form improved under Rafa.

Congrats to Rafa

Harry Redknapp wrote:

Kick wrote:

A one year blimp, If City lose this weekend and we win, we could well finish second, How Silly would that make you look?

If we didn't drop points at Soton, QPR, West Ham and numerous other places, we'd be well and truely in top 2.

and if United didn't lose to you and City at Old Trafford, they would have broken the 95 points record total. SAF WHAT A *****

If City didn't lose to Soton, Spurs, United (first game), they'd still be in the title race

If Arsenal played as well in first half of the season as second, they'd already be in top 4, and maybe closing in on top 2.

If I was a hollywood actor, I probably would have gotten the chance to hook up with Anne Hathaway.

If I didn't have a large penis and a a set of balls, I'd be a girl.

I was simply pointing out matches were Rafa failed to secure points to prove we were not far off my expectation. What are you trying to prove?

People expecting more from Rafa

He walked in to Chelsea who were already out of the CL (Juventus winning in Dontsk meant Chelsea could do nothing) fans were all over him, people wanted him gone and he's pretty much got 3rd place, a European trophy and has done it all without complaining about the completely shit treatment he's been given.

Rafa is a top coach, who deserved more respect.

Kick wrote:

Harry Redknapp wrote:

Kick wrote:

A one year blimp, If City lose this weekend and we win, we could well finish second, How Silly would that make you look?

If we didn't drop points at Soton, QPR, West Ham and numerous other places, we'd be well and truely in top 2.

and if United didn't lose to you and City at Old Trafford, they would have broken the 95 points record total. SAF WHAT A *****

If City didn't lose to Soton, Spurs, United (first game), they'd still be in the title race

If Arsenal played as well in first half of the season as second, they'd already be in top 4, and maybe closing in on top 2.

If I was a hollywood actor, I probably would have gotten the chance to hook up with Anne Hathaway.

If I didn't have a large penis and a a set of balls, I'd be a girl.

I was simply pointing out matches were Rafa failed to secure points to prove we were not far off my expectation. What are you trying to prove?

Not to mention the fact I only said that because you laughed at my expectation, I proved it was not that unrealistic.

People were holding up anti-Rafa signs at his FIRST MATCH IN CHARGE

Wouldn't matter if he won or not, this was never going to work

buddytaller wrote:Tonight is Chelsea's night, Benitez' name wouldn't be on the trophy,it would be Chelsea's name. What you lot should be doing is congratulating them, whatever they did worked. Again Congratulations to Kick, Gil and all the Chelsea fans on this forum, you deserve it, don't let some bitter posters rain on your parade.

I bet you will be the first congratulate Mou when Madrid wins the CDR this week.

Swanhends wrote:People were holding up anti-Rafa signs at his FIRST MATCH IN CHARGE

Wouldn't matter if he won or not, this was never going to work

This is the reason why he'll never get another Contract with us.

The board knows it will cost them many, many fans.

I think he's done a respectable job in the end, and I've certainly not been one of his biggest fans.

I think if you offered supporters of the club 3rd (which still hasn't being achieved, albeit) and a European trophy at the end of the season, most would have taken it, so it simply cannot be considered a failure of a campaign. Nevertheless, I feel a Top 4 spot and indeed 3rd could have been wrapped up a fair bit sooner than it has been, especially considering the teams the lion's share of the points were dropped against, and I think even Benitez's biggest supporters on here will concede that he probably should have been victorious in at least one of the League Cup and Club World Cup competitions that truly were put on a platter for him - but that's all water under the bridge now, I suppose.

Apart from what's on the pitch, despite the dissent he got from the terraces for much of the first few months of his tenure (but which has all but disappeared since the Middlesbrough game in February, you can't deny), I did always feel he handled it with class and professionalism throughout, and he deserves accolades for that as well.

In the end, Champions League qualification and a European cup marks a successful season for Chelsea in my opinion, all things considered. The performances haven't been great and I think in terms of the stylistic transition that was supposed to have been started this season (and indeed last ), the campaign has been yet another wash, but that's Abramovich's itchy trigger finger to blame, not Benitez.

As for him getting the position full-time, I don't think so. The direction the owner is seemingly looking to take the club is in contradiction to Rafa's entire nature. If Roman is serious, as we're lead to believe, about bringing a more free-flowing style of footy to the Bridge (which I sometimes wonder about myself considering this obsessive pursuit of Mourinho...), Rafa is not the person to hire. He is and always has been a safety-first manager. We've seen it this season, we saw it at Liverpool, and he's not about to change now.
Additionally, regardless of the job he's done this year, there are some pairings in football that just aren't made for each other. McLeish at Villa was never going to work. George Graham at Spurs was never going to work, etc. etc. And Benitez and Chelsea is never going to work, IMO. There is alot of history and proverbial 'bad blood' there, and even if the supporters have now come to respect and even appreciate him for what he's done this season, he'll only ever be a few poor results away from another pressure-cooker ready to burst.

I read earlier from a journalist present at the match that he was standing alone with the trophy tonight on one occasion and was apparently being applauded by the Chelsea section, and I hope he gets the same during the final lap after the last game of the season come Sunday.
I've taken the piss out of him alot in the Rafa Out thread in the Chelsea section throughout the year as some of you have seen, but I do admire the dignity he's shown these past 7 or so months, appreciate the fact that he's brought the club a successful end to a pretty dour season, and wish the man success in his next journey.

I wouldn't be too opposed to it, rafa has finished the season strongly, it's the dodgy start that cost us, plus rafa is better with youth then mou too. It'll never happen though

The above post by ShedEnd by far the classiest by a Chelsea fan we've seen today. But that post aside, the general attitude I'm getting from Chelsea fans is "the victories are the players', the failings Benitez' ". And that's just bullshit.

No Chelsea fan has said Benitez failed. We have maintained he has done Ok.

Also rafa was never given a fair chance, there's videos on YouTube of people (people, not fans) chanting "Rafael Benitez, you're not wanted here" when he was linked to job after AVBs sacking. A season later when he actually got the job, people were calling for his head before his first game

kiranr wrote:
I bet you will be the first congratulate Mou when Madrid wins the CDR this week.

I'd first congratulate the players whose performance won us the match, I rarely comment about the managers though, that's for after the match or if they made some match winning (or losing) change in tactics and personnel, the night after winning a big trophy in my opinion belongs to the fans and the players.

buddytaller wrote:
I'd first congratulate the players whose performance won us the match, I rarely comment about the managers though, that's for after the match or if they made some match winning (or losing) change in tactics and personnel, the night after winning a big trophy in my opinion belongs to the fans and the players.

That's fair then.

Although I think the manager deserves just as much credit as the players on the pitch for any win. In this case, Rafa deserves just as much credit as the players because it is his planning and setup that contributed to the win.

I remember thinking this a few months ago now, i mean why not?? Hes a great manager and has a proven record.

Great Leader Sprucenuce wrote:Completely agree, but it won't happen because Chelsea fans are ungrateful, spoilt c*nt bags.( not the ones on here ur aight )

He's a fantastic manager and i would kill to have someone who is 1/20th as good as him.

I don't think its even a certainty that Mourinho will do a better job, for one thing Rafa has already won more European trophies in 6 months than Mou did in 3 years.

They're the same here lol... who are you kidding? They've been calling for his head the first minute he was announced as their manager. He's still deemed an average tactician and horrible manager from Chelsea fans on here too...

Kick wrote:

Swanhends wrote:People were holding up anti-Rafa signs at his FIRST MATCH IN CHARGE

Wouldn't matter if he won or not, this was never going to work

This is the reason why he'll never get another Contract with us.

The board knows it will cost them many, many fans.

Like Roman cares about the fans lol.

It's Romans club. He does what he wants with it. If he genuinely cared for the "fans" he would of kept Mou, he would of kept RDM and he would of kept Carlo. He honestly doesn't though. He expects the manager to do what's expected of him and if they don't achieve, they get the sack. Regardless of the status of the manager, and relationship to the fans.

Also, why is Rafa getting ALL the blame for "crashing out of the group stages of the CL". Was RDM not the manager pre-December?

I never blamed Rafa for our CL performence.

I think Roman would be an idiot to not listen to the fans about this, we have made it very clear how we feel.

Carlo had to go, I don't think many Chelsea fans were upset about it.

buddytaller wrote:Tonight is Chelsea's night, Benitez' name wouldn't be on the trophy,it would be Chelsea's name. What you lot should be doing is congratulating them, whatever they did worked. Again Congratulations to Kick, Gil and all the Chelsea fans on this forum, you deserve it, don't let some bitter posters rain on your parade.

Cheers mate

iNFINITY9910 wrote:

buddytaller wrote:Tonight is Chelsea's night, Benitez' name wouldn't be on the trophy,it would be Chelsea's name. What you lot should be doing is congratulating them, whatever they did worked. Again Congratulations to Kick, Gil and all the Chelsea fans on this forum, you deserve it, don't let some bitter posters rain on your parade.

Cheers mate

No.

I think you have to make the fans happy as they are the most important people and they simply don't want him so really it cant work.

I think he has done a fair enough job and he has restored a rep which could have turned if this didn't go well.

Better for both if they part I think.