Rafael Benitez
A master of the tactical game and of winning pressure one-off games, Rafael Benitez has the pedigree to be a great manager. Made his name with Valencia before moving to England to manage Liverpool and has led them to 2 Champions League finals in 3 years. That’s more than Arsene Wenger, Jose Mourinho and SAF, so that’s saying a lot.
Valencia won La Liga under him, but Liverpool have been off the pace in the league so far as Rafa in my opinion still has to get his tactics in line with the demands of the Premiership.
Liverpool owners get it right for once
As Rafa himself has said, the owners and the chairman are responsible for the delay in getting Barry over to Anfield, and in this case you have to admit that, like them or not, they might have a point.
Liverpool start without style but at least have 3 points in the bag
Another year, another chance to see whether Liverpool really do have a side capable of prolonging a Premiership challenge beyond the first round of carol singers. And on today’s showing at the Stadium of Light, where Fernando Torres’ 81st minute thunderbolt secured a scarcely deserved three points, it is tempting to conclude that for all…
Rafa: Parry responsible for Barry
The Liverpool gaffer didn’t pull one of his ‘I’m only here to talk about football’ moments but he comes pretty close with a ‘don’t talk to me about players, don’t blame me for Barry, talk to Parry and the owners.’ He stops short of saying ‘blame the bosses’ but he doesn’t need to say it,…
Safe or Not? The 08-09 Manager Sack Race
Last season the manager sack race got a bit ridiculous with many managers under severe pressure and some getting fired despite being backed in the transfer window and a few dismissed without being given a full season to show what they could do at the club. New owners and heightened expectations (both a product of…
Note to Rafa: Leto doesn’t deserve a work permit
Managers tend be to stereotyped into a number of categories. Mourinho and Ferguson have been typecast as the ‘motivational’ types (regardless of the tactical acumen of both managers) while the likes of Rafa Benitez (and to an extent, Juande Ramos) have been categorised as supreme tacticians (regardless of whether they are better in that department…
Arsenal youngest, Manchester United oldest? It’s all relative…
Is it possible to be too old to win a title? Sir Alex Ferguson certainly thinks so. According to him, Chelsea are too old to win a title. At least, that’s how the Guardian interpreted Sir Alex’s comments (and far be it for someone to suggest that a British newspaper somehow blew an innocuous quote…
Hypocrite Spurs mad at losing Champions League tickets
Update: Ferguson says he never spoke to the press about Berbatov. Tottenham Hotspur have every right to be mad. Here’s a club dead-set on playing in the Champions League – they’ve brought in one of the best managers in contemporary football, they have brought in some of the brightest young talent in Europe (Bale, Gunter,…
Liverpool fans deserve better. Stevie Gerrard deserves better. Will it get better?
This weeks postbag sees a letter from one of the most influential players in English football. Soccerlens is very proud to be chosen as a sounding board by this particular individual. Dear Soccerlens, I am a twenty-seven year old footballer who has achieved nearly everything it is possible to achieve in the game. I am…
Everyone except sourpuss Benitez picks Manchester United as league champions
An interesting article appeared in the Guardian this morning, featuring soundbites from 9 managers in the Premier League on the chances of Manchester United and Chelsea in winning the Premier League this season. This was before today’s set of matches, mind you, so it wasn’t as if these managers knew ahead of time that Manchester…
Sage advice for Rafa and Grant (Chelsea v Liverpool preview)
Photo Caption: Grant thinks Kenyon was joking when Chelsea picked AG as manager – the ironic bit is, Kenyon might have been. Both Avram Grant and Rafael Benitez have been locked in various off-pitch wrangles lately. Grant with the press and the fans and if the media is to be believed, players. Benitez with the…
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