an honest question

[Zippity]

they would admit rafa hasnt performed as they had hoped

i am not saying they would change their mind to wether he is right for us but they surely if being honest would admit they were and are wexpecting more from him

All the excuses he has either made or has had made for him by others are, for me, genuine and pertinent. He's been warning us since the Summer how poor the squad was and now I think we're seeing exactly how poor it is.

But, he's not above criticism (nor would he expect to be, mind) and he has made mistakes. I was also possibly expecting to see more from the likes of Perez, Hayden, Aarons with improved coaching etc and I was expecting us to be a lot more solid (if not particularly exciting) than we have been lately. Certainly not saying these things are down to Rafa in particular but as our manager/coach then everyone at the club who has an effect on our performances needs to shoulder their share of the blame.

I suppose how much of the blame is allocated is a very subjective process. For me, it starts with Ashley's chronic mis-management of our club and with the players for being, well, canny shite and there lies the majority of the blame. But Rafa can't be entirely blameless given the appalling run we're on.

[ghostrider]

All the excuses he has either made or has had made for him by others are, for me, genuine and pertinent. He's been warning us since the Summer how poor the squad was and now I think we're seeing exactly how poor it is.

The thing is he bought most of the players.
It can be argued that he bought for the championship but that does not wash with me as a full excuse for him bemoaning what he has.
He bought players he rarely played.
Hanley, Lazaar, Gamez, Murphy.D and then left out players he could have played, as in Colback and Mitrovic, as well as the many that have been injured but fit again.
Buying Sels and what not.
Of course he's not got the best buys or the best squad but then again he's a top manager coming to a club like Newcastle United where he knew it was a rebuild.
I agree we could have got better players but he seems to have lost out and not because we couldn't afford them...more like they didn't want to come for whatever reasons.

For me he could have bought much much shrewder and he took charge of buying as we were all led to believe his contract stated.
And let's be fair, Ashley's not going to chance him walking on a contract flaw with that yearly wage, I don't think.
The problem is Ashley's back to being the devil whereas he was almost tucked in a comfort blanket throughout the championship after a massive Rafa spend.

But, he's not above criticism (nor would he expect to be, mind) and he has made mistakes.

The trouble is, he thinks he is because the majority of fans are affording him immunity to it.
It seems to be everyone else's fault but Rafa's when all's said and done, with the majority.
It's almost a fear of losing him if anyone dares to question him.
It's almost like treating little Tommy like a footballing god because you fear upsetting him and him taking his ball home and leaving us with nothing to play with.

I was also possibly expecting to see more from the likes of Perez, Hayden, Aarons with improved coaching etc and I was expecting us to be a lot more solid (if not particularly exciting) than we have been lately. Certainly not saying these things are down to Rafa in particular but as our manager/coach then everyone at the club who has an effect on our performances needs to shoulder their share of the blame.

I think we would have seen more but Rafa appears to have them concentrating on the grafting aspect.
It's a case of worry about the opposition playing before you even think about them worrying about you.
He's killing what talent some possess in the offensive.
It seems that, what Rafa sees and what we see are chalk and cheese, because Rafa's mindset is picking headless chickens and that constitutes busy.
We want to see some end product on a fair basis offensively, where the opposition keeper gets worked, not just dying a death at the edge of the box.

I suppose how much of the blame is allocated is a very subjective process. For me, it starts with Ashley's chronic mis-management of our club and with the players for being, well, canny shite and there lies the majority of the blame. But Rafa can't be entirely blameless given the appalling run we're on.

No doubt about it that Ashley's played his poker hands too many times.
The issue is in the hands that were dealt can still be played if played cool hand Luke style.
It takes shrewd managers to effect it and Ashley's obviously believed that Rafa being a world class poker player with a reasonable pot to start off with, would at least do enough to comfortably keep us away from relegation.


To be totally fair, he should be doing that.
Nobody's asking for miracles. All I'm asking for, is for Rafa to use the players at his disposal and also the one's he actually bought in to do a job.
He refuses to and that's baffling and annoying, if the truth be told.

It's almost like he's doing it on purpose or being told to do it on purpose. I'm serious...it almost looks that blatant.

[Jammy89]

It's almost like he's doing it on purpose or being told to do it on purpose. I'm serious...it almost looks that blatant.

You're behind the curve on this theory ghost, someone else has already said it

[ashingtoon62]

Just checked in!!
I see. yous are still massaging their alter egos....
Shakes heed in disbelief...

[pboromag]

look i can see he isnt working with the best
but he is meant to be a top manager and coach and worked with the best etc etc

but he isnt getting anything extra from the players

i would suggest the likes of dyche houghton lernner etc etc and many more get a little bit more than is expected from their players

if i could see improvement in the players i wouldnt be bleeting so much
and all we need at the moment is a lttle bit more

i just feel a new manager would get that little bit more

the players need a lift

rafa hasnt given them that

maybe a new manager couldnt

but in honesty our players are not as bad as they are currently performing

all are going backwards

that is down to them and the manager

and at 5 mill a year i would want to see improvement

wasnt that why he was brought in