Benitez | Vital Football

Benitez

Rza

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I'll start off by saying he hasn't got the best team to work with, so that'll save some of the excuses. BUT....he isn't exactly doing himself any fucking favours is he? I mean come on, Hayden every fucking game. You know why we haven't won our last 2 matches? Because he has set up a shit fucking predictable system that isn't going to win matches with the players at his disposal. We could argue all night about Joselu and the team selection but the thing is we have been beat twice in a row because our opponents played for the win when we didn't. Lejeune is fucking shite as well, why was Clark dropped? Seems when Benitez has a problem with you then you won't ever get picked again no matter how shite your replacement is. Boring predictable crap football is ok when you're getting results.
 
Bringing on a defensive midfielder in the 85th minute after going 1-0 down. Never plays form players, very rarely changes the team even tactically. What a fucking mess
 
I don't see how anyone could do better with this group of players at their disposal. We've missed Merino, his midfield play has been stunning at times. Looking at today and against Burnley we're not playing well but we are making chances. A half decent striker Premier League striker would have changed both games. Today and Monday we were disappointing but I honestly couldn't say we've been outplayed all season in the league except against Huddersfield when the side never turned up and Spurs when we looked tactically sound till Shelvey went tonto.
 
Haven't been outplayed? We haven't convincingly outplayed anyone either and we've played against some shite. Didn't deserve to win at Burnley and didn't deserve to win today either. Merino? Merino was dropped even when he was fit Benitez played Hayden instead
 
Lejeune is a much better player than Clark, but I agree he doesn’t forgive easily, as Shelvey found out, but in the case of Mbemba there’s no way he should be out of that back 4 when Manquillo is on the pitch. We simply haven’t the quality in the first 11, but games like today we need to be winning and should be because we’ve a lot more difficult games to come. We’ve had a great set of opening fixtures and the league only starts to look true at Christmas. We’ll be bottom 6 I’m sure and that’s what most of us expected after Ashley acting the summer **** again.
 
We outplayed West Ham, outplayed Swansea, outplayed Stoke. I'm not saying Rafa's devoid of criticism but who do you think could do a better job with the players we have ? I don't see anyone that could at the moment.
 
Rza - 4/11/2017 19:12

I'll start off by saying he hasn't got the best team to work with, so that'll save some of the excuses. BUT....he isn't exactly doing himself any fucking favours is he? I mean come on, Hayden every fucking game. You know why we haven't won our last 2 matches? Because he has set up a shit fucking predictable system that isn't going to win matches with the players at his disposal. We could argue all night about Joselu and the team selection but the thing is we have been beat twice in a row because our opponents played for the win when we didn't. Lejeune is fucking shite as well, why was Clark dropped? Seems when Benitez has a problem with you then you won't ever get picked again no matter how shite your replacement is. Boring predictable crap football is ok when you're getting results.[/QUOTe


Have you ever seen a game inside St James'?
 
Just got in after a long day out watching football and then having to 'endure' a Little Mix concert at the arena but my ten pence worth will be given at some point in the next few hours.

Ahead of that though, things are pretty clear what need fixed but Gayle was our best player followed by Lejeune.

That Nathan Ake for them was a clear man of the match in my opinion.
 
Lejeune is fucking shite according to the man that never goes. I agree, he was quality. As was Clark, again, Spud.

 
The inability to be able to find the net; or even to put an element of fear into the opposition by having someone who they know can score goals, means they have a go at us.

And the last two games they've got the three points, for doing just that.

Why Rafa didn't replace Joselu, who is poor on the showing we've seen so far, with Mitrovic who is desperate to play, and played another goal-shy player in Perez, is a poor bit of management.

I'll praise Rafa for understanding we needed to do something different than the Joselu/Perez failure, and making that change to partner Joselu with Gayle. But I'll be equally critical of his change, during the match, bringing Perez on for Joselu. It makes no sense.

We're in this awful position, which has been masked for a few games, as our defenders and midfielders have come up with the goods that we knew our forwards would be missing - which is the fat-fucks fault for not investing properly for a proper striker, which was plain as day going to be needed.

We've been sussed-out. January cannot come soon enough.
 
We are, what we are and someone said it the other day on the telly in that we have a championship side with a champions league manager.

The game against Bournemouth, like the majority of our other games, could have produced a different result such was the lack of a dominating team on the day but the reward for a potential lucky last gasp win over Crystal Palace was to see us suffer a similar fate in our next home game.

Us, like Palace, didn't really deserve the end result considering.....

As it was, it was an end to end game which lacked the excitement of the description and there was no lack of effort from most although one or two of ours were below par or just not good enough. The likes of Atsu who hardly busted a gut to get in wide positions and Rob Elliot come to mind here.

We know that enough money hasn't been invested in the squad for years and we know that Rafa was left short in the last couple of transfer windows but it hasn't stopped people criticising him. Whether it's short sightedness or not is debatable although it's a dangerous game to play if we make him an untouchable sort when it comes to handing out the criticism badges. I guess he'd be one of the first to hold his hands up if he thinks he has made a mistake and unless im mistaken, I dont think he has done that recently which explains a lot.

Rafa wont come out and complain about his weak links in the squad but we're screaming out for a proper striker. Everyone knows this. We are also needing the same efforts on finding a confident dominating keeper, another player in the mould of Merino in the middle, a left back and dare I say a proper touchline hugging left sided winger. This is just for starters.

Obviously, takeover or not, the long term goal would be to improve the players in positions we have but with Rafa's tactics and with the personnel at his disposal, there is just enough to survive this year although a couple of players of quality in January will give us breathing space to allow the premier league kitty cash to mount up and give us a better chance of a spend.

Bournemouth did their homework on us but didn't stop us playing. Gayle made countless brilliantly timed runs that were either not seen or attempted passes were cut out although one of them was clearly onside from my viewpoint when he latched on to Ritchie's shot off the post to slot in but like the hundreds of times we've mentioned the officials before on spoiling the game, we cant just blame them for other failings.

Their goal was like ours against Crystal Palace in that when you get a set piece in the later stages of the game, you have nothing to lose by lumping it in the box as one decent connection will pay dividends 99% of the time and it proved the case. Call it a freak goal but thems the breaks.

Atsu for me today along with Elliot and his slo mo distribution were the pick of the bad uns but touching on the Rafa criticism, I think it's harsh to say the least because he gambled today. He gambled on introducing a second striker into a system that he has trusted for years and he allowed it to expand to two strikers up front for certain periods of the game.

In fairness it didn't fail and on another day and in the case of the Spurs home game without a Shelvey red card, the Brighton game, the Southampton away game, Liverpool at home as well as Burnley the other night, it could so easily have seen results go in our favour as the effort is there as well as the game plan. The officials could also be blamed in one or two of these as well.

With a weak squad overall trying to play a system that will really excel with better quality players, we're getting enough to provide results but it's borderline at present. Hopefully January will change things with a new owner.

As for the Mitrovic saga, people need to let go. We've had our say on him that he needs more chances than Cisse to find the target but there's obviously something more to this than meets the eye. As Rafa is the bloke who gets paid to pick the team then he deserves the chance as well as the respect to pick who he wants. He cant just stick a player in because a handful of people on social media are screaming out for the Serbian heed the baal to win the game in the later stages when in all honesty he may just as easily been sent off and cost us the game.

With the benefit of hindsight, maybe Rafa would have thrown him in late today but I see it that Rafa is trying one last gasp mind game in moulding Mitrovic in taking his next chance if he gets one as he'll be full of fire. If this doesn't transcend into his training then you can understand the reluctance to allow play time.

We'll be alright this season based on what ive witnessed but it wont be pretty and we've many games ahead that will be touch and go until the end.

 
Think Elliot comes in for some harsh criticism in my opinion . Yes he is no De Gea but he pulled off two good saves today to help keep it at 0-0 . Ritchie stated like a train and faded ( like the whole team ) in the second half. It's all ifs and buts but if our goal would have stood we may have got something from the game.
On a side note that Lejunne so far looks a cracking signing. In the games he has played for coming into the league as a new player he has adapted really well. Laschelles this season has given off an aura of confidence and authority and with Clark to fill in during his absence no longer if one of our first choice centre halves gets injured do we think shit.... We have 4 really good centre halves.
 
Elliot doesn't make mistakes per se but he's just not a particularly good keeper, he makes saves keepers should make but I've never seen him make a "how the fuck did he keep that out" stop, which was something I used to think a lot when we had Shay for example . His distribution and kicking's poor, though I do think he's working on it as it's slightly less poor than previously but it's still fucking rubbish. At best he's a mid level Championship keeper.
 
Elliot did well in my opinion, unjustified criticism. His distribution could be better.
We did not play with two strikers, we played with no strikers. You can go on all day about creating chances but if you do not have players that can put the ball in the net then you are on a hiding to nothing.
Poor defending by the central defenders on the goal and they had a warning just before.
Nobody really creative on the pitch, players with overblown reputations who are not performing.
Don't see much in the squad as a whole so we must hope for a takeover or it is going to be a long season.
Do they practice crossing and shooting on target on the training ground, you would not think so from the evidence on the pitch.
 
Elliot may be a decent lad away from the pitch but let's not pretend he is a capable premier league keeper.

As Keggy says, he saves the majority of shots that a competent keeper should do but his distribution can generally see us straight on the back foot and see him as the last line in something that he instigated.

Aside from this side of his game, his inability to read the speed of the game is my biggest grumble about him with umpteen chances to break or keep momentum going just stopped in their tracks as he lets the opposition get back into their formation as he cant see a pass.

Alongside a striker, I reckon Rafa will have it as an area that will be have been heavily scouted recently and if we get taken over then we could get anyone aside from the really top keepers.
 
I thought Elliot and Atsu did reasonably well.

Also, Lejeune did very well with that Bournemouth 'miss' which should have been a goal - he prevented the run into the center of the goal so that Rob Elliot could concentrate on just his near post. A bad miss for Bournemouth, but in reality, it was well defended in a desperate situation with the pace with the forward.

Once again, the lack of a cutting edge up front cost us the points - in two ways - first in the ability to score a goal, and secondly in the opposition knowing we don't have a lethal goalscorer, thus their will to attack us all the time rather than be more cautious.

Mitrovic, if not started, simply should have been given some playing time. No question about this in my mind.

Also, Joselu should now be dropped. For Mitrovic.

Mitrovic will score for Serbia.
 
CuckFan - 5/11/2017 13:07

I thought Elliot and Atsu did reasonably well.

Also, Lejeune did very well with that Bournemouth 'miss' which should have been a goal - he prevented the run into the center of the goal so that Rob Elliot could concentrate on just his near post. A bad miss for Bournemouth, but in reality, it was well defended in a desperate situation with the pace with the forward.

Once again, the lack of a cutting edge up front cost us the points - in two ways - first in the ability to score a goal, and secondly in the opposition knowing we don't have a lethal goalscorer, thus their will to attack us all the time rather than be more cautious.

Mitrovic, if not started, simply should have been given some playing time. No question about this in my mind.

Also, Joselu should now be dropped. For Mitrovic.

Mitrovic will score for Serbia.

Atsu was our worst player yesterday as he hid for most of the game.

Far too many times he chose to run into the centre of the pitch when we were in possession, which in turn made him unavailable for a pass when the smart move for a left sided winger is to head out there and stretch the play.

Also when he's on the ball, he doesn't use his pace to run at players instead he will try to go on the outside or pass to someone else on our side after he's went passed a couple, only then to make the next player on our side have to beat them again due to the work being undone.

He also didn't track back quick enough for me and actually looked unfit. It was no surprise that he was changed for Murphy.
 
Murphy was our worst player yesterday, despite being on for a very short period of time. He lost the ball EVERY time he had it.

Joselu did very very little too. Atsu had a shot at least, I don't think Joselu did. Plus, a few wide runs.
 
Thought Atsu started off pretty well had his defender turning inside and out, same with Ritchie (think he always sets himself high standards) but by those high standards faded a bit second half but so did the entire team.
Elliot is a capable premiership keeper. He is no world beater but last time we were in the premiership he was often the difference from us having our pants pulled down and spanked. Apart from Courtois and De Gea I think he is on a par with the remainder of keepers possibly Schmeichel is also better.