Rafa Benitez

[rijit]

A treble of Mancini,Benitez and AVB not being at the clubs at the start of next season is a decent bet.

Yep, should be reasonable odds on that accumulator. Mankini will be off to Monaco, Average Very Boring will be back in the Portuguese league, and Benitez will be back waiting tables in Torquay.

Of course it will be reasonable odd's because it ain't going to happen, well the AVB part anyway !

Yes the AVB part is the longest odds of the three! perfectly understandable that you would suggest he is staying put,but sadly it is not your shout!

Ferguson to leave United at the end of the season is another very good bet.

Ferguson going wouldn't surprise me, especially being guardiola is available and imo would be a good fit at utd.

[sotsira]

Hughes probably can't believe that he's not been the first to have been sacked. If he gets a result at United this weekend he'll probably be safe for a few more weeks. Will be interesting to see the odds moving on other managers now such as AVB, Mankini and Lambert. Maybe if Benitez struggles initially he'll also be gone in quick time, anything is possible at Chavski.

Hughes has been sacked Friday 23rd Nov.

Only just lost the race and came in a close second.

Who's next i wonder?

[carmine]

Terrified.

Its a bit worrying i agree. I never been truely convinced about zonal defending. One thing i do know is you have to have very good man to man defenders to implement it well. Your best man to man marker i've seen was Essien who's now proving what a better player than Modric he is at Madrid

You would know more than me about the strengths of your defese/midfield in that department.

Personally i wouldn't worry too much because Benitez is a lot more tactically savvy than your mug following would actually grasp and he'll probably have you playing to your strengths very quickly.

I see the potential toxic influence of Terry and Cole by far the most worrying

[alfieconn]

Terrified.

Its a bit worrying i agree. I never been truely convinced about zonal defending. One thing i do know is you have to have very good man to man defenders to implement it well. Your best man to man marker i've seen was Essien who's now proving what a better player than Modric he is at Madrid

You would know more than me about the strengths of your defese/midfield in that department.

Personally i wouldn't worry too much because Benitez is a lot more tactically savvy than your mug following would actually grasp and he'll probably have you playing to your strengths very quickly.

I see the potential toxic influence of Terry and Cole by far the most worrying

To be fair carms, i never rated it but after reading a piece about it the other day it does make sense !

[mjj]

Zonal marking might make Luiz more efficient. Now, I'm not going to get into a debate about how good or bad Luiz is, but I do watch nearly every Chelsea game, so I see him a lot. In my opinion he makes most of the interceptions at chelsea and his problem is he is always chasing the ball. Cahill on the other hand will back off and let the player come to him.

So the zonal system might slow him down a bit which will improve his game. One on one I believe Luiz is one of the best defenders in the prem. His positioning and puppy chasing a ball aspect is what lets him down, so zonal marking might be the making of him.

[alfieconn]

Zonal marking might make Luiz more efficient. Now, I'm not going to get into a debate about how good or bad Luiz is, but I do watch nearly every Chelsea game, so I see him a lot. In my opinion he makes most of the interceptions at chelsea and his problem is he is always chasing the ball. Cahill on the other hand will back off and let the player come to him.

So the zonal system might slow him down a bit which will improve his game. One on one I believe Luiz is one of the best defenders in the prem. His positioning and puppy chasing a ball aspect is what lets him down, so zonal marking might be the making of him.

The Zonal marking system only applies to set pieces !

[StevieH]

Zonal marking might make Luiz more efficient. Now, I'm not going to get into a debate about how good or bad Luiz is, but I do watch nearly every Chelsea game, so I see him a lot. In my opinion he makes most of the interceptions at chelsea and his problem is he is always chasing the ball. Cahill on the other hand will back off and let the player come to him.

So the zonal system might slow him down a bit which will improve his game. One on one I believe Luiz is one of the best defenders in the prem. His positioning and puppy chasing a ball aspect is what lets him down, so zonal marking might be the making of him.

The Zonal marking system only applies to set pieces !

indeed. shows just how misunderstood it is by many football fans.

it's hardly a new thing anyway - the liverpool hansen/lawrenson defence in the 80s used a zonal system. if it's implemented correctly and everyone does their jobs it works really well.

[mjj]

Oh!?

[carmine]

Terrified.

Its a bit worrying i agree. I never been truely convinced about zonal defending. One thing i do know is you have to have very good man to man defenders to implement it well. Your best man to man marker i've seen was Essien who's now proving what a better player than Modric he is at Madrid

You would know more than me about the strengths of your defese/midfield in that department.

Personally i wouldn't worry too much because Benitez is a lot more tactically savvy than your mug following would actually grasp and he'll probably have you playing to your strengths very quickly.

I see the potential toxic influence of Terry and Cole by far the most worrying

To be fair carms, i never rated it but after reading a piece about it the other day it does make sense !

Juries out for me. You have to be such a well drilled and disciplined unit.

I'd say if you are already a proven side at defending set pieces leave it alone

[alfieconn]

Oh!?

Don't worry mjj, we appreciate you havn't been going too football for too long

[carmine]

Oh!?

Don't worry mjj, we appreciate you havn't been going too football for too long

Its an intesting one and i threw it in yesterday because i can recall Benitez using it. As said it does work well if implemented perfectly but it was only a couple of weeks ago i was watching a team using it (can't remember which game) and the defending team was pulled horridly out of shape left a player on his own with acres of space and duely conceded.

[alfieconn]

Oh!?

Don't worry mjj, we appreciate you havn't been going too football for too long

Its an intesting one and i threw it in yesterday because i can recall Benitez using it. As said it does work well if implemented perfectly but it was only a couple of weeks ago i was watching a team using it (can't remember which game) and the defending team was pulled horridly out of shape left a player on his own with acres of space and duely conceded.

In theory it should work fine if you have 3 strong determined defenders in front of the goal !!!

PS, i can just picture mjj franticly googling zonal marking, lol

[carmine]

Oh!?

Don't worry mjj, we appreciate you havn't been going too football for too long

Its an intesting one and i threw it in yesterday because i can recall Benitez using it. As said it does work well if implemented perfectly but it was only a couple of weeks ago i was watching a team using it (can't remember which game) and the defending team was pulled horridly out of shape left a player on his own with acres of space and duely conceded.

In theory it should work fine if you have 3 strong determined defenders in front of the goal !!!

Kaboul, Caulker, Vertoghen.

[StevieH]

Its an intesting one and i threw it in yesterday because i can recall Benitez using it. As said it does work well if implemented perfectly but it was only a couple of weeks ago i was watching a team using it (can't remember which game) and the defending team was pulled horridly out of shape left a player on his own with acres of space and duely conceded.

it works if everyone does their jobs. you defend your zone and don't get dragged by opponents' movement, but you must attack the ball when it comes in. you defend the ball, not the man. in fact it should more correctly be called zonal defending, because you're not actually 'marking' anyone.

[JacknDanny]

Oh!?

Don't worry mjj, we appreciate you havn't been going too football for too long

Its an intesting one and i threw it in yesterday because i can recall Benitez using it. As said it does work well if implemented perfectly but it was only a couple of weeks ago i was watching a team using it (can't remember which game) and the defending team was pulled horridly out of shape left a player on his own with acres of space and duely conceded.

Probably City V Ajax.

Perfect example of what happens with zonal marking if it is not adhered to 110%

[mjj]

Oh!?

Don't worry mjj, we appreciate you havn't been going too football for too long

Its an intesting one and i threw it in yesterday because i can recall Benitez using it. As said it does work well if implemented perfectly but it was only a couple of weeks ago i was watching a team using it (can't remember which game) and the defending team was pulled horridly out of shape left a player on his own with acres of space and duely conceded.

In theory it should work fine if you have 3 strong determined defenders in front of the goal !!!

PS, i can just picture mjj franticly googling zonal marking, lol

Nah, I'm not much of a tactician. I just go for scoring more than you conceed. If I was a manager my formation would be 0-0-10.

Pity we don't have a striker. :-(

[MrRed]

At the end of the day it so embarrassing how the muppets from mersydive love this guy.

[rijit]

Already the cynics are at work!!! http://until-rafa-goes.co.uk/

[Kipperthai]

At the end of the day it so embarrassing how the muppets from mersydive love this guy.

A polite <deleted> off ,that's all this muppet fro merseyside can off er right now .

[smokie36]

I was thinking he's doing OK here....then I remembered...

Its gonna take some time to adjust I guess.

[mjj]

Great half time team talk Rafa!

[carmine]

Great half time team talk Rafa!

Were you there? What did he say?

[alfieconn]

Great half time team talk Rafa!

Were you there? What did he say?

I suspect Rafa of being a double agent, sent in by the rest of the premiership to seek and destroy

[mrtoad]

Will he be waiting tables again by Christmas

[MrRed]

What a poor display from a poor manager,the half-time message must of been very good indeed.

[mrtoad]

What a poor display from a poor manager,the half-time message must of been very good indeed.

Benitez is very good at creating mid table teams, he looks to have got off to a great start at Chavski

[rijit]

In fairness, I reckon benitez has a point regarding the chav's s looking tired, especially the new crop of signings look how they started the season, they looked world beaters, unstoppable, now they look still look good but unstoppable, i think not, IMO the week in week out huge physical demands of English footy is beginning to show on them.

[MrRed]

Will he be waiting tables again by Christmas

Be lucky if they will take him on i think!

[rijit]

Oh and I watched Torres closely yesterday, there were so many times he needed to bust a gut to get to a better space and put pressure on the defense, he didnt, to me it really looks as though he doesn't give flying <deleted>---!! he really really is 100% there for the money NOTHING ELSE, time for the chav's to cut their losses imo and get rid.

[JacknDanny]

I think if Chelsea bring in Avram Grant, as has been suggested in todays press, to 'guide' Benitez, then Rafa needs to lift up his skirt and check that he still has a pair!!

It goes from the ridiculous to the sublime.

Bring in Public Enemy Number 1 ( in the Chelsea fans eyes) and then bring in Public Enemy Number 2 to help him!!

Rafa and Avram!! The way forward to bring winning football back to Stamford Bridge. LMFAO