Chelsea Fc Thread

[mjj]

Henry Winter's alternative view.

Yet in Rafa’s world others are culpable. Like the board: it should not have called him “interim” despite his agent agreeing to it, despite the “caretaker” tag hardly inhibiting Roberto Di Matteo. Like the supporters: they are responsible for engendering the atmosphere of negativity around the team.

Benítez argues that fans have gone too far in their protests against him. Many observers agree. Yet in an era when supporters are often accused of being fickle, Chelsea’s dissenters have proved the opposite. The antithesis of “plastic” fans, they have stuck rigidly and vocally to a point of principle. They did not want Benítez.

Manchester United fans currently pouring scorn on the Shed and Matthew Harding Upper and Lower should consider how splenetic their reaction would be if the Glazers (in a moment of madness) appointed Benítez as Ferguson’s successor. (The fuss about “fans waving their plastic flags” is slightly misguided. Real Madrid often hand out thousands of them for their bigger games and nobody would ever accuse Bernabéu regulars of lacking passion or heritage.)

[rixalex]

He didn't come out against those loyal fans that support the club did he?

He came out against the fans that continue to protest against him and make a poor atmosphere for home matches and said it affects the players as well.

He did it to let the fans know he will be out at the end of the season and since they've got their way, to now turn around and support the players. Not him. But the players. That was the point.

Wednesday. You're talking about the shower of <deleted> that you won 2-0? You doth protest too much, methinks.

As far as Rafa letting them have their way is concerned, i don't think that saying he would be going was exactly a very big concession to make, considering the fact that he hasn't done anything with the club to suggest the owner would have been trying to persuade him to stay. Everyone knew he would be going, if not at the end of his contract, sooner. So he hasn't "given" the fans anything. All he has done is waged war with them by putting the blame for the team's poor performances on them, and got their backs up even more. He's also shown that they are getting to him. That's the last thing you do with these sorts of people. Only encourages them more.

Idiotic plan that will only put him under even more pressure.

[alfieconn]

Henry Winter's alternative view.

Yet in Rafa’s world others are culpable. Like the board: it should not have called him “interim” despite his agent agreeing to it, despite the “caretaker” tag hardly inhibiting Roberto Di Matteo. Like the supporters: they are responsible for engendering the atmosphere of negativity around the team.

Benítez argues that fans have gone too far in their protests against him. Many observers agree. Yet in an era when supporters are often accused of being fickle, Chelsea’s dissenters have proved the opposite. The antithesis of “plastic” fans, they have stuck rigidly and vocally to a point of principle. They did not want Benítez.

Manchester United fans currently pouring scorn on the Shed and Matthew Harding Upper and Lower should consider how splenetic their reaction would be if the Glazers (in a moment of madness) appointed Benítez as Ferguson’s successor. (The fuss about “fans waving their plastic flags” is slightly misguided. Real Madrid often hand out thousands of them for their bigger games and nobody would ever accuse Bernabéu regulars of lacking passion or heritage.)

Looking at this as an outsider then surely they should be having a pop at the fella who employed him ! Hav'nt seen anyone blaming him.

Anyone with a bit of nous would have known that Benitez with his baggage wasn't going to do a better job than RDM.

[rixalex]

Henry Winter's alternative view.

Yet in Rafa’s world others are culpable. Like the board: it should not have called him “interim” despite his agent agreeing to it, despite the “caretaker” tag hardly inhibiting Roberto Di Matteo. Like the supporters: they are responsible for engendering the atmosphere of negativity around the team.

Benítez argues that fans have gone too far in their protests against him. Many observers agree. Yet in an era when supporters are often accused of being fickle, Chelsea’s dissenters have proved the opposite. The antithesis of “plastic” fans, they have stuck rigidly and vocally to a point of principle. They did not want Benítez.

Manchester United fans currently pouring scorn on the Shed and Matthew Harding Upper and Lower should consider how splenetic their reaction would be if the Glazers (in a moment of madness) appointed Benítez as Ferguson’s successor. (The fuss about “fans waving their plastic flags” is slightly misguided. Real Madrid often hand out thousands of them for their bigger games and nobody would ever accuse Bernabéu regulars of lacking passion or heritage.)

Looking at this as an outsider then surely they should be having a pop at the fella who employed him ! Hav'nt seen anyone blaming him.

Anyone with a bit of nous would have known that Benitez with his baggage wasn't going to do a better job than RDM.

I think they are nervous of biting the hand that feeds them.

[carmine]

I was going to watch Swans Toon tomorrow but i think this Chelsea match will be more entertaining off and on the field. The Fans, The "Interim" boss and how the team react on the pitch. Fascinating implosion

You ain,t seen nothing yet mate. He is going to cop it big time tomorow,and he bloody deserves it,the more i think about it,what a cheeky bastard coming out and blaming the fans. Fans that have travelled to Japan in the World Club Champs half way round the world and wednesday night in the freezing bloody cold over 2,000 having to take time off work to watch that shower of <deleted> he turned out. Last weekend givin it the big un before the city game saying we can finish in the top 2,top 2 my arse,not with his team selections rotations and substitutions. Worst of all is not once has he held his hands up and said its my fault not once. What a gutless spineless git he is.

Just calm down a bit! Read the transcript again. All he's really said is if you want to get in the top four then the supporters would be best served helping the team not booing. He's absolutely spot on Keith and i doubt very much if the fans that travelled to Japan are the ones booing. Those supporters support the team regardless of whether they like the manager or not.

Whether you like it or not your owner has chosen Benitez. Take it out on him because he's the fundamental reason you are in this situation. I'd be reasonably sure if those little twerps, the like i saw on the tele with their Rafa Out flags, were Spurs fans behaving that way to a Spurs manager they would get a few slaps and have their purile little flags torched.

Get behind your team and stop making excuses for your bipolar owner

[carmine]

Henry Winter's alternative view.

Yet in Rafa’s world others are culpable. Like the board: it should not have called him “interim” despite his agent agreeing to it, despite the “caretaker” tag hardly inhibiting Roberto Di Matteo. Like the supporters: they are responsible for engendering the atmosphere of negativity around the team.

Benítez argues that fans have gone too far in their protests against him. Many observers agree. Yet in an era when supporters are often accused of being fickle, Chelsea’s dissenters have proved the opposite. The antithesis of “plastic” fans, they have stuck rigidly and vocally to a point of principle. They did not want Benítez.

Manchester United fans currently pouring scorn on the Shed and Matthew Harding Upper and Lower should consider how splenetic their reaction would be if the Glazers (in a moment of madness) appointed Benítez as Ferguson’s successor. (The fuss about “fans waving their plastic flags” is slightly misguided. Real Madrid often hand out thousands of them for their bigger games and nobody would ever accuse Bernabéu regulars of lacking passion or heritage.)

Henry Winter used to be a good football writer. "Used" to be. In recent seasons he just writes sycophantic articles for his wannabe pals within the upper tier managers, fawning to them with the sort of questions they love to answer to.

[mjj]

You say take it out on the owner, but what do you suggest?

We don't want Roman to leave obviously, but by fans displaying Rafa Out banners, they ARE taking it out on the owner. It was his decision to employ Rafa and the select few fans are letting Roman know they are not happy with his choice.

[carmine]

You say take it out on the owner, but what do you suggest?

We don't want Roman to leave obviously, but by fans displaying Rafa Out banners, they ARE taking it out on the owner. It was his decision to employ Rafa and the select few fans are letting Roman know they are not happy with his choice.

What about a banner saying Dear, Roman, why is it that whenever you start to take a more hands on approach you turn everything to rat shit. You employ directors whose jobs are specific. Why not let them do the jobs you are paying them to do rather....

Actually what does it really matter. You'll all just keep blaming every manager, chanting Mourinho and fawning over John Terry and Abramovich's billions.

Oldgit has already claimed on here Abramovich knows what he's doing so might aswell let him get on with it. Nine managers in nine years, running out of viable options sounds just the direction an owner should be taking the club for longterm success

[rixalex]

All he's really said is if you want to get in the top four then the supporters would be best served helping the team not booing. He's absolutely spot on Keith and i doubt very much if the fans that travelled to Japan are the ones booing. Those supporters support the team regardless of whether they like the manager or not.

Right message, wrong person giving it. Rafa is the one they are angry with, rightly or wrongly, and him being the one telling them to shut it is the equivalent of the stick being poked into the bee hive. I predict all he has done is made the situation worse. He should have stuck to what he said when he arrived, and that was, there was nothing he could do about fans not liking him, besides winning games.

[mjj]

We have been here before Carmine. Spurs are not exactly a team for long term management either, what is it, 8 in 9 years? Even if you don't include CA and AI it is 6. Hiddink and Avram were never going to stay, which puts us on 7. Nothing to boast about but it is what it is.

If you were to do a search on here you would see I start a thread about letters to club owners which I did one to Roman.

We don't blame every manager either. No one want Mourinho to go, and the majority wanted Hiddink, Ancelotti, Rdm and even Ranieri to stay. I have said to this thread that I didn't want Rafa from the start and his results have done nothing to suggest my instincts were wrong. The only other manager I wanted gone was AVB.

As a footnote both AVB and RDM were sacked after a WBA game. Tonight Chelsea WBA. Hmmmmm.

[carmine]

All he's really said is if you want to get in the top four then the supporters would be best served helping the team not booing. He's absolutely spot on Keith and i doubt very much if the fans that travelled to Japan are the ones booing. Those supporters support the team regardless of whether they like the manager or not.

Right message, wrong person giving it. Rafa is the one they are angry with, rightly or wrongly, and him being the one telling them to shut it is the equivalent of the stick being poked into the bee hive. I predict all he has done is made the situation worse. He should have stuck to what he said when he arrived, and that was, there was nothing he could do about fans not liking him, besides winning games.

No no Rix, i think you are way off mark here. Benitez was spot on. And if what he said was as heinous as certain quarters are suggesting why wasn't he sacked at 4.00am like RDM? Perhaps because the powers that be knew what he said was right but they were not prepared to say it

I don't think he realised Chelsea supporters would go as far as to help the opposition in order to try and get him sacked. Thats utterly disgraceful.

Its been a very plastic shabby display all in all by them. It must be incredibly frustrating for him and i don't blame him one iota. If also heard ex chelsea players say they agree with what he said. All he's said is if they would get behind the team they would have a better chance of champions league qualification and if they don't they are the ones that will suffer because he's off anyway.

Most of all this poppycock comes from an inferiority complex surrounding so called rivalies that they see but no one else takes a blind piece of notice about.

Like him or loathe him i think Benitez has always carried himself over as a decent man and a gentleman. Unlike certain other managers that instantly spring to mind.

[alfieconn]

You say take it out on the owner, but what do you suggest?

We don't want Roman to leave obviously, but by fans displaying Rafa Out banners, they ARE taking it out on the owner. It was his decision to employ Rafa and the select few fans are letting Roman know they are not happy with his choice.

Ses it all really, money over principals !!!!

[rixalex]

No no Rix, i think you are way off mark here. Benitez was spot on.

Didn't say he wasn't spot on, i said he wasn't the right person to deliver the message, and I predict all he has done is made the situation worse.

The message needed to come from someone the fans respect. A Chelsea legend. I presume they have those?

[petermik]

A guy can be worth millions but class and intelligence is something most folks are born with

[carmine]

No no Rix, i think you are way off mark here. Benitez was spot on.

Didn't say he wasn't spot on, i said he wasn't the right person to deliver the message, and I predict all he has done is made the situation worse.

The message needed to come from someone the fans respect. A Chelsea legend. I presume they have those?

Sorry i misread that. Isn't it a shame then that no one else was prepared to stand up and be counted.

I can think of a couple of current players that could have made a comment. Funny, they are always happy to make comments to the media when their contracts up fpr renewal or they aren't getting picked

Edited March 2, 2013 by carmine

[uptheos]

I just hope that Abram doesn't have a sudden random fit of footballing genius and appoint Jurgen Klopp.

He's been popping up on UK TV a bit, so maybe the time is right for a crack at the EPL. I'm rather hoping he'll hang on to be Arsene's successor.

i think the word is that Klopp is staying put at Dortmund and is a bolt on to take over the national side when Joachim Lowe steps down.

I think if Dortmund win the CL this year, which I fancy them to do, or come very close, then Klopp will become very hot property, certainly too big for a national manager.

Chelsea/Real Madrid/ possibly Barca will be actively looking for a new manager.

You left out Man City.

[jellydog]

All he's really said is if you want to get in the top four then the supporters would be best served helping the team not booing. He's absolutely spot on Keith and i doubt very much if the fans that travelled to Japan are the ones booing. Those supporters support the team regardless of whether they like the manager or not.

Right message, wrong person giving it. Rafa is the one they are angry with, rightly or wrongly, and him being the one telling them to shut it is the equivalent of the stick being poked into the bee hive. I predict all he has done is made the situation worse. He should have stuck to what he said when he arrived, and that was, there was nothing he could do about fans not liking him, besides winning games.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how often does Abramovich speak to the press and fans about his management decisions and philosophy ? Not often, eh ? Just f-ck up and stay in the background while your manager is stuck on the pitch with no where to hide.

I think Rafa made a horrible mistake with his meltdown. The fans that have been villifying him will now crucify him, and they will be joined by others.

[carmine]

All he's really said is if you want to get in the top four then the supporters would be best served helping the team not booing. He's absolutely spot on Keith and i doubt very much if the fans that travelled to Japan are the ones booing. Those supporters support the team regardless of whether they like the manager or not.

Right message, wrong person giving it. Rafa is the one they are angry with, rightly or wrongly, and him being the one telling them to shut it is the equivalent of the stick being poked into the bee hive. I predict all he has done is made the situation worse. He should have stuck to what he said when he arrived, and that was, there was nothing he could do about fans not liking him, besides winning games.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how often does Abramovich speak to the press and fans about his management decisions and philosophy ? Not often, eh ? Just f-ck up and stay in the background while your manager is stuck on the pitch with no where to hide.

I think Rafa made a horrible mistake with his meltdown. The fans that have been villifying him will now crucify him, and they will be joined by others.

I bet every neutrals going to be tuned into this game though!

[rixalex]

All he's really said is if you want to get in the top four then the supporters would be best served helping the team not booing. He's absolutely spot on Keith and i doubt very much if the fans that travelled to Japan are the ones booing. Those supporters support the team regardless of whether they like the manager or not.

Right message, wrong person giving it. Rafa is the one they are angry with, rightly or wrongly, and him being the one telling them to shut it is the equivalent of the stick being poked into the bee hive. I predict all he has done is made the situation worse. He should have stuck to what he said when he arrived, and that was, there was nothing he could do about fans not liking him, besides winning games.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how often does Abramovich speak to the press and fans about his management decisions and philosophy ? Not often, eh ? Just f-ck up and stay in the background while your manager is stuck on the pitch with no where to hide.

I think Rafa made a horrible mistake with his meltdown. The fans that have been villifying him will now crucify him, and they will be joined by others.

Yep, i think you are right.

With all his interference, you would think Roman would be a bit more forthcoming with comments to the media. There are times when i think he certainly should explain himself, and it might actually help the situation. Guess he feels he doesn't have to. That he is above it.

As far as Rafa goes, i think whilst it is good for managers to be passionate, he has on occasions throughout his career, allowed his own emotions to get the better of him and they have made him say things that ultimately i think have not done him any good. This is one of those occasions. Would of been much better simply repeating the line that all he was doing was getting on with his job. Instead he has gone on the offensive. Perhaps had he been doing a really good job he could get away with it.

[mrbojangles]

All he's really said is if you want to get in the top four then the supporters would be best served helping the team not booing. He's absolutely spot on Keith and i doubt very much if the fans that travelled to Japan are the ones booing. Those supporters support the team regardless of whether they like the manager or not.

Right message, wrong person giving it. Rafa is the one they are angry with, rightly or wrongly, and him being the one telling them to shut it is the equivalent of the stick being poked into the bee hive. I predict all he has done is made the situation worse. He should have stuck to what he said when he arrived, and that was, there was nothing he could do about fans not liking him, besides winning games.

Maybe I'm missing something, but how often does Abramovich speak to the press and fans about his management decisions and philosophy ? Not often, eh ? Just f-ck up and stay in the background while your manager is stuck on the pitch with no where to hide.

I think Rafa made a horrible mistake with his meltdown. The fans that have been villifying him will now crucify him, and they will be joined by others.

I bet every neutrals going to be tuned into this game though!

Popcorn and beer at the ready

[mjj]

TBH, it all comes down to one thing, results. If Rafa had Chelsea playing better football than RDM, the minority that do the banners would have stopped or toned down, but he hasn't has he. Regardless of his previous 'history' with Chelsea, he just hadn't done anything to endear himself to the fans. The best thing he has done IMO is to play Luiz in midfield, but he seems to have stopped that now.

Alfie, stop being a dumbass. Money over principals! Roman had done more for Chelsea than most owners do. I suppose Levy is going to offer the salary he deserves and promise to buy more quality players to challenge for the prem next year is he? No, because he takes from you. You are a cashcow that he is milking.

[smokie36]

Popcorn and beer at the ready

Chilli pie n beer here.

Bloody northern pseudo americano poseurs!

Edited March 2, 2013 by mrbojangles
Fixed the quote

[mrbojangles]

Popcorn and beer at the ready

Chilli pie n beer here.

Bloody northern pseudo americano poseurs!

What. No deep fried MarsBars. Thought you were a proper sweaty

[mjj]

Salt n Vinegar crisps and a can or coke here. Cherry coke in the UK. No, I haven't grown up yet.

[smokie36]

Big difference between sweaty and weedgie mate.

[smokie36]

Salt n Vinegar crisps and a can or coke here. Cherry coke in the UK. No, I haven't grown up yet.

Salt n Lineker on here and as for popcorn....pffft....call yerselves footie fans??

[mrbojangles]

Salt n Vinegar crisps and a can or coke here. Cherry coke in the UK. No, I haven't grown up yet.

Salt n Lineker on here and as for popcorn....pffft....call yerselves footie fans??

They're them Caramel coated ones. Loverley. Takes hours getting them out of your teeth though. For those of us on here who are fortunate enough to still have our own teeth, that is

[smokie36]

Most of 'em on this thread have been ground to dust by hatred this season mrboj.

Its most unfortunate.

[StevieH]

Popcorn and beer at the ready

Chilli pie n beer here.

Bloody northern pseudo americano poseurs!

beer and fags on the go here. i am really looking forward to this, can't wait to see these banners and chelsea booing their team onto the pitch. it's going to be really funny.

[JacknDanny]

Popcorn and beer at the ready

Chilli pie n beer here.

Bloody northern pseudo americano poseurs!

beer and fags on the go here. i am really looking forward to this, can't wait to see these banners and chelsea booing their team onto the pitch. it's going to be really funny.

I think its going to be hilarious.

I see Chelsea steamrollering WBA, whilst at the same time the fans chanting songs against Benitez all game long