Chelsea hire Rafael Benitez as manager

Benitez has been hired as interim manager for one season at Chelsea FC.

Why do you think?

Is this a clever move with Guardiola a possibilty next year?
Can Benitez himself be successful, can he get the best out of Torres?

Or have Chelsea and Roman cemented their places as laughing stocks?


IMBL

A mix of a all 3

Yes it's a wise move getting a replacement in for the season
He could potentially get the best from Torres
Chelsea board has always been a laughing stock when it comes to sacking managers

absolutetly ridiclous that Di Matteo was sacked in the first place, and lets be honest, the job is a poisoned chalice..

Hes there to right the ship and make sure they have CL football next season when guardiola takes over.

Seemed pretty obvious in the summer that RDM was a stopgap

As I said on a different thread, Benitez can use this to his advantage. If he does well here, whether or not Abramovich gets Pep at the end of the season (as he will always try to, whether Benitez wins every trophy he possibly can), Benitez should move on as he can restore his reputation and not suffer the inevitable sacking from Roman.

Benitez is a good manager, and it was pretty clear that Roman didnt want to give RDM the job in the first place, so this is just him doing what he does. And lets face it, they rotate managers but they have won trophies so I guess Roman will feel vindicated

I think this could be a coup for Chelsea sadly. Benitez is very tactically astute and likes to play quick and effective counter attacking. With the players at his disposal he could make a real impression here. The only think missing is the deep lying play maker which Benitez loves to have.

Chelsea fans my slightly peeved now but am sure a few wins will win them over.

To be honest I am not sure what fuss is about regarding Guardiola. He inherited a world class team and had success and now he's rated as one of the top managers in the world?? I'd I would have liked to see him with a mediocre team and see how he gets on there. Its not like Barca's playing style dramatically changed when he took over the helm.

I think Pep would be found out at Chelsea and his reputation tainted if he moves next summer. As someone said earlier, he inherited a world class squad, didn't exactly change anything drastically to put his own mark on the team and with those players and style of play they were already playing he couldnt really fail. With Chealse you have a cut throat man at the top that will drop you if you lose two on the bounce, players that are not in the same league as the Barcelona team and a highly competitive league with possibly 4-5 teams battling for the top where as La Liga is between two of them. Pep would have been better off rinsing Barca for all it was worth, Chelsea could potentially ruin him.

With that being said pep could see Chelsea as the right move to prove he is a world class manager away from Barcelona and there mass of playing talent. I think any coach would struggle at Stamford bridge the expectation to perform from the get go is huge and better managers with better CV's have tried and failed, I'm struggling to see how anyone can produce the goods that red rom so desperately coverts.

I'd like to know just what Roman deems being a successful manager is at Chelsea. Does even he know what he wants from a manager?

It's bonkers at Chelsea. That muppet on talk sport Durham said 'it's a results business, he's not met results'.

Improved league position, bringing the squad together, handling the chelsea stance on racism with dignity, fa cup win, champions league win. Yeah he's really failed. The only thing he failed was to get Roman's toy to work correctly. I'm sure Rafa will do much better though. As someone phoned Durham to say 'I can guarentee Chelsea will win the league with Rafa this season'.

Abramovich should just make himself the manager, it would save a lot of money.

It's obvious why he's been sacked and that is Chelsea's total and utter failure in Europe, they are almost definitely going to be going out of the Champions League now, the first champions ever to fail to make it out of the group stage.

It wasn't an easy group, but they should have progressed really.

Crimey wrote:It's obvious why he's been sacked and that is Chelsea's total and utter failure in Europe, they are almost definitely going to be going out of the Champions League now, the first champions ever to fail to make it out of the group stage.

It wasn't an easy group, but they should have progressed really.

I have to beg to differ Crimey. Shakhtar are vastly underrated and I dont think many teams will go there and pick up points. Won the Ukranian league for the past three years, have had success in Europe winning UEFA Cup in 2009(I think), . Juventus went the whole league campaign undefeated last season and have only been beaten for the first time in 40 odd games against Inter recently. If it was any of the other English teams in that group, I wouldn't have fancied there chances much either. Although I do think Man City had the toughest group.

Crimey wrote:It's obvious why he's been sacked and that is Chelsea's total and utter failure in Europe, they are almost definitely going to be going out of the Champions League now, the first champions ever to fail to make it out of the group stage.

It wasn't an easy group, but they should have progressed really.

You don't think after what he achieved last year and the positive start he has made this season he derserves a little more time? Hasn't had the best form of late but then every team has bad patches, you only have to look as far your team to know that much. I think he was never first choice and Roman has had someone else lined up for a while and was just waiting for the slightest excuse to pull the trigger.

And what is the point of yet another interim manager? The decision was obviously made before the Juve game anyway. How else could they have got Rafa in so quickly?

Rom was never fully sold on RDM hence the fact he was interim manager after AVB was sacked, his appointment was out of necessity rather than he was the man they wanted and this is what has ultimately led to his dismissal. I think RDM would have been the first to admit that as soon as results started to slip he would be on the chopping block. That being said you would have thought a CL win would have brought him so more time. The new interim manager will face the same challenge, no matter how well he does he will always be a means to an end, not the choose one which pep obviously is.

two_tone wrote:

Crimey wrote:It's obvious why he's been sacked and that is Chelsea's total and utter failure in Europe, they are almost definitely going to be going out of the Champions League now, the first champions ever to fail to make it out of the group stage.

It wasn't an easy group, but they should have progressed really.

You don't think after what he achieved last year and the positive start he has made this season he derserves a little more time? Hasn't had the best form of late but then every team has bad patches, you only have to look as far your team to know that much. I think he was never first choice and Roman has had someone else lined up for a while and was just waiting for the slightest excuse to pull the trigger.

I didn't say it was the right decision, I'm just pointing out those who seem to be confused as to why he has been sacked are missing the obvious.

spencerclarke wrote:And what is the point of yet another interim manager? The decision was obviously made before the Juve game anyway. How else could they have got Rafa in so quickly?

1. Rafa was contacted last year before RDM was ever even made interim manager himself about taking over, but refused, so I imagine he has been in close contact since.
2. Apparently they spoke almost immediately after that game.
3. Rumours are that RDM was told before the game that he was going to be sacked, either if he lost, or if he dropped Torres.

Why the flying f*ck anyone would want to manage Chelsea after this God knows

Didn't Ancellotti win the PL and FA Cup the penultimate season before he was sacked??
RDM won the CL, and the FA Cup (also overturning a 1st leg defecit in QF of CL) for Chelsea, and he essentially gets treated like sh*t.

Crimey do your statements not tell immediately what's wrong there? The match that will pretty much determine your fate in the champions league and you are told who tp play!!!? Yet another non football person getting things wrong for a club. There is no genuine reason tp sack him. The improvements are there to see. Torres is the problem with his pettiness. Plus hours after the clubs greatest achievement he was whinging about not playing enough.

Also you cannot have a legally binding contract all written agreed and so on in a few hours. So it was all done well before the game.

Double edged sword Roman. Pfizer course without his involvement Chelsea would be nowhere but hismanagement at times is what has stopped Chelsea cermenting a legacy.

spencerclarke wrote:Crimey do your statements not tell immediately what's wrong there? The match that will pretty much determine your fate in the champions league and you are told who tp play!!!? Yet another non football person getting things wrong for a club. There is no genuine reason tp sack him. The improvements are there to see. Torres is the problem with his pettiness. Plus hours after the clubs greatest achievement he was whinging about not playing enough.

Also you cannot have a legally binding contract all written agreed and so on in a few hours. So it was all done well before the game.

Double edged sword Roman. Pfizer course without his involvement Chelsea would be nowhere but hismanagement at times is what has stopped Chelsea cermenting a legacy.

What part of my statements made you think I agreed with the decision? I'm not saying the decision is the right one or Abramovich was justified in making it, only that it's not as shocking as some people are making out and there a clear reasons for him doing so.

Saying they are 'clear' reasons and patronising the board as though they don't understand whats happened does make you sound a little agreeable if you ask me.

I'm not trying to patronise anybody. I'm just saying that the reasoning is clear from Abramovich, he has been sacked for failure in Europe as they're likely to have failed to get out of the group stage.

I don't see why that suggests I agree with Abramovich.

Aristotle said that it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. That's all I'm doing.

I realise that you are just trying to play devil's advocate crimey.

I just don't buy that it was because they were likely to go out of the champions league. If he hadn't gotten involved before the juve game who's to say it wouldn't be a completely differentresult? At best he is naive and not very clever. He has shot himself in the foot and has turned a lot of fans against him. Plus not talking to any press at all is a little pathetic.

You do question how he has done so well in business. I bit of an enigma

Crimey wrote:I'm not trying to patronise anybody. I'm just saying that the reasoning is clear from Abramovich, he has been sacked for failure in Europe as they're likely to have failed to get out of the group stage.

I don't see why that suggests I agree with Abramovich.

Aristotle said that it is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. That's all I'm doing.

First time i've seen Aristotle quoted on a football forum- good work Crimey!!!

lol currently we have 74% agreeing that Chelsea board have lost the plot.

They really do appear to be a bunch of clueless nutters when it comes to decision making (well Roman anyway).

Mourhino wins first PL in ages, in-fact wins 2 in a row, he is out just because they didn't win the PL season after that.
Scolari, AVB barely get any time at all, certainly to create a stamp on your team you need at-least 7-8 months time.
Grant improves Chelsea, who fight bravely in PL and very close to CL title, one penalty kick away. Immediately sacked after the season.
Ancelloti seals incredible double, both PL and FA Cup. Sacked the next season.
Di Matteo wins FA Cup and Champions League, out of nowhere. Next season his team reach top of the League in October, playing stunning football. In November bit of a dip, dropping just behind top 2 by a very small margin.
Sacked.

It Must Be Love wrote:lol currently we have 74% agreeing that Chelsea board have lost the plot.

They really do appear to be a bunch of clueless nutters when it comes to decision making (well Roman anyway).

Mourhino wins first PL in ages, in-fact wins 2 in a row, he is out just because they didn't win the PL season after that.
Scolari, AVB barely get any time at all, certainly to create a stamp on your team you need at-least 7-8 months time.
Grant improves Chelsea, who fight bravely in PL and very close to CL title, one penalty kick away. Immediately sacked after the season.
Ancelloti seals incredible double, both PL and FA Cup. Sacked the next season.
Di Matteo wins FA Cup and Champions League, out of nowhere. Next season his team reach top of the League in October, playing stunning football. In November bit of a dip, dropping just behind top 2 by a very small margin.
Sacked.

Which makes you wonder whether Guardiola will really want to work under this lot if or when he wants a return to football. Man City would be a better destination if they part company with Mancini, at least the hierarchy at Eastlands let their manager do a job without interfering and meddling. That's if he wants to come to England of course.

I keep reading all this about Abramovic craving free flowing attractive football yet he appoints Benitez who will deliver nothing of the sort. Even in his two successful seasons at Liverpool they were hardly pleasing on the eye, expect the same at the Bridge for the remainder of this season.

When the dust has settled and Di Matteo has taken stock he'll probably be glad to be free of it all. Good luck to him in his next job. He deserves it.

Chelsea fans furioius, boo Benitez; and sing the name of Di Matteo.

Nice to hear he got a warm reception then. Can't believe the nerve of Romanov to appoint him; what was he thinking? Rafa's a good tactical manager but is the worst man manager I've ever seen in my life. Add to that what he said about Chelsea (and the fans in particular!!) and this is a one-way ticket to disaster. He'll fall out with Terry, lose the dressing room and be out sooner than later.

All IMO of course. I feel sorry for Mata.

http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/i-would-never-take-that-job-rafael-benitez-quotes-on-chelsea-come-back-to-bite-him-8343813.html

No surprise they booed him if he said all that! One quote, you can get away with, but that many?!

Rafa was never going to be popular with the Chelsea fans but it doesn't look like the fans feelings have much power with the owner .

I was reading on some sites lastnight that Pep has told Chelsea he wants a guaranteed contract were he cant be sacked for 2 full seasons , i cant see how that could work myself .

Seen an interesting theory doing the rounds now that Benitez was appointed to manager so as to deflect criticism away from Abramovich. It seems to work as Benitez is getting the abuse from the fans for Di Matteo's sacking, not Roman.

Does anyone think Rafa may not see the month out ?

Kenny wrote:Does anyone think Rafa may not see the month out ?

Probably the month but the season itself? This is going to end ugly either way.

FreekShow wrote:

Kenny wrote:Does anyone think Rafa may not see the month out ?

Probably the month but the season itself? This is going to end ugly either way.

it reminds me of when Brian Clough took over at Leeds , he just wasn't wanted and lasted what 44 days ?

Rumours Benitez may be sacked soon according to rumours.

Pressure is already building.

Chelsea fans are making Benitez the scapegoat because they are too afraid to chant and boo Abrahmovich.

It's clear they are angry with Roman, but are making Benitez the scapegoat. If you're angry at Roman, direct your anger at Roman, he sits in the bloody boxes every game!!!

Yes if Roman had been wise he could have utilised his money even more.
They could have achieved more success and been more stable.
Yes, they've achieved a lot with Romans money, but Chelsea's situation could be much better now than it is.

Well take his money out of the club and they are quite royally screwed!

Yes Olly.

Would not be surprised if within the next 5 years Roman left Chelsea.
Already you feel they are a club slowly declining (yes, despite them winning the CL last year).

I, like many others, was recently appalled and Chelsea's handling of both the John Terry case, and the Mark Clattenburg claim.

Chelsea's 'apology' a few weeks ago was frankly half-hearted, and was not direct at all.
This was a funny article I came across on NewsThump, a parody news site:
http://newsthump.com/2012/11/29/chelsea-fc-apologise-to-chelsea-fc-for-making-them-look-bad-in-clattenburg-saga/