[Archived] Roberto Di Matteo

[Majiball]

WE ALL KNOW THE REAL RAFA

LOL

[Salgado Is A Hero]

I don't think RDM did brilliantly. Chelsea never really played well with him in charge barring the ECL win. But I don't think anyone can say that was anything other than a backs against the wall job (and without Drogba impossible).

I don't think he should have been given the gig in the summer but as has been pointed out he was forced into it due to the cup wins.

Whether or not Benitez is an improvement or not is a different matter. I think he might be but needs to get the support of the fans ASAP to do well.

I don't think he did "brilliantly" either but they were very good in the league....did they only lose once? They definitely lost to Man City, don't know if they lost another. They were slightly fortunate in a sense that they won the Champions League but I don't put it down to luck.....they had to beat Napoli which they did, 4-1 wasn't it?.....beat a very good Benfica side.

You have to play that way against Barca.....10 men at the Nou Camp with Bosingwa CB and they didn't lose.....poor finishing, pointless possession and good defending I put that down to....not luck....and the final was against a very good side in their own stadium.

So what if they relied on their best player....lots of teams have done that.....he was a player who lived for the big occasions and always produced the goods.

I don't consider Di Matteo to be a really good manager because he won the Champions Leauge though...Avram Grant probably would have if Terry wasn't so egotistical.

Very lucky with his Champions League Final win though, passion and Gerrard carried the day there.

They did have to get to the Champions League Final first though.....which they did again a couple of seasons later.

In 2005, they knocked out Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea in the knockout rounds.

In 2007, they did the same to Barcelona, PSV and Liverpool.

I don't really agree with the concept of "luck" in football....in most games, a team has missed a chance at 0-0....before going a goal down later on.....are they unlucky because they missed that chance, which they could have built on and possibly gone on to win the game?.....no, they missed a chance for whatever reason....poor finishing, good goalkeeping or good defending....or a combination of them.

If you score more goals than the opposition, you deserve to win imo......having more shots-on-target or more possession yet not winning doesn't make you the better team on the night.....despite what Barcelona players seem to think.

[Grabbi Graeme]

Daft decision to sack RDM, he brought the Champions League to the club which was the one thing that Abramovich wanted, I see the fans are already complaining about Rafa on SSN. one fan commenting that he didn't want a manager at the club who had already managed a team in the Premier League, errr he must of forgot RDM was manager at West Brom then.

[jim mk2]

Stupid decision to sack Di Matteo. Stupid decision to hire Benitez. He's such a poor manager.

Benitez's trophy-winning record with Liverpool and Valencia would suggest that's a daft comment. Having said that, Chelsea fans are raging at his appointment - his first home match could be quite interesting !

[BRFC1995]

he'll have a better squad than he ever had at anytime with liverpool..........like for like Mata is a million times the player Garcia was, Cole v Riise, Hazard v Babel and so on but i still think he is gone by March he was hated by my liverpool supporting family easily the luckiest manager going to achieve what he did at Liverpool playing such defensive football and lucky to have Gerrards golden years an absolute giant of a player 6 years ago way past his best these days.

[ABBEY]

Pressure is mounting on Rafa Benitez. He has now gone 15 hours without a win

[Blue n White Rover]

Stupid decision to sack Di Matteo. Stupid decision to hire Benitez. He's such a poor manager.

Only person stupid is you. Rafael Benitez is a fantastic manager and would have him at Ewood all day long.

Not only did he win the title in Spain but also broke the norm of Barcelona and Madrid constantly winning it. He won the Champions League with Djimi Traore in his team. He made Liverpool finish second and wasn't backed in the summer transfer window, hence the major decline the following season.

The guy is a great manager and Chelsea are very lucky to have him.

[Mike E]

Conveniently forgetting he was only any good when he could spend money and almost relegated the European Champions at Inter.

[BuckyRover]

I don't think he did "brilliantly" either but they were very good in the league....did they only lose once? They definitely lost to Man City, don't know if they lost another. They were slightly fortunate in a sense that they won the Champions League but I don't put it down to luck.....they had to beat Napoli which they did, 4-1 wasn't it?.....beat a very good Benfica side.

You have to play that way against Barca.....10 men at the Nou Camp with Bosingwa CB and they didn't lose.....poor finishing, pointless possession and good defending I put that down to....not luck....and the final was against a very good side in their own stadium.

So what if they relied on their best player....lots of teams have done that.....he was a player who lived for the big occasions and always produced the goods.

I don't consider Di Matteo to be a really good manager because he won the Champions Leauge though...Avram Grant probably would have if Terry wasn't so egotistical.

They did have to get to the Champions League Final first though.....which they did again a couple of seasons later.

In 2005, they knocked out Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea in the knockout rounds.

In 2007, they did the same to Barcelona, PSV and Liverpool.

I don't really agree with the concept of "luck" in football....in most games, a team has missed a chance at 0-0....before going a goal down later on.....are they unlucky because they missed that chance, which they could have built on and possibly gone on to win the game?.....no, they missed a chance for whatever reason....poor finishing, good goalkeeping or good defending....or a combination of them.

If you score more goals than the opposition, you deserve to win imo......having more shots-on-target or more possession yet not winning doesn't make you the better team on the night.....despite what Barcelona players seem to think.

I read something the other day that looked at Chelsea's performance this season. In particular their possession vs shots to goals statistics. It found they were much less effective than the other big clubs and extrapolated over a season would lead to them finishing mid table.

I know it's a case of lies, damn lies and statistics I just don't think Chelsea look as good as they could be with the players at their disposal. Almost like games pass RDM by with him unable to affect proceedings.

I will post it if I can find it.

[imy9]

Conveniently forgetting he was only any good when he could spend money and almost relegated the European Champions at Inter.

What tosh.

13 points behind AC with two games in hand when he left Inter, how does that equate to almost relegated? Won two trophies with them too in six months. You honestly believe he spent more money at Valencia than Real or Barca? Won two la liga titles with them and a UEFA cup as well as. Champions league with Liverpool. Which other manager with his credentials has to face this level of criticism, truly amazing.

[Mike E]

What tosh.

13 points behind AC with two games in hand when he left Inter, how does that equate to almost relegated? Won two trophies with them too in six months. You honestly believe he spent more money at Valencia than Real or Barca? Won two la liga titles with them and a UEFA cup as well as. Champions league with Liverpool. Which other manager with his credentials has to face this level of criticism, truly amazing.

More case of using diff stats to paint a diff picture. Inters form was that of a side battling relegation (i overdid my criticism there). They were looking at bottom half when extrapolated over the course of a season. Doin that to a CL winning side is poor by any standard.

After he won the cl with Liverpool he spent loads and they never really kicked on. I admit I know little about his career pre-Valencia. But he's hardly torn up trees since 2005 has he? Hell a combo of 2 'poor' managers (by Chelsea standards) just won them 2 trophies including Romans holy grail.

I find the decision as whole (rather than specifically hiring Benitez) nonsensical. Stability is all that'd be needed with a side of that calibre. If rafa can get the best out of Torres they'll be fine. Buts he's been kean in all his time there.

[neekoy]

Rafa Benitez is a very good manager when he is left with a quality team like now, I think he will probabaly win some trophies this year but you need to get rid soon after.

Once he starts fiddling with player rosters and purchases he drops to very average manager

I have said it before, he won with Valencia with Cuper's team, he won with Liverpool with Houllier's team, he won with Inter with Mourinho's team......

He will win some stuff at Chelsea

[Mike E]

That was the point I intended to make. With the chance to mould his own team he seems to struggle. Only ever buys replacements rather than going for his own tactics. Probly why he loves rotation so much, he just buys 2 sets of 11

[RoyRover]

Has Roman Abramovich not learned anything during his time in charge? Yes he throws a lot of money into the team, but surely now he must see that it doesn't mean automatic success. He has all of his previous manager on the wayside to prove it. I doubt there is anyone who will be able to deliver the instant success he wants with the style of football he craves. To do both takes time and this is clearly something he isn't willing to wait for. What an idiot.

[wazzarover]

I don't get it, if Abramovich wants a stop gap then why not just keep Di Matteo until the end of the season then bring the new guy in?

[Salgado Is A Hero]

I don't get it, if Abramovich wants a stop gap then why not just keep Di Matteo until the end of the season then bring the new guy in?

Because then his 50 million pound investment is pretty much guaranteed to go to waste.

Until they recuperate about half in the summer.

[Amo]

I don't get it, if Abramovich wants a stop gap then why not just keep Di Matteo until the end of the season then bring the new guy in?

I thought it was John Terry who picked the manager these days?

[philipl]

Jonathan Pearce, BBC Match of the Day commentator

"I have never heard in the history of the Premier League such a reaction to the appointment of a new manager as I have just heard from the Chelsea fans to Rafael Benitez. There were universal boos for the new boss."

[Stuart]

Jonathan Pearce, BBC Match of the Day commentator

"I have never heard in the history of the Premier League such a reaction to the appointment of a new manager as I have just heard from the Chelsea fans to Rafael Benitez. There were universal boos for the new boss."

And yet, no doubt, there will be many commentators and pundits in the game sympathising, nay, supporting their stance.

Not like those ungrateful wild animals up North with their disgusting behaviour soundtracked by the sickening "Kean Out" chants.

If any set of fans have been spoiled it's Chelsea fans. If any owner ever bought the title, it's Chelsea.

Yet... nothing.

[Stuart]

Ray Wilkins (Sky Match Pundit) reckons that the fans' reaction (booing Benitez on his announcement, RDM chanting, plus "RAFA OUT" banners, already, btw) WON'T affect the players on the pitch.

Odd, that's not how I remember it playing out last time around. Y'know when we began protests after a YEAR of Kean.

The fans are to blame for poor results, aren't they?

I'm really confused.

[John]

Thing is, reason for the Kean hatred wasn't just the fact he was a shyte manager, worst in our history - there were other important factors eg involvement of SEM in the rapid decline of our club.

[Amo]

I wouldn't waste your energy, Stu. We all know the media absolutely shafted us because we're a "small-time club in t'North" who should accommodate inferiority. That, of course, and the propaganda spread by Team Kean to besmirch the fans reputation even further and draw attention away from the underlying issues at the club.

[Stuart]

I wouldn't waste your energy, Stu. We all know the media absolutely shafted us because we're a "small-time club in t'North" who should accommodate inferiority. That, of course, and the propaganda spread by Team Kean to besmirch the fans reputation even further and draw attention away from the underlying issues at the club.

You are right, of course.

But that fact that "Team Kean" had so much influence. Scary...

[roverandout]

chelsea fans rotten to the core, totally spoiled by a monkey-head owner, before abramovich came chelsea were a mid-table side with the odd fa cup final to their name, now they think they are owed success, qpr the same, most london clubs are arrogant tools.

[Batman.]

chelsea fans rotten to the core, totally spoiled by a monkey-head owner, before abramovich came chelsea were a mid-table side with the odd fa cup final to their name

Completely untrue.