2021/22 Rafael Benitez

[nsno-chris]

The substitutions today summed it up. Gray injured, bring on Iwobi, ok I guess, although I'd have preferred onyango on in midfield and Townsend going on the wing. Taking off one of our midfield 2 and replacing them with the joke player Rondon was just stupid. Bringing on Onyango was a decent sub 20 minutes too late. Benitez was every bit as bad as the worst of our players today.

But £1.7m lad, injuries lad

Or something like that

 

[The Penalty Box Dancer]

About 50 pages added to this thread today, not sure what the extra angst is about today?? Did people expect to win at City? I am ignoring today’s result as it was totally expected. We get our injuries sorted, hopefully, and start winning games. This season was always going to be a struggle with a weak squad not strengthened in the summer. The season is 38 games not 12

This whole thing about "expected losses" that get bandied about, I don't understand it. It looked like the players on the field today had this mentality of "an expected loss" as after going a goal down we showed no urgency or desire to try and get something back. Please don't tell me about a difference in quality because you would still see a team with the desire to try and win at least have a go. I've seen lower league teams come to City over the years and put in a better performance than that. There should be no games that are expected losses. That team is capable of at least trying.

 

[NorthernBlue]

This whole thing about "expected losses" that get bandied about, I don't understand it. It looked like the players on the field today had this mentality of "an expected loss" as after going a goal down we showed no urgency or desire to try and get something back. Please don't tell me about a difference in quality because you would still see a team with the desire to try and win at least have a go. I've seen lower league teams come to City over the years and put in a better performance than that. There should be no games that are expected losses. That team is capable of at least trying.

Thing is though it’s seeped into the fan base and is rampant there now. The board, management, players and now sections of the fan base now have expected losses. Excuses are already being prepped for Brentford.

 

[The Sorting Hat]

I've been proven right so far as was @Saint Domingo when he said an injury to Doucoure will finish our season.

Well done mate, you've won a biscuit, I can see you're well chuffed our season was over in September.
Why else would you be demanding more of this tripe?

That isn't a prediction - it's a spoiler.

Again you are correct. We are spoiled to the point of ruin under Benitez.

 

[Bohemian Toffee]

Think this needs a poll

If it's reasons for having something against Farke:



It's the fact his voice doesn't suit his face, for me. Like Beckham.

But yeah, what new is there to be said about Benitez? He's a useful meat shield for the board, I am at the point where it doesn't matter who is in the dugout until the director of football is dropped into the ocean and the owner leaves well enough alone then we're bound to keep repeating this cycle.

 

[Runub]

This whole thing about "expected losses" that get bandied about, I don't understand it. It looked like the players on the field today had this mentality of "an expected loss" as after going a goal down we showed no urgency or desire to try and get something back. Please don't tell me about a difference in quality because you would still see a team with the desire to try and win at least have a go. I've seen lower league teams come to City over the years and put in a better performance than that. There should be no games that are expected losses. That team is capable of at least trying.

Yes I take your point and it is valid but my comment was based on my knowledge of this team/squad so for me today was an expected loss all day long

 

[The binman chronicles]

Yes but we did have the collective brain fart. We were crap against Watford and you’re making my point. They’d just been tonked 5-0 by the [Poor language removed] at home and then they play us away and folk are happy to just write off a game like that because we have injuries. The from table is a concern, you’re right.

No one wrote off Watford though. We are all angry that happened, we should have won even with the players we had out there. But the cupboard is bare. We hadn't even a gomes to throw on. Sometimes you need to step back and look at why a team is struggling away from the heat of the moment and then you get the answers. We did get a reaction against a team that is better than us with a new manager bounce, without Conte we may have won that game.

There are a few things that need to happen, we need to build back up the depth that we once had but that came at a FFP cost - so it needs to be done sensibly leaving us with a bench that might make an impact and at worse not leave us several steps down from the player being subbed.

We need all our best players on the pitch at the same time, you can probably swap Townsend for a Gordon, Keane for Godfrey but our team must include:

Richarlison
DCL
Gray
Doucoure
Allan
Mina
Pickford (due to our replacement looking like he can't handle it)
Coleman (due to having no replacement)
Digne (although he is trying to remove himself from the list I expect he will do better when the aforementioned are on the side)

If when this happens and we still go a period of games without beating teams we should beat and improved performances against the teams we shouldn't then hell I might even start calling for him to be sacked too. Now is just ridiculous, like I say I wrote off three games in a list of 15 fixtures. Not every game is a write off.

 

[matty1878]

we’re going one way.

 

[windymiller]

FFS.

Injury list from hell....minus Sigurdsson and minus James without their replacements.

It's a catastrophe Benitez is having to deal with.

You were desperate for us to get rid of James, calling him all sorts. You were demob happy when he left at a time when you knew we couldn't replace him. After all that, you can't have not having James available as a reason for poor form.

 

[PhilRegan]

FFS.

Injury list from hell....minus Sigurdsson and minus James without their replacements.

It's a catastrophe Benitez is having to deal with.

The injury problems were similar last year. Clutching a bit there Dave I loved hamez but he loved his PlayStation more. Sigurdsson isn't missed.

 

[windymiller]

Under 'King Carlo' we got battered at home last season 3-1 with City having 70% of the possession and 16 shots on goal.

Seriously, what were you all expecting here?

Palace beat them, maybe they should've rolled over and given up like we did?

 

[windymiller]

He's safe as houses - Doucoure and DCL are back in the next 2-3 weeks and we'll start picking up points again.

I fancy at least a point against Brentford should Mina be back as Toney will bully Keane/Godfrey.

This is where the pro-Benitez mob are now. Praying for a draw against Brentford.

 

[Lob]

we’re going one way.

Yup.

 

[Yarrgh]

This is unpredcedneted in terms of length of absences.

You cant be serioulsy suggesting this manager be judged with these many long term absences?

He should be judged according to the circumstances he finds himself in.

And he's still lacking.

The board is so useless that it's unlikely that they'll do anything and they probably don't even have a plan anyway for Benitez's inevitable flop.

 

[windymiller]

It'd be nice to get a draw down there, but these injuries have denied us AGAIN an attack.

I stand corrected, apparently Brentford is an expected loss by the pro-Benitez crew.