On a final note. Read back my comments throughout the match thread and they've all been on topic and focused specially on the game - unless I talk about BRAVEHART.

The only poster to come into this thread for little purpose other than to pick fights and type illiterate shitee is that Phoenix poster. Quite ironic.

Good win,should be enough to keep hold of 2nd spot now
Thought Chelsea were very disappointing,a performance lacking in belief more than anything
Ramires was like a Labrador chasing a balloon,couldn't believe it when Hazard was taken off instead of him.
Fat Spanish waiter got it very wrong today
Surely terry & the excellent Cahill would be better than using sideshow bob at the back and wtf is Ramires doing on the wing anyway.Luis in place of Mikel must be better surely?
Rodwell was outstanding for City and must be given as much game time as possible to get him match fit

Not a bad performance. Probably too little too late. Silva is having a shocking season by his standards.

Admins?

"I haven't got a bunch of stats and net expenditures on me whislt I type into my phone. I'm going off my memory, as to which Benitez must have signed about 70 players, a lot of them quite cheap, and the vast majority left the club quite suddenly or 'flopped'"

Kagawa,

I agree that he made some poor signings, however so has virtually everyone. There is a very good book all about money in football and how much it dictates the final position in the table. The average now is only around two places whereas ore premier league, it used to be around five.

In terms of overall expense of a squad, Benitez did better at Liverpool than he should have done. I'm not saying I think he is a great manager now by any means, just that a bit of credit is due to him for that. M
I agree to an extent about the squads, I think we are only two or three off though. For me, we have really missed Richards.

I heard Neville talking about wingers. I don't really get that, we don't play with them and when we do, they are on opposite flanks so they can cut inside. When we play with two small guys up front (Aguero and tevez), then I really don't understand why we would want to increase the amount f crosses in to the box when they like the ball to feet.

If Dzeko is playing though, that's another story and why Milner tends to stay on the touch line instead.

Benitez is a terrible manager. I can't believe they got rid of Di Matteo. Possibly one of the worst managerial swaps ever, until Madrid replace Mourinho with Mancini in the summer.

"Benitez is a terrible manager. I can't believe they got rid of Di Matteo. Possibly one of the worst managerial swaps ever, until Madrid replace Mourinho with Mancini in the summer."

I can, I'm just surprised they didn't get rid of him before the season started. His hands were tied due to the CL win.

They've performed worse under Benitez than Di Matteo.why Roman ever got rid of Ancellotti I will never know!! Thank god some clueless billionaire numpty isn't trying to play championship manager with my club!

Ancelotti, fair enough. Di Matteo though, I knew he wouldn't last long.

Judging by Chelsea's trophy haul since he took over, I wouldn't go so far as clueless. Stability is not always the right answer, just look at Arsenal!

Stability is the answer.. look at Chelsea now. Immediate success followed by rapid demise. 6th last year and barely on our radar this year. They grabbed a few mercenaries, some of who turned out well. However, they weren't able to replace them. Mata has been their only decent signing for a while.

I haven't got a bunch of stats and net expenditures on me whislt I type into my phone
=================================
No problem, I gave them to you earlier.
4 years or so at Liverpool, spent 220 mill, sold 160mill, made 120 mill in revenue through success.
Net spend of around 15 million a season.
Two champions league finals, one champions league win, a semi final and a quarter final, a european super cup, and an fa cup, premier league runner up.
Somehow also managed to turn Liverpool into Uefa's number 1 ranked club at one stage.
He also managed to win La Liga twice, out doing both Barca, and Madrid, who spent massively more than Valencia.

He actually made money if you count the players he brought in who were sold after he left. His transfer record was excellent.

"However, they weren't able to replace them. Mata has been their only decent signing for a while."

That's because now some guy buys the players even though it's the manager who chooses the tactics and knows what players he needs.

'I can't believe they got rid of Di Matteo. Possibly one of the worst managerial swaps ever'
==================================

Not possibly, but most definitely, the stupidest post ever.

A few of their players will be very good long term signings. Why is stability always the answer? the model Abramovich uses has netted him virtually the same amount of trophies as Uniteds. I know people think stability is always the way to go and point to the fact it took Ferguson a few years before he started winning, yet he is a one off that is getting increasingly unlikely to happen again.

I reckon council house, can Imagine Di Matteo taking over a team like Valencia, and achieving what Benitez did.
Di Matteo was the managerial equivalent of a football scarecrow.
Dress him up like a manager, stand around a bit, and just let the players get on with it.
Luckily enough, it worked for chelsea in the champions league, but to compare Di Matteo to Benitez, in terms of being a manager is laughable.
Stuart Robson confirmed what I always believed.
In an interview he gave, he said he was told by insiders at West Brom, that the reason he was let go, was because he simply just let the players do what they wanted in training, and had no real control of what was going on.
Sounds about right.

Oh look here come the dippers to remind us that a thousand years ago Lafa did well witb Valencia. Always with the history lessons. Give it a rest!! A lot of managers have done well with one club then been terrible elsewhere! The fat waiter won the champions league with another mans team then did precisely eff all afterwards He also guided a treble winning side into the relegation zone. Maybe next year will be Rafa's year..

comment by Stuck With The Name Biggish (U7916)
posted 1 hour, 21 minutes ago
He still thinks Torres is good, what a feckin loser
===============
It's pretty evident since Torres came in managers have been TOLD to play him. Roman somehow thinks he can maybe re coup some of the 50mil before getting shot of........not happening matey !!

Oh look here come the dippers to remind us that a thousand years ago Lafa did well witb Valencia.
===================================
Could you be any more clueless.
In a little under 10 years of top flight management, Lafa managed to win,
Valencia

La Liga 2001–02

La Liga 2003–04

UEFA Cup 2003–04

Liverpool

FA Cup 2005–06

UEFA Champions League 2004–05

UEFA Super Cup 2005

Internazionale

Supercoppa Italiana 2010

FIFA Club World Cup 2010

WHAT STATE DID HE LEAVE THOSE TEAMS IN ?

All history
The here and now suggests hes clearly incompetent
Plenty of sides have shown what Citys weaknesses are,Lafa is simply not tactically aware enough to do anything about it.

boooooo de gooooooooozman

Jlou...

A lot of those trophies were won with squads assembled by other managers!

FA Cup 2005–06
UEFA Champions League 2004–05
UEFA Super Cup 2005
Supercoppa Italiana 2010
FIFA Club World Cup 2010