Could we take to a manager like the Liverpool fans have with Benitez?

[Stavrogin]

I know they have a culture of supporting their managers and they've cultivated a 'victim' mentality over their media treatment and their boardroom shenanigans - but even so, the extent of their love for Benitez is pretty hard to understand.

Imagine if he'd done the same at Tottenham (leaving aside the fact that winning the champions league etc. would be more significant for us) I don't think he'd have anything like the same support here. After Benitez's last season and the demoralising stagnation of their squad, the majority of us would think his time had come - at the very least. Rafa doesn't even have the avuncular charm of Martin Jol.

What would it take for us to continue supporting the manager in such circumstances? If Redknapp won the treble next year, how long would he have a free pass?

I'm guessing, not very long. We often talk about the downsides of being overly harsh and critical with our players and managers, but at times like this I can see the upsides Eek

 

[jamesc0le]

meh?

 

[leffe186]

Couldn't care less. We took to Jol more than they've taken to Benitez, and he had won nothing - with or without us. Our relationship with Jol was fantastic, he was one of us.

 

[C-oops]

Doubt there are many spurs fans that haven't taken to Harry . Esp after this season. Don't really get your point.

 

[Twizzle]

we've taken to harry

 

[shakus]

They only supported Rafa as they realised that there wasn't enough money to get someone else of the same calibre in and pay off the £16m dismissal payout to him. As it turned out he settled for £6m, they couldn't fulfil that obligation.

Their undoubted faith is a myth, it was interesting to see that attendances dropped sharply for home games once they were out of the race for 4th. The fans are opposed to the board, it just so happens that so was Rafa, so he got support by default.

In terms of Harry his stock has risen since achieving 4th, some might not like how he does it, but I see no reason why, if he can maintain our form and get at least 4th next season, coupled with getting to the Champ League group stages, it would be difficult to argue against him. In Harry we trust and all that. No where have I heard that before?

 

[tony0379]

whats your point chicco?

 

[$hoguN]

No we couldn't; we as fans would no way back a managers regardless of anything like the Liverpool fans have with Benitez; he makes terrible choices in the transfer market and willl never admit he is wrong. Add to this he was shocking last season and in all his time and with the money he spent he was one just two cups the Champs League and the FA cup. We would have been singing for him out last season you can guarentee

 

[jimtheyid]

We took to Bmj and we have take to 'Arry

 

[TheChosenOne]

Billy Nick will have a free pass forever.

 

[danielneeds]

If he won us a Champions League after being 3-0 down in the final, I could take to Gary Glitter as our manager!...:razz:

 

[Midostouch]

Actually I know several Spurs fans who haven't taken to Harry and every week we have a battle about him. Even when we win spectacularly they manage to find something that he did wrong. So if he makes a master substitution - it's his fault for not getting it right in the first place; if he gets everything right in a match - why didn't he do that against Wolves etc etc. One of my friends wears a black shirt to every Spurs game and says he will continue to do so until Harry leaves.

What can you say?

 

[joey55]

I don't think so. Look what happened with Jol. Newcastle fans protested the sacking a Keagan, yet for Jol, all Spurs fans did was sing a song. Most backed Levy and Comolli and were happy to see Ramos arrive. Even after all this time, after all that has happened since, there has never been an apology thread dedicated to Jol with his critics admitting they were very wrong. If Harry has a shakey period in the next couple of years, there is already a large element of our fans who are ready to seize the opportunity to force him out. Despite all the good he's done, it's obvious that a number of our fans would still like to see him fail. No one will admit to it, but I genuinely believe there are fans that would like to see things go bad for us, so they can try and force Harry out.

 

[Stavrogin]

whats your point chicco?

Sorry, I meant that Liverpool fans have developed (if we really analyse it) an irrational support for Benitez - are we capable of the same, what kind of successes would justify it? (not making a judgement whether it's good or bad)

People are saying Jol, but I think our love for Jol was pretty rational - he was one of us, as leffe says, plus we were improving under him - just not fast enough for some. The managerial merry-go-round of the last 20+ years has made it hard for us to put it to the test.

 

[DJS]

Rafa has developed more and more into a grade A twat - if he was our manager and getting the results fine, but last season he just was not getting the results.

Plus he's splashed obscene amounts of money on players that were either crap, or he simply didn't bother trying to develope them.

The Alonso thing was a sham as well - who knows whether he would have gone to Real Madrid anyways but if he hadn't used him as such a blatant pawn in the Barry business and had managed things a bit better with the quality he had (and actually won things) perhaps Real wouldn't have been so appealing.

I think if this had been Spurs over the past season I wouldn't have stayed loyal - yes, he got second but things were only going to go downhill with Rafa at the helm since then.

 

[DJS]

I would have supported Jol through the bad patch though.

Under him we built up a good team and I feel he was perhaps not supported in getting the players he wanted to balance us out and finish the job.

I was concerned at the time about reports our players were unfit but he doesn't seem to have had these problems at his next clubs so must have been incorrect, or he's learned from it.

 

[Randall Flagg]

The Alonso thing was a sham as well - who knows whether he would have gone to Real Madrid anyways but if he hadn't used him as such a blatant pawn in the Barry business and had managed things a bit better with the quality he had (and actually won things) perhaps Real wouldn't have been so appealing.

Eh? When did he use him as a pawn exactly? And to what club?

Alonso if from there of course so I'm quite sure Spain would be appealing for him.

 

[scat1620]

Eh? When did he use him as a pawn exactly? And to what club?

Alonso if from there of course so I'm quite sure Spain would be appealing for him.

During the summer before Alonso left Liverpool for Real Madrid, it was widely reported that Liverpool were looking to flog Alonso to Juventus or Arsenal (for about £15m, if I recall correctly) in order to fund a move for Gareth Barry from Aston Villa.

 

[Achap]

Having read through several of the pages on RAWK dedicated to Benitez I am as bewildered as the OP. The vast majority of posters are near suicidal due to their belief that Benitez leaving, spells the end of any hope of success for Liverpool. Here was the manager, they believe, who would have restored glory to Liverpool Football club, and many are writing 'RIP' at the end of their posts and vowing not to support the club any more.
A number of posters on RAWK are saying that Gerrard and Carragher should clear off because they didn't publically say that Benitez was Jesus Christ incarnate and that they would leave if the club let him go.

This, despite the fact that:
During his 6 year tenure he bought players to the value of a quarter of a billion pounds, and has assembled a squad arguably worse than that bequeathed to him by Houllier.
He appears to have lost the dressing-room some time ago.
None of the current players have had any words of support for him.
No ex-player has had any words of support for him.
Team-spirit is clearly non-existent, leading to lacklustre performances and the subsequent loss of Champions League status.

If I read the OP right, his question was, are we stupid enough to support a manager who had clearly lost the plot, to that extent just because we thought that 'he was one of us' and loved us.

The answer, hopefully, is never in a million years. I believe that we would face the facts, fondly remember the lucky Champions League win, thank him sincerely for his 'love' - and move on. But maybe that's because I have a London mentality, and not a Scouse one that desperately needs to be loved by someone - anyone.

 

[senseispab]

I don't think so. Look what happened with Jol. Newcastle fans protested the sacking a Keagan, yet for Jol, all Spurs fans did was sing a song. Most backed Levy and Comolli and were happy to see Ramos arrive. Even after all this time, after all that has happened since, there has never been an apology thread dedicated to Jol with his critics admitting they were very wrong. If Harry has a shakey period in the next couple of years, there is already a large element of our fans who are ready to seize the opportunity to force him out. Despite all the good he's done, it's obvious that a number of our fans would still like to see him fail. No one will admit to it, but I genuinely believe there are fans that would like to see things go bad for us, so they can try and force Harry out.

That's so sad.

The way he got performances even out of players ear-marked for the door was magnificent.