Rafael Benítez tells Chelsea he does not need Avram Grant's help

probably told them he could do a bad enough job on his own.

is the writing on the wall?

Upcoming fixture list is pretty favorable for Benitez.  Pressure probably eases off a bit as to allow him to at least finish the season.

Although if he loses the World Club thing to Corinthians that may enough for Abramovich to side with supporters.

When is Corinthians game

Lose to Corinthians

Get beat at Elland Road

1.01 layers laughing their b0ll0x off

Dec 13th is the semi against Monterrey or Ulsan.  Dec 16th the final.

Avram Grant will destroy the good work of Agent Benitez & Agent Torres to bring Chelsea back down to where it belongs.

he could have gone to Valencia I expect if only he'd have hung on a week

It's a bit like choosing if you want one or both of The Chuckle Brothers to handle your priceless crystal glasses.

hrh

your a bad man hrh

One thing people don't seem to have covered is that Rafa needed to have big cojones to take on this role!!
Not as if he needs the money!!

I disagree. He is taking the money knowing full well he will probably be out in a few months and if he happens to be pushed before then, he gets paid handsomely for the so called stress of it.

I can think of many situations in the business world that take a great deal of guts and stress but managing a football club with current resources that vastly outweigh most of their competition with no contractual stipulation dependent on success built into your wages is easy street.

In other words, if he is sh1te, he still gets paid very well and can fob it off as not having the time to develop his concept and structure.

There aren't too many of those gigs outside of the sporting world anymore, he is one lucky focker.

Fair play TENDY that's the biggest crock of sh1t I've ever heard on this forum, he gets paid a shed load of money for doing next to nothing thes hardly a man on the planet who would have turned that down. The Liverpool apologists are bordering on insanity with their sticking up of this chancer

Rafa maybe many things,martin,but a "chancer" he is not.

2 spanish league titles,2 UEFA cups,FA cups,Champion League winner and finalist a few years later and during the majority of his time with Liverpool,Liverpool were the number 1 ranked team in Europe...........during that time he also pretty much owned,and played with at will,the "special one".

When he left Liverpool he was probably amongst the top 3 or 4 decorated coaches in Europe and vastly superior to the majority of Prem managers.Moyes would sell his kids to have a CV even a quarter as impressive as Rafa's.

Not bad for a "chancer"

Benitez is an average manager at best.  Seems to over think too much and it causes him to make stupid decisions which in his mind are brilliant.

The Champions League crown w/ Liverpool was more a case of Rafa being swept away with that magical ride.  It was as bad as Chelsea and DiMatteo winning last year.

"average"

He must have been soooo lucky to win those 2 Spanish titles as well AND to reach ANOTHER CL final 2 years later!!!

Dont be so ridiculous lad

Gawd its puzzling when people judge managers on how many trophies they've won.  ffs 90% is about the players you have.  You could put a donkey in charge of Barcelona and they'd still win trophies.

A large part of managing in any sport is dealing with players and being able to have a good relationship with them in order to create a good team unity.  Benitez by nature is not capable of this.  This is his major downfall.

You say that but then his CV completely contradicts your point.

To break up the Barca-Real stranglehold on La Liga was a monumental effort as was getting to 2 CL finals with Liverpool.No prem manager,Ferguson,possibly Wenger aside,has come close to an achievement like that.

To compare Rafa to De Matteo is quite obscene,imo

The Barca/Real stranglehold has only truly been effect for the last decade or so as spending has gotten out of control.  Back in the early 2000's I don't think there was the massive disparity there is now.

Also I'll have to check the history but just reading wikipedia it tells me that the Valencia squad he inherited had been to back to back Champions League finals in the two prior years so I don't know how much of a genius he was to take a team loaded with talent and have success with them.