West Ham United co-owner and majority share holder, David Sullivan, recently re-confirmed that the club had been two hours away from agreeing a deal to bring Rafa Benitez to the Boleyn as manager when the spaniard was offered the chance of a life time to go and manage Real Madrid in his homeland in what was supposed to be a match made in heaven. Benitez's sacking today by Real Madrid was not because of results essentially, but his inability to engage with the fans who are the backbone of the club, paradoxically, the appointment of Slaven Billic as a replacement for Sam Allardyce, now trying to steady the ship at relegation threatened Sunderland, was seen as an enormous risk with relegation from the Barclays Premier League unthinkable ahead of the club's move from the Boleyn to the Olympic Stadium. Benitez had insisted on a relatively huge transfer kitty that had been put in place, ironically this ensured that Slaven Billic, the eventual choice as manager, had the necessary funds available to pursue his main transfer targets once he had eventually been appointed, of course the club have for some reason (probably to promote a movie) publicly stated that they had also placed Jurgen Klopp ahead of Billic as a potential manager.
Would Benitez have got better results than Billic, maybe? Would Benitez have been able to galvanise the crowd in the way Billic has, even from the day he was first introduced for the initial round of the europa cup qualifiers at a packed Boleyn Ground? Most definitely not! It is the considered opinion of many West Ham fans, and most wider observers generally, that Hammers most certainly dodged a bullet by having been 'let down' as a consequence of Benitez's decision to go to Real Madrid.
Benitez's inability to deal with a talented group of players as well as relate to a passionate crowd that take no prisoners, has highlighted his short comings as a manager who can lead a club 'to another level'. As such West Ham fans, and club co-owners, should be thankful that the hand of fate that was dealt the club was a decent one for once! - Ed
Comments
Agree
He has a decent (ish) record, but the game seems to be moving more toward 40 something managers. Those that have a closer affiliation to the modern player and all the social interaction that brings, not to mention demanding harder workloads (Bilic is a workaholic).
It was always going to help that he was a cult hero already, but the last season atmosphere, allied to his passion and successful signings, have really boosted his standing.
The true test will be when things are not going our way. But that's the learning curve, and I'm grateful he's experiencing that with us.
With Moanrinho out and Van Gall and Mr no personality at City, Bilic is also wining plaudits for being honest and, heavens above, smiling-as though he's enjoying himself.
Funny how the simple things work....
Spot on darren.
You can add to the list -turtle neck at manure & now klopp (the celebration by him & his players after scoring an equaliser in injury time at mighty west brom must go down in the cringeworthy hall of fame!!)I said at the time of his appointment that i felt he would be right for us,he is certainly proving that....COYI
Yeah I must admit 65 that was
Yeah I must admit 65 that was embarrassing by klopp that stunt,i see the bin dippers are back giving it large tonight beating stoke 1 nil....i've never seen a scouser get so excited over 1 LEG since paul macartney got with Heather Mills ;)
Ha ha love it mooro!!
Absolute classic mate!!
Another thing about klopp!
Hes fielded a side tonight in the F.A cup at exeter that has one recognisable player benteke!Agreed they played tuesday but surely these players can play 2 games in a few days??Liverpool will be nowhere near the top 4,& not even top 6! you would think they would try & win the F.A cup...he hasnt a clue imo...
lack of respect for Exeter
lack of respect for Exeter and the f.a cup 65 Great shame nearly bit him on the arse
Spot on Mooro!
I was willing exeter on to win & they should have done.What a great atmosphere as well who would have thought that there was "ultras"
in wurzel land!!;)
Guffaw!
wurzel land like it 65 OOH ARR YA
Ah but Benitez didn't win any
Ah but Benitez didn't win any troffis, no. By the way is just me or does Bilic sound like Frankie 4 fingers in Snatch......?
Spot on, Nev!
Had Rafa been appointed at West Ham, expectations would have been huge. And I can't imagine that he would have a better record than we have right now (assuming the same players and injuries). So that leaves his rapport with the fans. Rafa has a reputation for being aloof. Slaven -- well, he's not exactly one of the mates, but there is something really personable about him, as people who have commented on his press conferences have mentioned. And he played for West Ham, he knows what it means.
I'd like to think we've
I'd like to think we've Dodged A few Bullets Nev,Managers we targeted before appointing Bilic,
Benitez-Sacked,Moyes-Sacked,Bielsa-resigned,Klopp & Emery-Struggling,BILIC-smashing it! and we're Slaven it!COYI
I like Clip Klopp
Think he is good for the game, out of all them he is the one I would have taken. But I do think we have got the best one now so pleased we have got Slav.
Yeah he was my choice at
Yeah he was my choice at first mate,2 good for the bin dippers LOL
Dodged a Bullet?
Not sure how you can classify losing Benitez as dodging a bullet just because he was sacked by Real. We're talking about a club who sacked Ancelotti after winning the Copa del Rey, the 2014 Champions League Final, the 2014 UEFA Super Cup and the 2014 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Shades of a Spanish Chelsea here I think so a sacking by Real madrid is hardly a yardstick to failure. Benitez also has a trophy laden pedigree, unlike Bilic, and his record at Real Madrid of only 3 defeats is not too be sniffed at. Need a bit longer to discover if any bullets have been dodged as this season is showing not a lot of improvement from last season other than a not very popular manager is no longer here.
A very sensible comment. To
A very sensible comment. To suggest that being sacked by Real Madrid is some sort of failure is absolutely ludicrous. Personally if I'd been given the choice of Benitez and Bilic I'd have gone for Benitez.
it's amazing that no one has mentioned that under Bilic, Lokomotiv Moscow had their worst ever league season leading to his sacking, so with that in mind is a "bullet" on it's way to hit us between the eyes?
Sensible how? Sure, getting
Sensible how? Sure, getting sacked so soon into his tenure is not ideal but then Real Madrid operate on a differnt level of success to everyone else. Basically if you don't win everything including El Classico's you're considered a failure. But since leaving liverpool his trophy cabinet is not straining under the weight of silverware and whilst he would probably have been accepted at WH by most as a manager who could take us to the next level he was by no means the only one courted. Did we dodge a bullet, probably not, but IMO we have certainly got the right man for the job and if you'd had the chance to evaluate each option on say 20 games I believe Bilic would have come out on top.
Klopp is hardly setting the world alight at Liverpool and whilst it's very new to him and he's had no opportunity to purchase his own players, the ones he has should be doing better than they are.
Rafa did ok at RM, but tbh I don't think we'd have ended up with Payet, Lanzini or Antonio if he'd have joined. Probaby more Liverpool rejects/failures.
SB is a breath of fresh air both at WH and in the PL and we were lucky to secure his services despite the owners openly begging for the services of others. Dodged a bullet, but maybe not in the way it was intended in the piece above.
Sensible because it shows
Sensible because it shows some perspective. Something which is sadly lacking on this forum.
The point with people such as yourself is that whilst you are praising Bilic to the heavens now, if given the straight choice at the start of the season you'd have gone for Benitez as would most on here, probably me too. But unlike you, if it were to transpire this time next year that rather than fighting for a top six place we were fighting to get out of the bottom 6, I would not be screaming for his head.
With the stadium move West Ham are about to take off we all hope and believe, but it will not happen overnight, which is something that Jurgen Klopp knows only too well which is why he is "hardly setting the world alight at Liverpool" - a comment that betrays your short termist attitude - and whether you like it or not, there will be some frustrating times on the way for us, but I know that whenever it goes anything less than swimmingly from here on, there'll be people on message boards slating the manager or the board with the usual uninformed and undignified abuse that they're best at.
So I repeat, DH has made a sensible point because he has applied some perspective, and I repeat that no one has mentioned the fact that Bilic "failed" at Lokomotiv Moscow. But no doubt the usual suspects on here will be storing that up for when we lose two or three on the trot.
Thanks for the thoughtful
Thanks for the thoughtful response, however if you knew me and had paid any attention to anything I'd written in the past, short termist would not be something you would have hurled at me. I insisted sticking with Allardyce throughout our season before last as without a decent forward (Carroll Injured) it was obvious we would struggle to score goals, whilst 98% on here were calling for his head around October, I was still on for keeping him right up to the end of the season as he was obviously the right man at the time. On Carroll, I've persevered more than most in wanting him to stay and prove his worth. He's a damn good forward, injuries unfortunately seem to be hampering what could be a very good career. My comment on Klopp was more in reponse to the bullish media and scousers who after every positive result claim they'll win the league. My comment was not about instant success, more that it takes time to succeed in this league. Shrewd signings over the last two summers have allowed Slav to hit the ground running, money pissed up the wall at Anfield has left Klopp with a lot of round pegs for square holes, however he should be doing better as the team are not awful but I don't think they can play to his style.
Frustration is all part of supporting WH and I expect ups and downs however I feel credit is due so far this season in what we've done and shows we're progressing. Do i expect us to win the league, of course not. Do I expect us to finish top 4, not really, we have an outside long shot at it. I even expect us to drop the ball in the FA Cup as that's the WH way but I, like everyone else would love a cup run to the final in our farwell season to the Boleyn.
Final point. I would not have opted for Benetiz over Slav at the start. He's never thrilled me as a manager and despite having a terrific Liverpool side, failed to win the League, tinkered way too often and has the overall personality of someone with an air of self importance, something I truly despise in people. Definately not my cup of tea. i was always drawn to Slav having played for us a long time ago but probably would have opted for Klopp given the choice.
Your comment re. Klopp in
Your comment re. Klopp in your original post did rather smack of short termism which is why I drew that conclusion. I would still have gone for Benitez at the start of the season, he would in my view have brought some continuity from the good work don by SA.
As for how things have panned out under Bilic, hindsight is not something I deal in to be honest, and I, like you supported Sam Allardyce as I think he was the right man at the right time, if he'd been appointed instead of Grant we'd not have been relegated in 2011 and then who knows what may or may not have happened from there.
As for reading what you've posted in the past, I have to admit that I normally just skip through what's on here as there is so much uninformed, speculative crap spoken on this and most other forums.
Thanks for your reply, as I suspected, we are of similar mind as to the club and it's future. I just hope that the current form continues until the end of the season and beyond, but if not it's good to know that I won't be the only one who is not screaming for heads to roll.