In retrospect, Jose and Liverpool may have been successful, but brief. He never stays.Kai wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 6:26 pmTalk about some of the impossible jobs Rafa has had, like taking over Inter right after their absolute peak? Only one way to go at that point and that's down.greenmark wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 5:06 pmI agree Rafa was always in Mourinho's wake. But he was competent by most standards. He, sadly, was never at Jose's level, but happily for me, he gave LFC their first major trophy for a LOOOOOOOONNNNGG time.Trader Pat wrote: ↑Sun Jan 16, 2022 4:57 pm
I'll say one thing for Rafa, at least he's consistent.
Everton - 6 months
Real Madrid - 6 months
Inter - 7 months
His biggest failure for me was Real Madrid. He was only in the door and when asked by a reporter he refused to call Ronaldo the best player in the world. He was doomed from that moment.
I think its unfair to compare him with Mourinho. I think the game has moved and left both of them behind but Jose in his prime was by far the better coach. I can remember after Porto won the Champions League and Valencia won La Liga in 2004 there was talk Liverpool were in for Mourinho but Rafa was the fallback option. What might have been!
But I heard some of the stories about Jose and how he really wanted the Liverpool job after Porto but the guys in charge thought his values weren't aligned with club's values or some such, so they went with Rafa. It's been said that this was part of the reason for their rivalry that followed. Rafa's achievements at Valencia, winning 2 titles in 3 years is as big as Jose's CL win with Porto for me.
The reason I like Klopp and (I'm afraid to say) Fergie, is they were medium/long term. Jose ain't.
I honestly believe had things turned out differently, Rafa would have stuck around. Maybe the pull of Spain would have been too much. But I honestly believe he has a genuine attachment to Liverpool.
Now it's all over. And I feel quite sad for him.
Imagine being succeeded by Rooney.
If you've got a free bet of £20 on the under market and the price is 1.1, you can pocket almost £20, your you can lay the profit away for a £200 free bet on overs. A goal, depending on the stage of the match, could push the price up to 1.5. That would give you a free bet of £100 on the unders or a green of £67. Two goals in the second half, with 20 minutes to go could push the price above 2.0.