Well my opinions a certainly not a knee jerk reaction to a few poor results as I have been voicing my doubts since last season and almost a lone voice then. I don.t think dumping him right now would be a very shrewd move either.
My opinions have bugger all to do with results. Far more because in no area can I see the amount of progress it is reasonable to expect. Has the defence become a sounder unit? The attack? The motivation ? Are they coming together as a 'team' ?
Why is this considered to be one of the hardest jobs in the Prem? Compared to plenty of his rivals he is well off for transfer funds. Other sides have done better with less. The only extra pressure a Pool manager has is possibly because of the unjustified expectations of some of the fans, if he is stupid enough to pay attention to them. Raffa seems to have encouraged them. "We are as good as Man U" "Chelsea are scared" " A top 4 side" etc, all encouraging the idea that after a couple more buys we have the finished product. Not so, but I suspect he actually believes it himself.
Benitez 3947I agree. Give the man a break. You can only start calling him a poor manager when there is real...
Maybe you are being a bit over protective of the man in charge when Pool brought a big cup home. Have to wonder if you would not be a touch more objective about his progress and transfer record, and pretty scathing about the things he says if he was managing some other side, Man U or Everton maybe?
He might win through given time and a bit of luck. but he should have been further forward by now
LC
