Liverpool FC Forum

GYBS wrote:ok so arsenal win nothing and no calls for him to be sacked - what he has won before shouldnt make a difference - it was 5 years ago now

stmichael wrote:

bigmick wrote:The Home games without defeat thing is by all accounts correct. A team of which he has been the manager hasn't lost a Home league game for seven years. Utterly unbelieveable, but true.

I think it might be interesting to look at why. Now I've proven (or at least I think I have anyway) that it's not that he just buys all the best players, inherited the best players or best teams etc through the course of the thread. Even if he did, how can you remain unbeaten in seven years FFS?

The other thing which stands out about his record over all them teams he's managed, is the extraordinarily high proportion of games his teams actually win as opposed to drawing. That right there has been the key to his success in all his leagues, a low number of draws and a high number of wins. Owz' could do a little study on it much better than me, but his teams simply win lots of matches.

Now a few posters have alluded to the notion that he is no tactical genius in the Rafa mould. I kind of agree with that to be honest, so how on earth does he win quite so many matches? My guess is that it's in mindset, man management and set up.

If I was asked to pinpoint the biggest difference between say Man Utd this season and us, it is the absolute single minded determination with which the Mancs hunt for wins. Not draws, but wins. If it's 1-1 with 15 minutes left, any susstitution the mancs make is made with only one objective in mind. Chelsea under Mourinho were exactly the same, and I think Rafa may have been and possibly still is a little behind the times in this respect. He was talking only 18 months ago during the "but we're unbeaten" (I know) period about he'd won the title at valencia after having drawn lots of matches. Football has changed and Mourinho and his methodology is part of the reason for it.

To me, the only genuinely unexpected achievement he's achieved was winning the Champions League with Porto (thanks largely to a wrongly disallowed goal at Old Trafford). I mean Porto have won the league 13 of the last 19 Portugese Leagues, largely because they have the best players. The likes of Benfica and Porto are nothing like what they used to be. Chelsea won the league twice over here following the biggest spending spree in the history of football.

Rafa may have 'only' won the league twice but the odds were stacked far higher against him when he achieved that imo.

Big Niall wrote:he hasn't lost a home game in the league in about 7 years (only lost one ever - and that was in his first season) in three leagues, including obviously the strongest league in Europe.

Nuff said!!

The guy is a top manager.

bigmick wrote:

stmichael wrote:

bigmick wrote:The Home games without defeat thing is by all accounts correct. A team of which he has been the manager hasn't lost a Home league game for seven years. Utterly unbelieveable, but true.

I think it might be interesting to look at why. Now I've proven (or at least I think I have anyway) that it's not that he just buys all the best players, inherited the best players or best teams etc through the course of the thread. Even if he did, how can you remain unbeaten in seven years FFS?

The other thing which stands out about his record over all them teams he's managed, is the extraordinarily high proportion of games his teams actually win as opposed to drawing. That right there has been the key to his success in all his leagues, a low number of draws and a high number of wins. Owz' could do a little study on it much better than me, but his teams simply win lots of matches.

Now a few posters have alluded to the notion that he is no tactical genius in the Rafa mould. I kind of agree with that to be honest, so how on earth does he win quite so many matches? My guess is that it's in mindset, man management and set up.

If I was asked to pinpoint the biggest difference between say Man Utd this season and us, it is the absolute single minded determination with which the Mancs hunt for wins. Not draws, but wins. If it's 1-1 with 15 minutes left, any susstitution the mancs make is made with only one objective in mind. Chelsea under Mourinho were exactly the same, and I think Rafa may have been and possibly still is a little behind the times in this respect. He was talking only 18 months ago during the "but we're unbeaten" (I know) period about he'd won the title at valencia after having drawn lots of matches. Football has changed and Mourinho and his methodology is part of the reason for it.

To me, the only genuinely unexpected achievement he's achieved was winning the Champions League with Porto (thanks largely to a wrongly disallowed goal at Old Trafford). I mean Porto have won the league 13 of the last 19 Portugese Leagues, largely because they have the best players. The likes of Benfica and Porto are nothing like what they used to be. Chelsea won the league twice over here following the biggest spending spree in the history of football.

Rafa may have 'only' won the league twice but the odds were stacked far higher against him when he achieved that imo.

Sorry mate, but with the greatest respect that is b0ll0cks. If you can be bothered to read the thread, you'll see what I mean. If you can't, and you don't want to take my word for it, that's cool.

Simply not true though I'm afraid, and I say that as someone who has trotted out the same stuff myself many times. Read it St Mick, his record is absolutely inbelieveable, literally staggering.

bavlondon wrote:Really? Well maybe someone should give Rafa 200Mil to spend on the squad and see how we get on.

Bav if you have preconceptions re Mourinho mate (which you obviously have) and you fancy finding out exactly why they are wide of the mark, read the thread. You're coming out with the same stuff that I used to repeat before I really looked into it.

As for someone giving rafa 200 million to spend, if it meant he could smash the points record in the Premiership in his first season in English football (95 points) and stick a full sixteen points on top of his predecessors best effort at the first time of asking, I'd be all for it.

Anyway, I'm repeating myself. Many don't like him as a person, but as a football manager before making pronunciations on his abilities it really is worth having a look at his record. It is absolutely stupendously good.

For those (and I know there are many ) who are closely keeping up with Mourinho's attempt to break the points total records and actually hold the records in three countries at the same time, Inter won again today, with a late goal. That puts them 12 points clear, but Juve play against Palermo on Sunday (away) so they'll probably get something there.

As for Inter against man Utd, like Nanny I'm hoping the Italians can throw a spanner in Fergies works. I know Man Utd always absolutely crush Italian teams, but that was before Mourinho was in charge of one of them. Mourinho has faced Ferguson 12 times in all competitions with different clubs, and has only ever lost once (that will have been the one which was just before he left Chelsea when there were extenuating circumstances I think). If he can once again mastermind the downfall of United, it could massively help us out.

No doubt even those who don't like the "special one" will join me in cheering him on this week at least .