Hanging on the telephone

[D.Boon]

I'm still curious as to the set up on Sunday with Rafa dictating the tactics over the phone to Lee for the entire game..

 

At the time i thought it was unnecessary and made Sammy Lee look a little impotent. Sammy is an experienced coach who no doubt would have followed Rafa's pre game set ups and tactics to a tee. I wonder why he was not given the responsibility to influence play a bit more from the sidelines during the game and make the substitutions?

 

I suppose the argument is that maybe Sammy could have ballsed it up and we get beat but personally felt the whole situation worked against us.

[Ethan]

Rafa is the manager - its nothing to do with making Sammy look "impotent".

[D.Boon]

  Ethan said:

Rafa is the manager - its nothing to do with making Sammy look "impotent".

 

I'm not suggesting it was done to make him look impotent, i'm asking whether Sammy could have been given more responsibility.

[richwilks]

I'm sure Rafa was just giving input, portraying much of what he sees. Ofcourse he had influence over some decisions but Sammy was dictating things to the players on the pitch.

[Case]

I think this is being overplayed to be honest. If Rafa had been there, he'd have had the chalk of the technical area on his slippery loafers for the best part of 90 minutes. How many phone call instructions did Sammy receive? - nowhere near this.

 

Truth is we don't know how much influence rafa really had DURING the game on Sunday. Sammy saying that Rafa was pulling every string as the match progressed is just his way of dealing with the press - it was no more insightful than a "we take every game as it comes"

 

I think Rafa knows full well that Sammy has made a really positive impact from a coaching / asst management perspective this season - he's worked with England as well as Bolton, AND with us before, so he's pretty damn experienced.

 

Mountain / Molehill

[Hassony]

  gackwilliams said:

I'm not suggesting it was done to make him look impotent, i'm asking whether Sammy could have been given more responsibility.

 

after what he did in charge of Bolton?

[Bigal]

At my work, my boss is on holiday and they still ring me and e-mail me with stuff to do.

[Jacks Jackie Jackson]

Yes, I thought I was Dreaming and it was all One Way or Another for a while and when our goal went in, I was in Rapture. But Picture This, we should have gone Atomic when they went down to ten men but it seemed we developed a Heart of Glass and the players looked like a load of Sunday Girls. Still, if Sammy can get them Touched by his Presence, dear, then we we'll be riding when the Tide is High and we won't be left feeling Union City Blue.

 

Did I miss any out?

[Hassony]

  Bigal said:

At my work, my boss is on holiday and they still ring me and e-mail me with stuff to do.

 

its a bit sad when people do that

[Stevie H]

think rafa's just completely obsessive. it's probably no slight on sammy lee at all, rafa would've done the same if that was capello there operating as his number two.

[Bigal]

  Hassony said:

its a bit sad when people do that

 

dont worry hassony, I still get time on here

[Stevie H]

  Bigal said:

At my work, my boss is on holiday and they still ring me and e-mail me with stuff to do.

not the best analogy that though really is it? sammy lee was never likely to sit on the bench scratching his balls and playing solitaire on the computer.

[Billy Dane]

Rafa doesn't strike me as the sort who is happy to delegate too much. I think he's a bit of a control freak.

[Chili Palmer]

  Stevie H said:

think rafa's just completely obsessive. it's probably no slight on sammy lee at all, rafa would've done the same if that was capello there operating as his number two.

 

 

I think thats excatly it, I think Rafa likes to feel that he has given 100% to each match, I don't know how much effect he had but he will at least have felt in control.

[Hassony]

  Stevie H said:

not the best analogy that though really is it? sammy lee was never likely to sit on the bench scratching his balls and playing solitaire on the computer.

 

 

I am just surprised that he didn't use his headset from Bolton to talk directly to Rafa

[Hassony]

  le2red said:

Rafa doesn't strike me as the sort who is happy to delegate too much. I think he's a bit of a control freak.

 

in that case, I am the anti rafa

[D.Boon]

  Hassony said:

I am just surprised that he didn't use his headset from Bolton to talk directly to Rafa

 

I was disappointed not to see the headpiece.

[Boca]

Sammy Lee - "What with the way technology is these days we were in constant contact with the boss"

 

Yeah Sammy it's called a moblile phone. They've been around a while.

[richwilks]

  Boca said:

Sammy Lee - "What with the way technology is these days we were in constant contact with the boss"

 

Yeah Sammy it's called a moblile phone. They've been around a while.

 

Technology these days. It's amazing.

[Chili Palmer]

  richwilks said:

Technology these days. It's amazing.

 

 

or as Sammy himself says, 'terrific'.

[Behind Enemy Lines]

Remember - Rafa would have had the benifit of hearing Andy Gray & passing on his wisdom

[Billy Dane]

Rafa obviously didn't listen properly with us dropping points.

[Coyler]

  le2red said:

Rafa obviously didn't listen properly with us dropping points.

I have to say if I was in Rafa's position I wouldn't have been able to resist the temptation to act contrary to Gray's every advice out of spite.

[Marvin]

  Jacks Jackie Jackson said:

Yes, I thought I was Dreaming and it was all One Way or Another for a while and when our goal went in, I was in Rapture. But Picture This, we should have gone Atomic when they went down to ten men but it seemed we developed a Heart of Glass and the players looked like a load of Sunday Girls. Still, if Sammy can get them Touched by his Presence, dear, then we we'll be riding when the Tide is High and we won't be left feeling Union City Blue.

 

Did I miss any out?

 

 

When Fabregas was injured I'm sure he said its Denis Denis

[kop205]

  Jacks Jackie Jackson said:

Yes, I thought I was Dreaming and it was all One Way or Another for a while and when our goal went in, I was in Rapture. But Picture This, we should have gone Atomic when they went down to ten men but it seemed we developed a Heart of Glass and the players looked like a load of Sunday Girls. Still, if Sammy can get them Touched by his Presence, dear, then we we'll be riding when the Tide is High and we won't be left feeling Union City Blue.

 

Did I miss any out?

 

I thought we handled Denis-lson well.