Well Chippy I knew you come back down to earth eventually...boy you have been way out there with your posts over the last few days, your anger has been clear to see but let's take a step back a minute...and by the way I thought your post was excellent...as usual.
Robbie was a great player for this club, call him a legend if you like but there are many players who have worn the blue shirt that you could call a 'legend' but that is not to dismiss Robbie's contribution as a player. He led WBA to promotion and then shortly thereafter got the sack..why was that? Did he lose the dressing room or did he just not have the coaching acumen to take them to the next level, after all he hadn't been a coach for long in grand scheme of things. Why was he appointed as AVB's #2 and not come here as the head coach? Was it to increase his tactical knowledge from the new wonder kid who learned so much from Jose or as a PR appointment? So with AVB's sacking I was surprised that Robbie was kept on let alone given the reins. The players all respected him as he was one of their own and they played for him, in fact they played their hearts out for him and us and much to everyones surprise and by riding our luck we won the CL and FA Cup. Robbie or whoever, pulled a defensive masterpiece out of their arse but things really could have been a lot different, much as you described with our games against Utd or Juve or Swansea or WBA. an inch here or there, a call here or there can make a huge difference and influence the result. What would have happened to Robbie had Messi scored the penalty, who knows, and the Robben miss followed by the penalty shoot out. In all likelihood he would have been gone anyway at the end of the season..but that is all history now.
We all know that Roman craves for the type of football Barca plays, so with all his money he could go after Pep except that plan 'A' got scuttled when Pep decided to take a sabbatical. So why wasn't Robbie the immediate first choice? after all he had won the most coveted prize of the lot, regardless of the luck he had on the way. Even the press and the football world were relentless saying how undeserving we were to win that trophy, after all it can only be won by teams that play attractive football not teams with heart and spirit shown by our lot, who on paper should have been outplayed and outclassed by the mighty Barca, Real and Bayern. So winning the trophy left Roman and the Board with a dilemma, they had to hire Robbie or be up against the fans and perhaps other Board members and certainly the press, so they tried the one season trick which Robbie apparently said no to; they ended up giving him two, knowing full well he wasn't going to be around that long anyway and Robbie knew it too, he isn't stupid, unless he could pull off another miracle...who was Robbie kidding? And at the start things were going great but despite the attractive football being played it was obvious that our defending was suffering as a result, despite being unbeaten. Analyse the games again and you will see had the other teams been able to finish the results would not have gone in our favour, however what we did not see was an improvement, (and I'll put injuries aside here) in our defending. Robbie and his coaching staff were simply not able to have an impact...why? and this is where I come back to his 'coaching' abilities..not his 'mangerial' abilities - did Robbie have enough in his coaching skill sets to recognise this and right the ship? Remember looking over his shoulder is a man I detest most, Michael Emenalo, this man has somehow managed to get the ear of Roman and is Roman's snitch on the training ground and in the dressing room; this man has no credibility in my books; there is just something about him that I don't like. I am in the business of law and security / analysing and have been doing so for over 30 years, I am not saying I'm right, but I certainly have my reservations about this man and how he has managed to survive time after time when managers leave. Did he recognise Robbie's apparent weakness and brought this to the attention of Roman directly...who knows...speculation and bias on my part perhaps. With no improvement seen defensively and Romans new toy not scoring, despite being given a midfield of immense talent, culminated with recent results Roman finally blew a gasket, made a decision based on anger and not rational judgement fired Robbie...what business man doesn't have plan 'B'. Robbie had defied Roman and Emenalo by dropping Torres but did so knowing that unless he got a result he was f**ked anyway. Roman thought he could convince Pep to cut short his vacation but that having failed miserably he begain scouring the planet he found our little fat waiter serving drinks in the middle east. And once again made an irrational decision in hiring him , knowing that the fans hate him with a passion, and no one will ever tell me that Roman doesn't understand the history of Liverpool / Chelsea and what it means to the fans and our distain for RB. I think he just got desperate and with Gourlay and Buck in tow they have well and truly f**ked things up for this club.....and don't get me started on those two w**kers.
With my rant almost over ...RB it would seem is probably a better 'coach' that Robbie was..but not a 'manager' or man in any true sense of the word that Robbie is. Robbie had a way with the players and fans that will never be forgotten but unfortunately CFC is a business, a worldwide brand, it depends on results, just like any other business and Robbie was caught up in the politics and the dirty business that is now football....the 'beautiful game' ...and as the money becomes the overriding factor in this league and in Europe, we will see more and more managers like Robbie and his predecessors become the whipping boys of multi billionaires who crave success in the world of sport....the business of football as we knew it (for us old folk) is dead and buried....welcome to the new world.....The new Roman Empire....welcome the man from Spain who will be our saviour for the next 6 oh sorry 7 months.
On a final note...as much as it pains me, I guess we can only see what he puts on the field before we cut his head off.....now where did I put that axe..
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