It is not about Pellegrini nor the players; It is more than that
Thursday, 29 October 09, 04:47 AM · Comments (234)
Siempre REAL
Real Madrid is a poor club. I'm not being sarcastic, it really is. The reason being is that it is always under a tremendous pressure. With greatness comes resonsebility, but at some point it has become unbearable. Criticism usually comes as a result of poor performances, but when you are famous for being rich and great, and also poor in terms of football, then it is difficult to cope.
The club has been having problems for about 7 years now. A lot of great players and managers have been signed and sacked, the club did win a title here and there, but the problem still exists.
Alcorcon trashing of Real Madrid was huge. It was painful and humilating. It was unbearable. That small team of a budget of 1m, proved a point. Real Madrid doesn't have a style, pride or spirit. And it is not about the players nor the coach, it is more than that.
Before Perez took over as president this summer, Real was already in crisis. I didn't call it crisis, but the majority did. The defeats to Barcelona and Liverpool were harsh as well. Perez' project seemed and is great. Whether his first period as president at the club was successful or not, that is debatable, but many people wanted him back.
They did because he is capable of signing the world's best; what Calderon failed to do in two years, he did it in one summer. Who didn't want Kaka or Ronaldo? He brought the first, and soon after the second. He wanted Villa, other people at the club (I am referring to Valdano and probably Pellegrini here) wanted Benzema instead, he brought the French. He was not convinced of Xabi Alonso (he had a good chance of signing him once, but didn't), Pellegrini said he was crucial, he brought the Liverpool man.
What I'm trying to say is, he consulted with the "specialists" before he acted. I'm in no way defending him, I have criticized him a lot for the way he offloaded some of our players, but we have to be honest here, he gave the coach and his staff what they wanted.
Pellegrini seemed to many to be the guy for the job. He was praised a lot, and he is now blamed a lot. That's fair, he shares a great share of the blame for failing in some areas such as not solving our organization and communication problems at the back, but I honestly think he is not our problem, nor it is the players.
I think the major problem we have, which was made crystal clear against Sevilla, Milan and Alcorcon is that we don't have an identity. Who is Real Madrid in terms of football? What is our style? What is our philosophy? Due to the disability the club has been having for years, we have failed to recover our style and even If we did at some point, we lost it again, for the very same reason.
In order to recover it, we need to suck up the pressure. We need to be united and have faith. Perez had a project that involved all the people who are currently at the club, from the guy who mows the pitch to Valdano, now let's stick with them. It is early. It really is. Yes, the defeats were harsh, but trust me on this one, sacking Pellegrini or bringing other six players won't solve everything, the cycle will continue.
I would rather win a title with style than three without style (If that's possible). I would rather wait for two years in order to recover our pride than have immediate results (again, if that's possible). We need to solve it permanently.
I was pleased to know what Florentino had to say about the recent defeat. He asked for the fans' patience. Others asked for forgiveness. That's too weak, there are some fans who don't deserve to be called Real Madrid fans, because all they wanted was Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema; a star-studded squad and immediate results, now they are whinning, those make me sick. If I can identify them at the Bernabeu, I would shoot them one by one from the press area.
The bottom line is, Real's problem lies down deep. The players and the coach failed, but even If they recover and win something this year, unless they do it with style, pride and spirit, the problem will still exist.
Hala Madrid!
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234 Madridistas have commented on "It is not about Pellegrini nor the players; It is more than that" · Add yours
Your comments are right on so many levels except for one fundementl point. Real Madrid have the biggest history in world football and rightly or wrongly the fans are convinced that this gives them the divine right to expect the same standards year in year out. They want to win everything and yet they lack the understanding to realise that football has changed so much since they won so many things in previous era's. Now we have the likes of Barcelona who are powerful domestically and in Europe too, as well as Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal who I believe would still knock out Madrid over two legs in Europe. Add to that list AC Milan, Juventus and Lyon and it shows were Madrid really are.
Sacking the manager now is wrong, if United, Liverpool and Arsenal had done the same after a handful of games, where would they be now and what would they have achieved. Success in any job can only be governed over a sustained period of time, but as you rightly say, Madrid dont give themselves that time and that is why they will struggle to reach the standards set previously, if indeed they ever will again.
d problem i find is tat our coach cannot dictate his terms to players..or its simple our players doesn't listen to coach as management supports them as they are of gr8 marketing importance.Real madrid signs coaches jus for namesake as everythin is controlled by veteran players n ppl from marketing deptt. But i still believe everything is not over yet we have d ability to come back to top again and we have ppl to do tatI(if thy realize dis) all we need is little more luck wid injuries.
i still support Madrid n will continue to do so 4 life.
Hala Madrid
I'm 104% agree with you! The prob is not the squad nor the coaching staff. What I've seen so far in every Real Madrid match (this season), is a group of 6 defenders, 4 forwards, and 1 Mesiah. I don't see a TEAM there. They hv all d talents they need, but it's just.. they need more than that. They need to work together as a one COMPLETE team with solid style and identity.
However, I don't blame anyone in the team for this prob. I just think that they need 2 b together for longer time. Good luck El Real!
i can't agree with this post anymore. this is ur best post so far this year. u just clearly point out what real madrid has been lacking in the recent years compared with the top teams. pressure is inevitable for real madrid and we must know how to deal with it. i haven't been saying the unique style and identity for a long time. but some fans here just think success can be simply achieved by 1 or 2 dayz after signing all the superstars. it needs time to gel. most pple in this blog understands this simple facts but they just don't have this kind of patience. this is the only way that we can become a top team again. with such a terrible condition, i dare say even mourinho, werger, or rafael can't give us nth!! Pelle doesn't seem doing a good job now, that's pretty obvious from the way he organized the team and with his unclear football philosophy(like that steve above said). but he def deserves more time to figure a way out to strengthen our team. no one can tell whether he will learn from his mistake or not. for those who started bitching at sacking the coach now, keep quiet until there is some big defeat. it's still too early for u guys to boost up stupid rumors along with the media and the real madrid hater around the world. u guys def don't deserve to be real madrid fans.
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
*i have been saying...
RM has always bought the best players in the world, but sometimes buying power doesn't always meaning winning power. Aresenal for example nutures their players from a young age, thats where they get their sense of pride and comrade from. Maybe its time we tried to do the same. Start to build our team from within and not without. I totally agree that, we will need far more time for our team to gel before we can see the results that we want. However, yes lets keep the faith.
Hala Madrid x
I have one question to Adam.. He rightly pointed out about the fickle fans,now..
What I DON'T understand is this... I notice that whenever our team is playing bad,the Bernabeau crowd jeers them,even if Real are leading 1-0 there"ll be boos at half-time !!!! I find it shocking..does any see Man Utd,Liverpool,Milan fans jeering their team..they support them to the hilt,up the players morale and invariably the players respond,that the REAL fans' responsibility..and not whining,whistling or waving white flags!!
What is more worrying is that I am not talking about a small section of the crowd but majority of the stadium... What's wrong with us Madridistas!!!???
Reply to RealBlanco:
I watched Real Madrid Vs AC Milan in the Bernabeu, and the fans were behind the team all the time. I'm 100% honest with you, the fans kept cheering even when Milan were leading, they never stopped especially the Ultra Sur group. I stopped tweeting, left my iPhone on the desk and started cheering myself. Don't believe what is said, or at least in that particular game, I haven't seen more support than that. After the game, the fans were really down in the dumps. Very sad and frustrated, but guess what, the majority will be back in the Bernabeu for the next game.
Reply to Mbali Dlamini:
People consider Chelsea to be a strong and successful team. Do they follow the same philosophy? Real Madrid at least has a great history.
I disagree with those who say that pride and spirit ONLY comes from national players (in our case Spanish) or from youth teamers, It doesn't make sense to me. Is Lass Spanish? He is working his ass off all the time for the team. Is he a youth teamer? No, he is not.
Is Messi Spanish? Was Eto'o Spanish?
Reply to Timothinho:
The coach and the players might be part of the problem (for example our lack of a strong left-back), but in my article, I'm talking about the root and original problem which is not having style, spirit or pride.
Reply to Steve:
Couldn't agree more Steve, and I know RM fans are demanding, but there are some who are just FIFA 10 followers. Real football is not a PS3 game, it is tough and needs time.
adam, I am seriuos, this is your best article I have read!! I agree, I really think the difference to chelsea, barca and manu is not the potential, but organization..and pelle can get it done, and I have hope he gets it done till february! but I don't care if we play badly sometimes as long as the direction is the right one..I think we are on the right path, but it's a stony one! hala madrid!
The thing that i have been voicing about for quite some time has now come up big in the form a post. Good job Adam. I am a guy who craves for the lost philosophy, the lost art associated with Madrid. Cos i grew with that flavour of madrid. And the frenziness that has engulfed the Bernabeu ever since madrid lost in the pre-quarters of the UCL, the identity of Real Madrid as a European powerhouse and as a great footballing club has gone in tatters. And we as fans do not do any justice to that as well. As the first comment aptly put it, we as fans expect nothing short of success to the levels that the madrid forefathers had set earlier. This is way too much pressure for the entire club to endure. So it is but natural that the players would see their confidence dwindle and for some it could be completely destroyed. Hope all the irks that are being targeted at the club and the players works out positively and restore all the lost glory back to the club.
Sorry Adam but I completely disagree with you. Most of the players that came to the club are all new...so why would they carry presure with them.
And as for identity in terms of playing style....look at chelsea...they have managed to change from a 4-3-3 to a diamond formation which is really hard to capture...and they have produced results. Secondly Chelsea only has limited number of players so the players are guaranteed more or less playing time.
On the other hand there is so competition in madrid and still players dont give their best performance. Dont tell me vaart nor guti nor benzema wanted to impress against Alcorcon.
Therefore my only conclusion is that a certain coach just doesnt have it in him to take these world class players and mold them into a comprehensive squad. Maybe he needs more time...but in real you cant give him more time after all that spending.
Ancelotti has managed to get the players who also have great ego to play just like he wants to. Why cant pelle do that?? he is lacking something.
And again...all new players soo there is no way they carry the burden of being part of such an enormous club.
It is only(!) a matter of time..a time of our way of playing football!Until then,no losing of identity is a priority and the only important thing because of that pressure we deserved ourselves!CR could change many things!
You're right, Adam, bringing in a new coach and more new players wouldn't solve the problem. Because that is exactly what happened over summer.
One can't replace more than half of a team and expect them to play like Gods from day one. Pellegrini is clear on what he wants, touch-football - one or two touches, then distribute. But the players need to be able to get into the flow of this system, they need time, but it's Real Madrid and so there is no time. Fans and media demand instant results.
I do disagree with you on one point, namely that Pérez gave the staff what they wanted. The Villa-deal fell through because Valencia raised Villa's price tag, Benzema was simply plan B. Pellegrini wanted to keep Sneijder. After Sneijder and Robben were sold, the coach even made a remark to the media about the club needing to raise funds.
What I want to see is a team that plays in unity, plays like a TEAM. I want that fighting spirit they displayed halfway through season 06/07. I hope they can tap into that.
Reply to fofos:
I don't know where you disagree with me, but you will be amazed at the list of players and coaches who have failed at Real Madrid. From Arrigo Sacchi as a sporting director, to Luxemburgo as a head coach to Samuel Eto'o as a player. They never had enough time nor faith to continue. Giving the sack has been as easy as pressing a button. Heck, even sacking the president himself has been as easy as publishing an article in Marca. The point is with the disability at the club, we lost many things including our footballing style. It was rare that the players or the coach was the problem.
Reply to Layla:
Perez might have dealt with our offloading strategy in an insane way, but I can tell you he gave the staff what they wanted especially when Pellegrini insisted on Alonso. Villa was willing to come and I think Perez was willing to raise his bid, but he was told that Benzema is an attractive option.
Good article, but it's incorrect to say that it's not about the players or the coach. I agree that bringing in a new coach wouldn't fix the problem, but ultimately the players just have to step up. Really this is another manifestation of what you have mentioned. This phenomenon that you speak of not only governs the way the fans act, but also the players and administration.
Reply to Ryan McManus:
I did say the players and the coach are part of the problem, but THAT problem is not as BIG or as COMPLICATED as the REAL problem. In this article, I discussed the root of all problems.
Rayan, we have had fantastic players and coaches, they all have something in common, guess what? They all haven't had the faith or time from the club to make it. Sneijder said he was treated like a kid. Eto'o said he would retire at Mallorca, because unlike Madrid, they had faith in him and helped him be the player he is now, I could go on, on and on, but I think you get the picture.
Great article Adam; extremely well thought out.
However there's one point of contention I have with the piece.
When you say we need to build a Real Madrid identity, I feel that it is the coach's responsibility to guide the team into a cohesive entity. As a coach, he has to get rid of any and all underlying sources of tension/ego in the dressing room to merge the team into one. So far I have failed to see that in Pellegrini; like for example Guti's outburst at the Alcorcon game. Reports say he has been dropped from the team, but I'd like to see how long it takes before he is back in the team.
I like Pellegrini; I think our excellent start to the season held something very promising in what we can expect from the team - even if it feels like watching a FIFA 10 line up rather than a real football line up. I'm sincerely hoping the lacklustre and in the case of Alcoron, dreadful, performances are temporary. However I do have my doubts over Pellegrini being able to form the Real Madrid identity that you talk about. I mean don't misunderstand me - I do think that if he is give time he can reverse the situation and we may even win the league this season.
But I just think Pellegrini has a very passive personality. Unlike say Cruyff during the Barca dream team era. He was explosive and his strong personality cultivated the best out of his players. I think we need a figure head - okay maybe not necessarily the coach - who can carry that out. I cannot name drop off hand, but there has to be someone out there!
Lastly, I think Perez didn't deal with the offloading of players in the smartest way. I am still ruing the day we let Sneijder go. From here on I can only hope Alonso doesnt disappoint.
All said and done, I hope we win against Getafe; failing that, I hope we don't fire Pellegrini. That'd be the dumbest thing we can do at this point.
Cheers! And Hala Madrid!
S
I have to disagree with the assumption that the coach & the players are not to blame! What kind of coach keeps on playing Marcelo & Drenthe in LB position when they keep getting raped week in, week out? What kind of coach plays Kaka as a winger? What kind of coach plays Raul ahead of Higuain every week? Not a very wise coach in my opinion. Pelle seems so out-of-sorts out their on the RM dug-out.
With respect to players, these sons of bitches need to perform 110% in every match considering the astronomical wages they take home every week.
You want to solve the dedication problem? Link the players' salries directly to their performance on the pitch and to results, and then see what a completely different team we have!
I think RM players are just a bunch of spoilt kids who are treated as royalty. Take away all their perks & then u'll see a true football team!
Reply to S:
I hope there are many RM fans like you. Good points.
First, on Guti, you said according to reports. According to both men, nothing happened, if did, Guti would be fined. On the official site, Pelle's comments here LINK
Guti's here LINK
Second, you said it is the coach's job, I sort of agree, but don't you think the coach needs at least a season to install such a fundamental value? Which brings us to the point on this article, no faith in the coach. He gets sacked after three or four months.
Reply to rm fan:
What kind of a club that sacks Capello after saving their ass twice (1997/ and in 2006). What kind of a club that sells Makelele and Eto'o. What kind of a club that hires and sacks over 6 coaches in 5 years or so?
Pellegrini "We need to find our identity, which comes with time."
Nice post.
I'll put this out nice and simple.
We need to find our Identity. Valdano and Perez don't have to butt in though.
They want attacking football and goals for the fans.
Just leave Pellegrini alone. Lets play possession football or whatever. I don't care about Barca. Lets just be a successful club.
What is the real reason behind Guti's exclusion from the squad list for Getafe? He said he can play, Pellegrini says he can not. Hmmmmm
Reply to Adambader:
look like pellegrini found his lost balls!!!!LOLZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Reply to trooper:
next time once ronaldo is fit.. i would like to see raul excluded from the list.. not that i am raul hater but just to see a little different squad.. and i want VDV to be in there..
Reply to rm fan:
I dont really see what the salaries have to do with anything. These have all been professional players all this time.
Benitez wanted to offload alonso last year but when he ended up staying he was playing his heart out.
Kaka has always been professional, all his career.
So I disagree on your second point. But I totally agree with the coach part. He is not utilizing his players right.
Also (to Adam) I agree with you that the club has been treating players in a wrong way...and we have destroyed carreers....but these are all new players soo the past shouldnt matter.
If they were trained correctly and learned their tactics right then they should perform well. They have no pressure on them since they are all stars and everybody recognises their individual abilities. The problem is that you need to work with them in a good fashion. I recokon the problem starts with the training. Our staff from coaches to physios probably is not good enough...look at the number of injuries we had. and how wasteful we are at set pieces. Its ridiculous.
Reply to fofos:
There is no pressure? There is. Ronaldo is the best and most expensive in the world and he is expected to score lots of goals. Alonso has a tough job which is to control the tempo of the game, Kaka has to play well all the time to prove he is not past it..etc there is pressure, a tremendous one especially after Perez' spending.
You make it look easy. "If they train correctly and they learn the tactics, they will perform well". This is theoretical. Football is human, things can change dramatically and quickly during the game. If it was as simple as training a group of players and telling them how they play, then we wouldn't need a coach. His job is to make the necessary changes during the game because it simply changes.
Reply to Adambader:
Thanks for the links! I read Guti's take on the official site after I posted the comment here.
Yes I do agree 100% that the coach needs time to cultivate the identity. I would definitely like to see Pellegrini given time.
Personally, I don't care if we lose the title this season or if we have to painfully watch Barca win the Champions League at the Bernabéu (GOD FORBID!), as long as we can find back the old Real Madrid; the one that represented classy football, excellent sportsmanship, and most importantly winning games in style, I'm content.
You're absolutely right that coaches at the Bernabéu aren't given enough time. Most people except a LOT from Real Madrid, which, is at some level reasonable because we are after all Real Madrid.
However, in our desire to see the team lift trophy after trophy, we are often forgetting that football's changed over time. Our competitors' have gotten stronger, we have new players who need time to adjust, our new coach needs time to understand the club dynamics before he is able to do anything - coaches are not miracle workers.
Sir Alex Ferguson or Johan Cruyff did not turn the their teams around in the first one-to-two years of their coaching careers. The essential element here is time. Fans and club management alike needs to realize this: football's 99% hard work and efficient organizing (of the team) and 1% miracle.
Reply to Adambader:
Sorry but this players have been under the same kind of pressure in all their professional carreer. In Milan the whole team was counting on kaka, amd Alonso had so much to prove to benitez. As for ronaldo...he is good and he nows it so I doubt he feels any pressure...he just does what he does (besides no complaints about him)
The problem is the whole team. And a coach job is more than making substitutions. He needs to teach them his tactics so that the players will learn whhere each of their team member is in the field and what his role is. That is exactly why barcelona can play with closed eyes and still make pin point passes.
Marcelo and drenthe are confused about their roles. Raul is just roaming around and as for our central defenders..huh they dont receive the proper back up, they dont know when to close down or anything.
All of the above is only learned through training ang gelling. And it's the coaches job to coordinate the two things in a matter that wont disrupt the team from getting the results. Especially when you have such a vast talent in your team.
Maybe Pelle is feeling the pressure and he is just grasping. Anw hopefully the team will improve in the next games. I dont care if we lose...but its the way we play. I havent seen any improvement sice shuster. We never manage to dominate games and to push our opponets into a deeper position.
I couldn't agree more with you Adam, amazing article. It's clear that it's not the players or the manager, there's much more to it than that.
Reply to Adambader:
Valdano.
Btw I think Tomorrows game against Getefa will tell us alot in terms of Real Madrids status this season.
It'll tell us whether we wanna fight for La Liga or not. If we wanna learn from our mistakes or not. Don't get me wrong I'm asking for a win. I'm asking for a team with a fighting spirit on the Pitch.
Kaka its your time now; you have to give it everything you have.
Honestly I think that We have had two significant games this season. 1. the game against Sevilla and 2. the game against Madrid. Both games were defeats. All the games don't really mean anything because these two matches were the gauge to see how far Madrid have come. I don't agree firing Pellegrini but this is a good opportunity to see just how the average Madrid fan thinks.
The average Madrid fan could not tell the difference between their head and their ass. We are still alive in the Champions League, We are alive in the League. Yet in the past five games we are calling for blood. I don't deny that the past defeats have been embarassing but the real people that are responsible are pointing fingers at the man that went on a 9 game winning streak and scored more than 30 goals already, Manuel Pellegrini. We don't have to appologize for a damn thing. What we have to do is pull our boot straps and tighten our belts. We have to train and if it meas to black out the media we have to do that.
The main problems that Madrid face is that the President, the Director of Football, and some of the Players are choosing what team plays. They completely undermine the coach. They talk to the media, complain, "suggest" who should play and throw their toys for everyone else to see. Pellegrini asked for a world class left back, we got nothing. Pellegrini wanted a world class striker, we told David Villa to sod off. The number 1 reason why we always seem to have trouble is... REAL MADRID IS RUN AS AN ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY AND NOT A FOOTBALL CLUB! We absolutely have to win by 2,000 goals and play free flowing football. Adam put it best and I take pride in the league won by Capello because we won as a team he ruled the pitch and when we had to we crawled to the trophy with 1-0 wins. That is how football is sometimes is and the idiotic Madrid fans have to realize this. If they want beautiful football and no trophies go to North London to the Emirates.
2 should be Milan. I wish we could edit
In a way this defeat has also revealed what players we need to get rid of. The first player that should be shipped out is Guti. Guti is one of those players that can be a brilliant at one instance and completely hopeless the next. This notion that we have to keep the veterans is stupid. Number two our left backs. We have none. We need one desperately. Marcelo is a winger plain and simple. Many of us stuck up for him but he has not delivered. Drenthe is improving but we need a wolrd class left back now not in a year or two. Number 3 Raul. I gave Benzema a lot of slack becasue he talked to the media about how he can't play with Raul. After the last few games I completely agree with him. Raul does whatever he wants on the pitch. I see Benzema's frustration. When he gets a long ball there is no one to play with because Raul falls back or is somewhere else on the pitch. Number 4 Xabi and Kaka need to improve. Granted they are still adjusting but they have to step it up.
Very nice post adam...
For the first time in the last 5 years at least, this season i could see pellegrini's style of football being implemented during the first few games of the season.... i was elated to see the one touch passes that were being played in midfield and the off the ball pressure that was being applied.... i agree that the system is not working like a charm but i think with time, it will...
it also gives me great pleasure to see that most fans want manuel pellegrini to stay.... if only we could communicate this message through to perez and valdano then maybe he won't get sacked..... so adam is it possible for us to communicate our opinions to the people that make decisions.... if yes then i say lets do this!
HALA MADRID!
People that believe that there is nothing wrong must be stupid.
People said "It is just 2 defeats, that's normal for a new team." What I have seen is anything BUT normal.
I know it is a new project with a new manager. But you can't just bury your head in the sand using that argument.
There is something VERY wrong at Real Madrid.
We are easy to play against. How is it possible that a pub side can out think Real Madrid? How is it possible that their plyers know how to position themselves better than us?
These are not teething problems. These are problems that run very deep and need to be addressed now.
I do not believe believe that Pellegrini is not training them in this aspect. That would make him a terrible coach. And he isn't.
I believe the players are not taking it in.
And I stand by what I said earlier. Pellegrini needs to go in there with a FIST OF IRON. And the directors need to back him up. That would be the first step.
Ignoring this leads to ridicule. And Real Madrid lead the world when it comes to ridiculing themselves.
What WILL happen at Real Madrid:
Drenthe, Gago and Metzelder will find themselves out of favour for a while. Guti might miss a few games, as he's done in the past - nothing serious though. Raul will once again become the savious of Madrid. In fact, AS newspaper already baptised him as a futire coach of Real Madrid - THE DAY AFTER ALCORCON.
We will, of course, still lurch from disaster to disaster. Until we realise that the problem is an INSTITUTIONAL ONE.
What SHOULD happen:
1) Give Raul and Guti a kick up the ass. No more playing to the gallery.
2) Complete and utter support to th coach. No more conflicts between player and coach.
3) Even if we lose the next 10 matches, we support Pellegrini as coach. Players need to learn that the coach is no longer the fall guy for their failures.
4) Emphasise youth. We need to give young players a run in the team. Not throw them to the lions, but blood them at the right moments.
5) Do away with the so-called rotation system. No meed to pacify players. Make them sweat blood for a place in the team.
6) Establish some references on field. Kaka supporting the strikers. An established midfield. They should be able to play with each other blind folded.
7) Ban ALL player agents and press from training sessions. They are leeches that contribute to the confusion, and profit from it.
I say that this is what should happen, because recent history tells up that this is what WON'T HAPPEN.
Reply to Caracoleo:
I agree with you about Pellegrini. He needs to be tougher. No doubt he's a brilliant coach and I firmly believe if he is given time and adequate backing from the Management he can turn things around for us.
However, at the moment he comes across as a very passive coach. He needs to be more aggressive; brutal with his decision makings. He needs to let his players know that at the end of the day his word goes and if said group of players do not give their 110%, they'll risk warming the bench consistently.
I hope we don't let him go. It'd be a sad sad waste of a coach.
Reply to Caracoleo:
First let me address the alcorocn problem,
The match was DAVID vs goaliath. for them it was the match of the season, a chance of the lifetime. should we have been more professional, yes, better at defence hell yeah...
In that match what was so obvious was our lack of communication in defence, and guti and M diarra's horrible passes, dont get me wrong guti has flashes of brilliance but many of his passes go astray then they should, well diarra is a good destroyer, but horrible distributor, i liked gago's performance much better...
Now let me put it this way for all the teams we are the team to beat, we are goliath of football, so there is immense pressure for us (as adam said) not only to win all the matches, but win them all in style, there is a very low tolerance level of the fans, they want the best all the time....
AS & MARCA ARE BLOODTHIRSTY for the coach's head..
maybe as newsreporter wants the position for himself/..........!!
we need stability, rem a certain vicente del bosque,
adam i agree that perez has listened to pelle for some transfers, but it is shocking how a team like us have only one genuine winger.....
do u think SAF would stand for this.....,
perez needs to give pelle more freedom for transfers......!!!
and keep pelle for the third year,....
and gods sake the players, coach, director and president should stop talking about trophies.
the madrid heiarchy should start deflecting pressure from the team and the coach.. and give them time and space to breath.......
and they should never mention the word crisis....!!!
i hate that word...!!
Hala Perez!!!
Hala Madrid!!!
Reply to Shre7:
LINK
manchini for madrid...???
i hope they dont change the coach,.,,!!
Reply to Shre7:
This is an old story. I actually think Mancini is an excellent coach. But changing coaches now sends a message to the players that the coach is expendable, but not them. It would be a bad move.
Alcorcon was David VS Goliath. But that is no excuse. We should have done a professional job, limited them to a few pot shots from outside he area, scored a few goals and then gone out for dinner in downtown Madrid.
The players seem to think that after losing a few games, it doesn't matter, we fire the coach and we start from scratch. Guti gets back into the team, Raul becomes our spiritual leader, and we get some younger player to take the blame for everything that went wrong.
In other words the players get rewarded for their failure.
Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.
Any player that does not apply himself in training should be castigated.
Any player that throws a strop should be castigated.
Any player using the press as an outlet for his frustrations should be castigated.
These players need to be wipped into shape.
And right here is where they start paying - in sweat.
I don't expect us to play like Barcelona, but I do expect us to behave like professional athletes, and do a professional job.
Transfers should not be a big talking point. We have signed many players. Another signing would just deepen the culture of dependancy on major stars.
The solution has to come from within. We could start with the 7 points I outlined earlier.
Reply to Caracoleo:
Hmmm nice;
So if we keep Pellegrini long enough we can lose Raul?
I say Hala Pellegrini then.
Why is Alipio in Juvenil A???
He is too good for Juvenil A, he should be Real Madrid C atleast with Enzo
Anyone which RM team Theo and Luca Zidane are playing in?
Not sure if this was posted before
LINK
One of your best posts so far, Adam. I fully agree with you that it takes time and if the team and the coach will need another 2 years to achieve stability then so be it. The defeat with Alcorcon was downright humiliating and painful (just seeing the score was enough to really ruin my day) but I hope the team can internalize what is happening to Real Madrid right now and act upon it. It takes two to tango, and the team and Pellegrini also have to take blame--not about everything.
I hope the team can take the time to have a get together with the coach and talk things out. If a retreat of some sort will be necessary to at least give the team a better understanding of their responsibilities and the pressure they are knee-deep in then they should.
Michael Essien at Real Madrid would be heaven.
starting 11 for getafe
ramos albiol pepe arbeloa
lass xabi
higuain kaka marcelo
benzema
i would say thats probz our best starting 11 apart from ronaldo in there
Reply to W335Y09:
thats the closest we have been to our best 11
no wonder keep on sacking the manager doesnt help....we cant be a team if you keep removing and bringing managers in...stick with a manager through the hard times! give him faith and believe that he can turn things around thats why im 100% behind pellegrinii!
Reply to helmet_09:
some times you have to grind out 1-0 results...those are the games that can define your season...end of the day 3 points come first ...you can win by 4 goals or 5 goals after that
Reply to Caracoleo:
that press thing is so true! they already have a poll on who do you want to see as the next coach of real madrid WTF? if i was pellegrini id be realy pissed of at the press! secondlly i think pellegrini should keep guti out of the lineup for a wile
Reply to W335Y09:
totally agreed, so is the lineup u made!! i will suggest to bring in RVN during half time if possible.
Reply to Madridista09:
essein is gorgeous but i think Xabi and Lass will ultimately work out fine. all xabi, lass, and essein are world class but it will be extremely wasteful to have any one of them being a bench player. i prefer promoting a youth player like DLR from castilla to develop instead of relying on gago.
Obviously many of you Raul haters want him to be benched at whatever cost, but I think we should bench Benzema. I really don't think that he has justified a starting role so far, and Higuain has been unfairly given the cold shoulder. Caracoleo is right that the players have to learn that they are accountable for their failures, and I think that Benzema is particularly guilty. It seems as if he thinks that the fact that we overpaid for him means that he can just cruise through every game without trying. And it seems as if all the other players have at least been apologizing and admitting their fault but I have yet to see him say anything. That's one thing you cannot accuse Raul of. He may be slow and ineffective at times but he doesn't get complacent, like some of the younger players or even Guti.
Making Raúl a scapegoat is an extremely easy task these days isn't it? It helps to overlook the fact that we excessively overpaid for a hyped up striker who has yet to show his money's worth. I say relegate Benzema down the pecking order. Start Raúl/Higuain; they are more effective than Benzema/anyone.
Reply to Tim:
The problem isn't with Benzema its with Raul.
Benzema is only 21 who do you think has more influence on the attack? Raul should be 100% blamed. Benzema already proved himself in the past Raul has yet to prove himself for 5/6 years.
Sometimes I really wonder if you people really have a clue about football or not. Benzema can score 30 goals a season easily with a proper attacking duo.
I'm not asking for too much; lets just put Benzema and Kaka behind him in the attack.
And I will bet you cold hard cash that you'll be shocked on how creative our offense will turn into.
If we bench Benzema I really wish he goes to Barcelona; before you know it he'll make the likes of Ibrahimovic a second grade striker.
you guys need more time to gel...
but to lose 4-0?? thats too much..
that just shows that there are bigger problems than team chemistry..
and why wont gut get punished?
he fought with king casillas and now with the coach?
i meant guti..sorry
Reply to Madrid4Life:
You wonder... and I am 100% sure that you don't have the slightest clue about football. Raul is the most proven player on this whole team, and has proven himself season after season. Honestly, you treat this like it's FIFA 10 or something. If that was the case, sure, sit him out and let the young players develop. But this is real life. You have things completely backwards. Benzema is not proven in European competition or internationally while his domestic accomplishments in the French league very well may not translate against the tougher opponents. What is your basis for saying he can score 30 goals in a season? How can you say the players should have to fight for a place in the squad and then completely dismiss benching Benzema? You are insanely hypocritical, blinded, and prejudiced. Get your mind out of video games and realize that football doesn't work that way.
Indeed, each had a satisfactory amount of goals last season, and now we can rely on the likes of Ronaldo and Kaka to increase our goal count.
The above comment was in response to Tim and was referring to Raul and Higuain.
what else does Raul have to prove???
Benzema has to prove he was worth that money, prove he can succeed at real madrid, prove he is a madrid player,prove he can lead the new attack.
A 21 yr old has to prove a million things, a 32 year doesn't just if he can still play.
Reply to Ryan McManus:
Wow you really talked out of Anus right their.
"Raul is the most proven player on this whole team, and has proven himself season after season."
Please don't ever read my comments or reply to mine ever again you're hopeless; its a waste of time replying to you. You should give me my two minutes of life back.
Reply to Madridista09:
Lol; just lol.
Seriously is this what we have come to?
"A 21 yr old has to prove a million things, a 32 year doesn't just if he can still play."
This is the mentality of the biased Raul Madrid supporters and I think are the main reason we have failed in the past 6 years.
Real Madrid; NOT Raul Madrid. Swallow it even if its big.
I don't think that Raul is the ONLY problem we got, but for me he is certainly one of them.
True, Benzema hasn't performed. But this is symptomatic of the role that Raul has on the pitch: He just sidelines everyone.
Like many other players, Benzema doesn't know what the hell he is supposed to be doing. It's a tactical mess.
And it stems from Pellegrini's desire to make everyone happy and placate egos. It seems that everyone's role is to do 'a bit of this and that'. The result is Raul continues doing whatever he wants to, and Benzema plays second fiddle.
It is simply not acceptable.
Pellegrini has to assign clear roles to the players. Not just ask them to fill in whatever gaps Raul leaves on the pitch.
Reply to Madridista09:
What else does Raul have to prove????
I think Raul has to answer questions as to why he is still playing for Real Madrid. There are a number of people, like me, who feel he should have retired YEARS AGO.
Raul isn't the only problem. What about the defence? It is absolutely appalling!
Reply to Caracoleo:
Our defence as as individuals are fantastic (except Marcelo) Pepe, Ramos and Albiol are World-Class and defend well most of the time. I actually feel the problem comes with our formation. Since we have one winger, our wing-backs are left with teh job to bombard the wings leaving huge gaps in our defence which leads to goals. We usually don't concede from open play unless it's a counter-attack. Our main problem is actually positioning in set-pieces. Nobody marks properly, it's like everyybody marks air. Pellegrini needs to really work on set-pieces.
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
i've already said this for 100 times, this formation would be fine even we've got a player who can be able to drop back to fill up the CB position while both CBs stretch out to the side. however, i overestimated m.diarra,i blame him more than Drenthe on the alcorcon defeat! he failed to recover when drenthe, who had tried hard to track back, goes up. however, i do agree that we should make some adjustment on the current formation. we rely on the fullbacks too much on attacks. it is very dangerous cuz we haven't established a mature system yet.
let me try to settle down the raul-benze debate. i personally don't think raul is the only one to blame for the recent defeats or draw. everyone had bad performance. raul did try hard but honestly he just couldn't catch up with the rhythm. he is playing with spiritual but something he can't help with his decline on physical fitness. everyone knows how much he contributes to the team and how much he has done to make him the legend. but honestly, it's the time for him to step back to the bench and be a sub. he is playing way too much and i dare say he won't be even earned a place on most top team in europe. benze has been doing horribly recently. everyone knows his quality but he is doing terribly on the pitch and really needs to work hard to prove his value. if he keeps on playing like this, he would just turn out to be another anelka!!
Higuain is still my first pick on the squad and i can't come up with no reason not to start him. i also hope RVN can make his last contribution to us and turns out to be our savier again. he had never let us down when he was healthy.
david villa is still my favorite. benze is undoubtly a long term investment but he is way too risky to rely on such a youngsta while we have to rebuild our team. honestly, i still prefer david villa who must give us the most prominent impact immediately to a 21 youngster who is likely to have difficulty to be putting on the spot light. being bought with 35 mil gives enormous pressure to the youngster and it def will affect his confidence esp when he had bad performance cuz pple are more likely to think he is unforgiving.
I am not sure If Benzema really said that he has problem with playing with Raul (never saw him say that on TV or in a press conference), but I don't think the main reason he is under-performing is Raul. He is just having that down period all players have throughout their careers, he has NOTHING to prove so HAS Raul. They are both world class.
As I said before, who is in form plays. At the moment, I can only think of Higuain and Raul who are performing better than the others. I'm not sure If Ruud is ready, but If he is, I would like him to take over, even of that means Raul sits on the bench. I don't care, who plays better deserves to be in the lineup.
Reply to Ryan McManus:
Ryan, I have seen Raul play in the Bernabeu, and in that game, the AC Milan one, he was ONE OF THE FEW who tried hard. He worked his ass off, he went to take corners, asked us to cheer, he put everything there, however, in the past, that kind of thing was done on a consistent basis, but not these days.
It is totally normal. He has been playing soccer for 15 years, and it is difficult to stay motivated when your team has been unstable and put under pressure for years.
There are some people like me who have a lot of respect for Raul, but we demand that he has a lesser role on the team. We want the best for the club, and we want to thing long-term. I wish Raul could play well consistently, but he can't. If he can, I wouldn't mind see him play in every game
According to the Spanish press, Raul is on the bench for today's game.
They think it is a huge risk Pellegrini is taking...
Comments Ronaldo made this week:
1. I Would not sign any Barcelona players for Real Madrid.
2. I am convinced we will win the treble.
3. I would spend more than €94 million on Myself.
4. Wayne Rooney should join Real Madrid.
Such a humble guy, wow.
Roberto Mancini ends his contract with Inter! The Italian is set to get a big pay-off from the Nerazzurri, which could pave the way for him to take over at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Mancini is an inexperienced manager. I am going to count the days till he’s sacked. Crazy if he's going to be the new manager, it does look that way. He is set to cut all ties with Inter. The timing is extraordinary.
With inexperienced I mean he's never played in Spain and hasn't managed a team in Spain as of yet. He made Inter champion in a really weak league. After that he was a total flop in Europe. Crazy.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Madrid4Life, I humbly request you to return me the minutes of my life I am going to waste now in a futile attempt to reason with you.
Blaming Raúl for our slump in form is the most stupid, conceited reason any Madridista can come up with. I wouldn't even expect this to come from the Boixos Nois.
None of us here disagree that Raúl should not start every game like he is right now because at 32 he isn't physically capable of maintaining his form throughout the 90 minutes. However, so far into the season, Raúl has shown consistency in matches where everyone else just shrugged off. I'm talking specifically about the AC Milan game.
Raúl, like any other player on the team, cannot be expected to perform 110% in every game he plays. Especially at his level, which, relates back to what everyone's trying to say here: reduce the number of starts he makes. He still has it in him to come on as a super sub and do some damage on our attacking line up.
Having said that, I have yet to see Benzema impress on a regular basis. Yes he is 21 and yes he did score 30 goals/season but this isn't Ligue 1. If he thinks just because Real Madrid overpaid for his services he should be given a free route to start every game, he's an idiot.
And you are a bigger idiot for pinning what is a fault at the fundamental level of the club on one man. (By the way, I'd like you to name just one player who is above 30 who has consistently netted 18 goals in the league for two consecutive seasons. Just name me one and I'll rest my case.)
As for putting Benzema and Kaka together, sure why not? With the way Pellegrini is rotating the squad, I'm sure it will come up eventually, if it hasn't already. We'll talk then.
Also one of you mentioned Raúl's on the bench tonight. Perfect opportunity for Benzema to show what he is capable of.
Reply to Tim:
I didn't even bother to read.
But anyway I lost all my respect to Raul when he started the Alcoron game. His power and influence on the management proved to be something much higher of any coach or president. A complete disruption of soccer morale and fairness.
Now lets see what happens today. Watch how our attack without Raul destroys Getafe(If Raul doesn't start). And let that be the smallest proof of everything I've been saying all along.
Reply to Caracoleo:
Nobody said Raul is the only problem; but he is the MAIN problem through the past 5 years and nobody can deny that. He is the only player that has more power than the coach and that alone is just becoming so frustrating that you just wanna explode.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
are you stupid or just mentally retarded?
tell me what a 32 yr old has to prove in football what a 21 doesn't?
So you're telling me that a 21 yr old is already proven and every 32 yr old is young and inexperienced and matured.
LMAO you are just one blind raul hater.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
When Benzema plays shit today and IF getafe win i hope you open your eyes and stick a cone up your dirty ass.
I got my money that Higuain will outshine Benzema. Higuain is fantastic.
adam wrote such a nice article and the topic people talk about is raul!! what a pitty!
hala madrid!
Hey Adam, probably the best and most well thought out piece you've written. I totally agree with your comments as they boil down to what i've always maintained: patience. REAL MADRID must be patient if we are to return to the pinnacle of European football.
We have suffered a few poor results in the last few games, but it's still early days. if we all get behind the team and if Florentino Perez affords Pellegrini time we can be champions again.
Turning the tide of a struggling club is rarely, if ever, an instant smash, especially with one as massive as REAL MADRID. Rather It's a long process in which setbacks along the road will have to be suffered in order to achieve success.
Judging by the responses of the MADRIDISTA's seem to be in agreement with the blog. Which is encouraging.
Well done on such a good piece Adam.
Here's to the game against Getafe.
HALA MADRID!!!
Confirmed lineup: Casillas,Ramos,Pepe,Albiol,Arbeloa,Lass,Xabi Alonso,Kaka,Marcelo,Higuain, Benzema.. finally Pellegrini plays Arbeloa at left back.. Marcelo a winger
vamos vamos vamos!
Those of you questioning Benzema can already see he's done a lot of chasing and pressing.
He's already equalled Raul's output on the field.
Didn't take much did it?
Reply to Madrid4Life:
I'm sure you read it. Possibly multiple times. And felt adequately stupid when you realized that blaming Raúl for everything was just you being a silly arse. Look man do us all a favour? Log off the internet, go out, and enjoy the fresh air. It'll do everyone good.
Really really cool blog and interesting as well.
Watch some of the best soccer/football videos on the internet at www.footballclips.net (or) Football Clips
Its updated on a daily basis.
Enjoy!
Really happy with the defence so far, plus, the midfield is doing a good job of covering the wing-backs thus far.
Did casillas take the captain duty tonight?
Reply to mazima:
Yup.
Benzema is looking good all you doubters.
Raul claps as Benzema zeroes in on goal from the sidelines. Yeh clap ya bastard!
Arbeloa at left-back is so reassuring compared to Marcelo or Drenthe.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
In other words, you have no argument against what I have said. That just makes you an immature and ignorant prick.
OH FUCK! Just what we needed
Albiol sent off! 25 minutes gone and we have lost control of the game.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Blah blah blah... you're the asshole who never has anything good to say. Whenever someone else makes a good point you just refuse to argue anymore.
Dammit we'll miss him for El Derbi
p.s: good working link LINK
I can't believe that. Nothing is going right for us.
Now Marcelo gets a very deserved yellow card, for demanding a yellow card for a Getafe player! Hope he learns from that.
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
what are u crazy?? we are playing terribly from the start. Too much space to getafe players.
Kaka is really trying his best. The guy is everywhere. He deserves an honourable mention.
Reply to fofos:
I said this in the first ten minutes, now we're really messing up.
Reply to fofos:
I think it;s the midfield letting Getafe run through them with the ball!
Kaka is simply the best. Left, right centre... he's everywhere.
Kaka has benefited from Raul being dropped. It's like he has a new lease of life.
Reply to Caracoleo:
At least the good thing from the dismissal is that we will stop trying to attack from the flanks since probably kaka will have to some into the middle with marcelo left back and arbeloa right back.
Kaka is bad as right midfielder
For me Alonso has been very quiet.
Benzema missed an easy chance
Another shot on the half turn from Benzema... That's a technique that Raul could never dream of doing, especially with 2 guys on your back.
Is it me or there is too much space between midfield and attack. Lass keeps trying to find our attackers with long passes.
Alonso on the other hand (the pass man) not a single good pass
Reply to Caracoleo:
Thank you for glorifying a missed chance.
also Raul showing good leadership even if he is on the bench.
LASS is playing further up than alonso....that is stupid. And there is no link between our midfield and attack. Benzema should come of and vaart in.
We need another midfielder to push up. Or van nisteroy in and higuain drop a bit deeper. I know thats not gonna happen though.
Reply to Ryan McManus:
It's actually a very hard technique to master, especially when you are blocked by 2 defenders. Don't know why you thought it was an easy chance.
I think we are seeing glimpses of the real Benzema, someone with a terrific shot, and a powerful runner. He's actually been more involved in the game today.
Kaka looks much better without Raul blocking his way forward it has to be said.
Reply to Caracoleo:
I don't think our attack is looking any better than it has if that is what you are implying.
Albiol got a straight red so is he going to miss the next 2 games or 3.. please dont say 3 because that is barcelona game.. this refree sucks.. we finnaly had a chance to play Arbeloa at left back and he was doing a great job.. that was our best defense.. Ramos,Pepe,Albiol,Arbeloa
tuned in just now.. in time for the second half. what does it look like? is madrid showing any signs of improvement or...
Benzema has not looked good maybe RVN chance to help us out
Reply to fofos:
Don't agree at all. Perhaps Higuain needs to come a bit deeper and link with the midfield. But let Higuain and Benzema at least have 90 minutes.
If Kaka runs out of gas, which, unless he is superman is very likely - then bring on Van Der Vaart.
Someone said Raul was showing good leadership from the bench!
It's the right place for him Ha Ha Ha.
Keep clapping - it's all you are good for!
Reply to Madridista4:
Don't agree with this assessment at all. Benzema is still finding is feet, and needs a bit of time, but he's already made a few chances, and had a few strikes on goal.
He needs to be a bit sharper in his link up play - and that will come. But he is bound to be a lot more mobile than Ruud Van Nistlerooy.
Trouble is, unless a striker scores, people on this board automatically assume he's had a bad game. And conversely, when a striker does score, people here always assume he's had a good game. It's a easy but very lazy assessment to make.
i don't want this to happen but i assure you,Pellegrini will be the next Abel Resino
Now that is a miss...
Lass through into a one on one, but can't finish. Shame.
Benzema goes close again with a header. Can't see why you would take him off?!?
HIIIIIIIIIIIIIGUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!
Brilliant early cross! Why can't we do that more often?
Reply to Caracoleo:
yeap totally agree. but his touch has been kind of heavy so far.
But the worst player of the game so far is alonso.
And yes look at my main man higuain scoring....he is so underrated in real while he is by far our more complete striker
Funny how we're playing much better with 10 men. El Pipita is back boys and he better be playing against Milan.
2-0: Higauin AGAIN!
Another reason why Raul belongs on the bench.
guys any working links?
Reply to fofos:
For me Alonso is not doing enough. Hardly anyone has mentioned this.
3 reasons why Raul belongs on the bench:
1) Benzema
2) Kaka
3) Higuain
arbeloa looks much better on the right. And luckily getafe hasnt taken advantage of attacking the lefta hand side where marcelo is vulnerable defensively.
Reply to IndianGalactico:
LINK
Reply to Caracoleo:
I was reading this lad, Deepak's article on Bleacher Report and he seems to think that Lassana is playing in Xabi's position and Xabi's playing DM but I really disagree, Alonso just isn't playing like he should, there's nothing wrong with his position.
Reply to MadridistAli:
or this LINK
Reply to IndianGalactico:
It's Justin - but it is reliable;
LINK
Benzema is off. Gago is on. Not sure about this...
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH i really forgot Gago
Reply to Caracoleo:
It's smart mate, Lassana can play right-back while Ramos moves to the center and Marcelo can play on the wing again.
WHAT A FUCKING CATCH. Casillas is just awesome.
Soldado has had 5 CLEAR shots on goal! Where are the markers?
We don;t defend properly.
what pace higuain has..phew!
Jesus Christ... Higuain on the run and hits the post!!!
I still see Getafe scoring at least once though...
Higuain is awesome, Casillas is great, and the ref sucks.
How i've missed Higuain
I love you El Pipita.
Alonso is MISSING in this game. Just take him off!
Michel's son has come on.
Ex Real Madrid, of course. Interesting.
Reply to Caracoleo:
yeah he has disappointing recently...
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
nope he is right....alonso for some reason is playing deeper than lassana....maybe pelle is playing him like a deep lying playmaker but he hasnt provided any key passes
Shissshhhhh! I was hoping this is Pelle's last match, but clearly it isn't!
Reply to fofos:
Xabi's position doesn't matter mate, he just has to make those long-range passes wherever he is. He might be playing a bit deep but that doesn't stop him from passing, does it?
We are defending too closes to Casillas.
Raul? Now? Why?
What's this all about? Are we trying to give Getafe more of a chance?
Reply to TheAngelOfMadrid:
no it shouldnt stop him...I am not defending him
FOR GOD'S SAKE! Why must Pellegrini take off the player on a hattrick? Stupid Pellegrini. I guess this indicates he's starting Higuain and Benzema again in the Milan game.
What's he doing waving his arms around?
Why does he feel the need to play raul????
Can somebody explain this to me??? I mean he is surely not gonna offer anything in the game.
He has no pace to counter attack and he is not solid in defensively.
And its not like he needs to give him playing time since he started most matches already
Please someone a reasonable explanation to this inexplicable phenomenon called raul
There is no understanding between Kaka and Raul. Raul just seemed to block his way forward, expecting Kaka to give him the ball.
Give it to you? Dream on!
Benzema and Higuain must start against Milan. If not, it would be another demonstration of the real power behind the scenes.
As I predicted. Van Der Vaart on for Kaka.
Who's the Daddy?
Reply to Caracoleo:
Raul
good touch from vaart. He is so talented. I think best players of the game today have been
Lass - Higuain and 3rd Kaka
Reply to Caracoleo:
Stop acting like you wish you were some prophet or something... pompous idiot.
Reply to Ryan McManus:
How it must hurt to be wrong all the time...
Reply to Ryan McManus:
It was a joke by the way, hence the smiley!
What are your overall impressions of today's performance?
Reply to Caracoleo:
No, just the fact that you are always saying "as I predicted" or "I have seen" or whatever it is AFTER THE FACT is just annoying. Where was your predicition? All you do is restate the same thing over and over again and try to take credit when it happens.
Reply to Caracoleo:
1. Sergio Ramos plays awesome at centre-back.
2. Arbeloa is pretty solid in defence and attack.
3. Higuain is pure gold.
4. Kaka's slowly starting to hit form.
5. Our marking sucks.
6. Lassana is awesome.
7. Van der Vaart's really willing to fight for a spot.
8. Casillas is king.
9. We leave too many gaps between the defence and the midfielders don't cover the wing-backs well enough.
10. Alonso's really struggling.
Although I'm happy we won, I'm disappointed Roberto Mancini won't join us sooner. Higuain shouldn't have bailed Pelle's ass out!
I still think Pelle is going out b4 December.
There are a lot of positive things to take away:
Kaka / Higuian / Benzema has a lot of potential.
We must exploit it in future matches.
Lassana - terrific as usual. I love it when he goes forward on his runs.
Alonso was the real weak link. Very disappointing. He didn't stop Getafe from playing, nor did he create much for us in attack.
Defensively I thought we were poor. We defend too close to Casillas and Getafe have a lot of touches near our penalty area.
We dont close people enough in midfield, and we expect Lassana to do all the chasing. Such a bad attitude that needs to be rectified.
What were people's impressions of Arbeloa?
Arbeloa has always been good in defense and we need to keep him at left back when it comes to big games... can anyone confirm if Albiol has 2 yellows in champions league I belive 1 vs Zurich and 1 vs Milan meaning he will also miss Milan game.. our next 5 games.. Milan,Atl.Madrid,Alcorcon,Racing,Barcelona
lets everyone cheer for Osasuna today they can really help us out
My take : Madrid heading into November with the perfect result.
Reply to rm fan:
I'm a big admirer of Roberto Mancini - people on this board can testify to that.
Last year I was hoping he would join us, instead we got Juande.
Now I think we need stability, so I am going to bite my tongue and keep supporting Pellegrini, even though I think Mancini is a better coach.
Reply to Ryan McManus:
...sense of humour failure alert...
...sense of humour failure alert...
...sense of humour failure alert...
damn!! dd we play with a high tempo or wat with higuain and benzema leading the attack...now u guys understand why we say Raul holds the team bck...boy im i so happy pelle benched him today, hope we use this line up for the milan game..no more raul unless the game is done n dusted..hala madrid!!!
Reply to rm fan:
Don't be so happy with Mancini. And what stupidity with these fans. Always turning against the coach. If Pellegrini is out before December Mancini will be out before June.
Real Madrid are crap to their managers/players. In the end I think Valdano/Perez are too blame. And again they're aiming for a manager that won't be too high on the hierarchy. A manager which has only won domestic Italian prices, a manager that has never played or coached in Spain and most importantly a manager which has achieved nothing whatsoever in Europe.
So Ryan and Tim do you need more proof?
you let Raul in so they don't sack you. As long as we had the game eh? 
Good stuff.
Their you go Raul Madrid fans.
We have a team with potential if we exclude Raul.
But anyway whats wrong with Alonso and Pepe?
I loved Arbeloa today; seeing him shine at left back and right back made me so happy. Sorry marcelo but you are a sub now.
Pellegrini I love you but,
Ugh now we need to win against Milan... it would make the fans forget everything.
But please don't let Raul start I beg you, valdano, perez and pellegrini T_T
Reply to Caracoleo:
Is Pelle gonna be fired if we lose against AC Milan in midweek? 'Cuz Perez wud certainly like to have a big-game coach, that can succeed in big games!
Today's victory doesn't wash away the Sevilla & Milan defeats and the 4-0 Alcorcon thrashing. No sir!
Look at Benitez's Liverpool, they are back to thir old ways today!
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Is it just because Raul is benched? I think it's also important Guti wasn't present at the game. I want us to stick with Pellegrini. I'd love to see some stability at Real.
I dont think Pellegrini benched Raul. I think he rested him because he play last game and need a result.. I think he will start Raul and Higuain vs AC Milan.. I hope not though.. our key to the next 5 tough games is staying healthy
Reply to Denzel:
_Perez_: Pellegrini, what the fuck is going on we lost against Alcorcon? Is this some kinda joke? I'm seriously sacking you now
_Pellegrini_: *sigh* Can you give me 1 more chance? Just this once I have 1 more thing I wanna try and maybe it'll bring back some hope. I just have one small request can I remove Guti from the squad and Bench Raul?
_Perez_: I DONT CARE DO WHATEVER YOU WANT! Just get me some results. This is your last chance!
*4 days later*
Real Madrid beat Getafe. A team we always struggle with and with 10 men!
HALA FUCKING MADRID
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Haha that is funny, "HALA FUCKING MADRID" hahaha!
Reply to Madrid4Life:
I think we get the picture. Bench Raul in order to create some team spirit, harmony and flow. I'm with you.
But what about the defence?
What about closing people down in midfield?
Raul is just one of the problems.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Yeah I need more proof from Benzema. Higuain showed that he deserved to start as I said he should but Benzema was still nothing special. Obviously he needs time but that doesn't mean that he deserves to start ten games in a row despite his not scoring.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Reply to Ryan McManus:
Yeah I know lets let Raul play with Higuan next game
... You know what I take it all back you're a genius.... why didn't I think of that? Wow just wow! You really deserve to be the coach of Madrid some day.
we learn at least one thin today: the players are with pelle! they fought back and I think this was our best match so far if you consider the pressure and the red card!
hala madrid!
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Exactly. If the choice is between Raul and Benzema then you don't need to ask me twice.
Just because he didn't score doesn't mean he had a bad game. If anything, he was better than Higuain in the first half. His movement was good. But as someone said earlier, his touch was a little heavy.
I would be shocked and angry if Raul starts against Milan ahead of Higuain or Benzema. But I wouldn't rule it out either.
Well lets not focus on AC Milan in a game which is a must win if we want 1st place.. and we can play the same starting 11 that we did vs Getafe and Albiol will be allowed to play he only has 1 yellow in the champions league.. I liked Arbeloa at left back
Reply to Caracoleo:
Yup next game is going to be either tears of joy or tears of sadness.
If they manage to bench Raul next game I can finally say we found the right coach.
Reply to Caracoleo:
Well I think our defense just needs a little bit of sorting out but we were actually alot better on the sides but the middle of the defense struggled.
From todays game I enjoyed seeing as defend as a team. Although it was a little sloppy; even kaka cutt 3-4 passes which is a big plus.
I think and this is just a very rough predicition that our team will be very dangerous if we play counterattacking football with Higuan as a striker and Benz behind. The problem with our offense in the first half was that Pellegrini made Higuan behind benzema but when that was fixed everything went smoothly upfront.
If i'm not wrong is the goal benzema assisted the only goal this season where 2 attackers actually pass to one another? If this is true then LOL
If there was one who IS UNTOUCHABLE, then it is Lass. It is not Raul, Kaka, Ramos or Alonso, IT IS LASS. The most consistent player on the team
Reply to Adambader:
Lass is out of this world; its a real shame he's not a Balon d or nominee.
He really is something out of this world; and some people say we need Essien :S
Pellegrini gave me my wish and played Arbeloa as a left-back. I think he was not bad, would like to see him there against Milan.
My thoughts tomorrow -- in a post.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
No no no, just don't sell Lass. He defends, attacks and runs as fast as a Ferrari. He plays with his heart, and he has a spirit. The perfect footballer we could have.
Reply to Adambader:
He's only 24 too
Still not at his peak; I really wish gets the Ballon d or some day. Although its far fetched. But his contributions are outstanding ever since he came with the exception of some games where the team as a whole just failed but today he proved he was the man in the middle.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
How often do you se any of our strikers passing to each other? Almost never. Thats an interesting point you raise.
I think Higuain has got good liink up play. He got a lot of assists last year. Benzema needs to work on his link up play, but remember when Higuain first arrived: Every one said he was rubbish, that we had been conned by River Plate, that he didn't have a big game temperament.... And look how wrong they were.
Sometimes you need to appreciate a player's qualities, and show a bit of patience.
Higuain had to put up with a lot of crap from so called Madrid fans. Benzema, unfortunately, will have to do the same.
Reply to Caracoleo:
Correct, but I think it won't take a lot for Benzema to dominate the striker position. Higuain had no experience when it came to European football when he signed for Real and had to do a lot to prove himself.
Just let's be patient with the whole team not just Benzema.
Reply to Adambader:
I think both of them can make a very dangerous duo.
Benz can hold the ball alot longer than higuan; while Higuan is just a world class finisher with his pace and accuracy.
If i'm not mistaken although I didn't watch Lyon alot; Benz had a fair amount of assists in the French league he even played well in the offensive midfielder role.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Benz is a complete striker in my opinion.
GOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLL Osasuna!!!!!!!!!!
1-1
Thats a real stroke of luck!
Reply to Caracoleo:
Bout time we had it on our side, eh?
Barca need a taste of that bitter unfairness in football.
Hope Farca more than a night club lose. Always lose.
Reply to Adambader:
If by complete you mean that he's a only a striker; then I totally disagree and that would mean he'd never Gel with Higuan. You just can't play with 2 complete strikers upfront.
You should watch the second half and see how Benz dropped back taking higuans place in the first half and how that proved to be a nice blend.
Reply to Madrid4Life:
Complete in the following sense: he has pace, powerful shooting, and one-on-one skills.
He is creative and can create something out of nothing. He is an individual and a team player. He can partner up with another attacking midfielder or striker to create changes and score.
He can also assist. I would go on to say he can play as a playmaker. He is similar to Ronaldo the Brazilian.
Higuain is not as complete as Benzema. He can't assist or create his own changes. He is a great finisher, has pace and is smart. He knows how to exploit the opposition, and is strong.
Reply to Adambader:
Yep you hit the nail.
I think Benzema has a strong mentality aswell even though he isn't having his best games recently he doesn't give up. Higuan and Raul tend to really fall apart when they miss goals and make bad passes.
Benz will have his time like Caracoleo said, everyone said higuan was a flop when he came in. But i think Benz will prove his worth in a much shorter period than higuan did. He has scored 3 goals already.
I really think the way pelle uses higuain fits him perfectly, far better than coaches before..I saw him more as the central forward, almost like rvn, and benzema can play both second striker and central forward! in lyon he often played left striker in 433 formation..but he never played offensive midfield..I guess higuain won't start against milan since he was injured, and benz was taken out so early..raul will start for sure, he was the best player against milan in madrid..I would prefer benz and higuain, but raul has funnily earned the playing time in the prematch..if you neglect that u do so only because u hate raul..
Reply to ludwig Hasbauer:
I hate Raul because of the damage he does to the team and club.
Raul was not the worst player against Milan, but it is laughable to say that he has EARNED a starting place based on that performance.
It was a poor performance based on the standards of any major European team. No link up play, no goal threat, nothing except desperate chasing around.
People just see Raul running around and don't expect anything more from him. I don't get it. maybe they are SO used to watching Raul, they've forgotten what good forward play really is.
Benzema does that, and everyone says he's had a bad game.
Today we saw a mild improvement, and it was enough to show most people that Raul must not start.
Kaka played better without Raul.
Higuain played better without Raul.
Benzema played better without Raul.
These are facts that cannot be overlooked.
Reply to rm fan:
you call your self a madrid fan whata disgrace you are!
Reply to Ryan McManus:
benzema is gona take time he isnt as good as kaka and ronaldo at settling in..but in the futrue higuain & benzema gona be a force !!!
Reply to Madrid4Life:
them some people are "stupid madrid fans" who make list of players they would like everytime something goes wrong!! why bring in new players all we actaulty need is a left back thats about it we dont need essien and gerrard! just focus on this team gelling no point bringinnn in new faces and waiting for them to aactaultyyy play like a team!
Reply to Caracoleo:
true mate!!...is raul the oldest player in the team??? i hope higuain is not badly injurd! we always get a injuryy when things are going wel! fuck sake
oh yeah 1 point behind barca CRISISS? WHAT CRISIS"?
the two goals that higuain scored today...specially the second 1 raul would have never scored that...its all about pace now a days...raul is just not got it anymore hes done it all in the past but now we have to look forward and the future is higuain and benzema! i agree with caracoleo. benzema and higuain should play ahead of raul im sorry but thats the truth raul aint got it..
Pellegrini finnaly answered my prayers (benching raul) and starting higuian and benzema! And if they get to play wit each other mo often they will form a strike force that will be dreaded by any team! As for the defense we are stil to shaky at the back! Setpieces are still terrible! Give away so many free headers in the box i mean the list is endless! We really need to shape up in that department. And did u notice how the game changed when they took of higuain and benzema! Thats proof enuff!
so let me do some maths here.
when we play with Raul it's like playing with 10 men. he did not start so we played with 11. A player gets sent off so we were down to 10 men and still looked like we were a 11 man squad. We won and had fire power. hmmmmmmm That should make a Raul start a seven man Real team cause Kaka, Benzema and Higuain don't play
Pelle...take note.
i have nth against raul personally but i 100% vote to bench him at the milan game. the higuain+Benze force is gonnabe our future and i rather spend more time for them to gel. benze is critisized so badly because he didn't score. but for his overall contribution to the team, he deserves to be given more time. he is able to create play with his skill, strength and pace. he is way better on launching counterattack. he can create sth off the flank. pipita is gradually transformed to be a reliable finisher. give them a bit more time, they will turn out to be one of the best pair in Europe.
How many of you used to watch alonso play with L'pool??? Those of you who did must know that Xabi never was a DM and never will be! Pellegrini is using him in the wrong position! He can't create from there and can't help the team. If Pellegrini(or should i say Perez???) wanted a DM Xabi was the wrong choice! The coach must start using him in his original position which means more forward! Alonso is an amazing player but the system pellegrini plays is not letting him show his abilities. It just underlines his weaknesses!
Reply to mrv:
Agree.
Reply to mrv:
Because he is so slow Alonso needs space to operate in. Moving back means he finds himself with more room, and time to operate in.
I never saw him get that far forward for Liverpool, and was always behind Gerrard.
I think Alonso needs to step up a gear, because at the moment I prefer Diarra, or even Gago. But maybe not for the Milan game..
Reply to Madrid4Life:
position..the reason why it seems Lass is more advance than him is cuz Lass is more versatile to move or say run with the ball ds y it seems he always push more forward than alonso...alonso is more of a positional CM, he dsn't have to move much he jus reads the game n make those tellin passes, he jus seem to be a bit out of sort with his passin but he'll nontheless settle in, like evry one else he needs time to blend with lass as he dd with mascherano.
Reply to Caracoleo:
im quiet worry about our defense against Milan, after watching their letest 2-0 seria A vicotry, they played like a totally different team compared with how they played against us last time(ironically they had us owned). their attacks were launched so fluently under the "explosion" of Ronaldinho. his performance reminded me of his peak. his run, drrible, and pass(the timing) AROUSED the entire Milan, their attack has a completely new look. i wonder how devastating their force will be when they plugged in pato, along with the in form Borriello. i ain't trying to discourage our own morale. but if we played like how we used to defensively, i wonder if we can concede less than 3 goals. the key to win is to control the midfield. it sounds easy but hard to accomplish. lass would be busy since he has to "double team" ronaldinho and jamming the midfield, xabi and diarra have been struggling recently while gago is no wear near the level to play against top teams. again, the performance of kaka, the guy would have tremendous pressure, would be crucial to us. his supplies would be important to the on fire higuain, the type of striker the milan backline are afraid of(pace). i just hope CR9 can catch up with the milan game. if Pelle can't start arbeloa as the leftback as i wish he could, i prefer drenthe to marcelo. some pple blame him on the alcorcon lost because his attack created gap at the back. however, i rather blame the tactic, relied too much on drenthe to drive down the wing to attack, than to blame drenthe himself who tried hard to track back everytime we dispossessed. indeed, it's diarra's fault rather than drenthe cuz the malian couldn't recover like he was supposed to do. if CR9 is able to play, drenthe can attack less and i believe he will be the one who is able to pato who is active on right flank( the edge of the box)
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
wut do u think about hte milan match , Caracoleo!!
Reply to Caracoleo:
barca is also struggling but they are lucky not to be defeated yet.
Reply to true_madridista:
agreed!!
broke up with my gf after alcorocn match..was so frustated, shouted at her really bad...hope milan match reunites us...lol
Luv 2 see this lineup against Milan...
Cassilas
.......Ramos.....Pepe....Albiol.....Arbeloa.....
Lass
..........Alonso...........VDV.............
Kaka
............Benzema........Higuain.............
Reply to madrid needs harry potter :
OMG..formation got wierd..didnt kno it luks different wen u publish it, lol...I put Lass as CDM and Kaka' as CAM..
Can't wait for the milan match to kick off. A simple 1-0 is all we need. Gene Gatusso will play for Milan and so their Midfield will have Pirlo, Gatusso and Seedorf and that is a bit worry.
Hope Ronaldo is miracously fit for this game...
Reply to DynastyofRealMadrid:
yeah i was watching the milan game aswell(my brother is a milan fan) ronaldinho showed some classs....and pato was skininn the players ..but seedorf didnt play well and milans back four was a bit shakey...we should just get at them like full speed just take them out from the kickoff dont even give them a chance! thats how to play in away games you got play with speed thats why i hope raul doesnt start we need speed upfront!