I'm a fan of Ancelotti but let's be honest. Ancelotti just always picked the same lineup,no rotations,barely any substitutions. Ancelotti was also soft so It's obvious that the star players will like him since they'll always play and be friends with Ancelotti. Once again, I'm NOT happy that Ancelotti was sacked but I don't think we are doomed like Morten thinks. Rafa could bring us a lot by improving our defense and adding rotations. Lucho is pretty clueless but he has rotations, teams like RM and Barca DON'T need a super coach. They just need somebody who is smart enough to do rotations and give confidence to all the players. Our players became complacent under Ancelotti. They knew that no matter how bad they played that they would still start. Imo if we had more rotations this year we would walk away with at least a double (CL,La Liga).
While I agree with the ''Ancelotti always playing same team'' point, I still think Rafa is going to end up a big problem for you. For me, you guys have a number of issues:
1. Team balance due to Cristiano. For me, I'd take 80 million for Cristiano RIGHT NOW, and start to work on balancing the team. I think you guys have some fantastic players who should all complementing each other, not specifically complementing Ronaldo. He may score 60+ a season, but look at how many trophies it got you this year. For me, I would imagine Rafa will attempt to take a huge 'zoom' off Ronaldo and allow for Bale/Benzema and the midfield to become more important in terms of contributions. However, there is no doubt your most important player is Modric, by a mile. When he was missing, you looked incredibly average in midfield, and dropped numerous points. Was this due to a lack of rotation like you say or bad luck? Debatable. The same can be said of James, he was crucial to your return in form when he returned.
2. Your defence is poor. Doesn't matter if it was Mourinho, Ancelotti, etc. You have some brilliant names, Ramos, Marcelo, Carvajal, but they all seem to completely turn off for sporadic moments in a game. This has been a re-occuring theme for you guys since 2009 IMO. Obviously the names won't change, but serious work is needed on your defensive work, look at how we improved at set pieces etc, you need something similar. I expect Benitez to address this first.
I think Benitez initially will actually be a great match for your team, because he instinctively loves 4-2-3-1 which will suit you to the ground. Modric/Kroos sitting in front of the back 4, with James in the CAM role will offer you great balance. If Benitez brings much more focus on defending, and concentration, and manages to main the counter-attacking ability you guys have, you will be much stronger next year.
However, you WILL eventually find times where he will be incredibly frustrating, tactically naive and shocking with team selection. I've seen this when he was at Liverpool FC. This will end up costing you guys precious points, and as we know, every point between us can be definitive.
Ancelotti should have remained.
