There are two questions to begin with when you consider Rafa Benitez’s appointment as Everton manager.
First, in the cold light of day, is he a good manager? The answer is clearly yes. He has won trophies in three countries so you can’t knock his record. The second question is, will he get time and patience from the fans if things go wrong? With the baggage he carries, the answer is clearly no. He will be judged more harshly than any manager Everton have ever had.
That makes it a big call by Farhad Moshiri, the club’s owner, who’s stuck his neck out by appointing an ex-Liverpool manager. Mind you, it’s also a brave decision by Benitez himself who, in my view, will be defined by how he starts. If he starts off slowly, there will be rumblings from the word go.
Personally, I liked what he said in his first interview about wanting to bring a winning mentality. If he could do that and take Everton up the table and win a trophy, I wouldn’t care less if he had three heads, never mind his Anfield past.
It should help him that he knows Scousers so he will understand that any kind of success at Everton would really get the place going. But every fan must play their part. His past is his past and these anti-Benitez banners are a waste of time. The club aren’t going to take notice of somebody with a bed sheet. As for that banner near his house which said “We know where you live”, behaviour like that is beyond the pale.
I know it wasn’t easy for Sammy Lee, another ex-Red, when he came to the club with Sam Allardyce but when I look back on my time at Everton, there was plenty of commonality and respect between the players and staff at the two clubs. Alan Harper, Kevin Sheedy and Gary Ablett all joined us from Liverpool and it was never a problem.
The only one who got stick was David Johnson after he rejoined Everton from Liverpool in the early 80s. He got booed all the time when his name was read out and we’d just laugh at him. Before my time, Bill Shankly used to hang around at Bellefield, our old training ground, after he left Liverpool and was no longer welcome at Melwood. More recently, you’ve seen the two clubs come together over Hillsborough, and when young Rhys Jones was killed.
I just hope that when Evertonians walk into the ground for the first home game of the season, they just rejoice in being back watching football. We can’t have anybody going there and wishing him bad. We need a positive atmosphere. He has a three-year contract so, whether fans like it or not, they have to get behind him.
I also hope, for Benitez’s sake, that Everton’s board are clear in explaining their strategy. I don’t suppose anything can be as bad as working with Mike Ashley at Newcastle but I wonder whether Moshiri has looked at him and thought he can do well on a limited budget.
It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if James Rodriguez left. Would they also sell Richarlison? One thing Benitez will need to add is some genuine pace but it’s a decent squad, even if there’s deadwood to clear in players like Bernard, Fabian Delph, Andre Gomes and Alex Iwobi.
One thing that Benitez has done well already is to keep my mate Duncan Ferguson on the coaching staff and I hope he listens to Duncan’s opinions on the players. It’s good for Duncan too as he’s working with another coach who has won things.
I’d argue that Duncan had done enough to warrant an interview for the job himself, and him being there certainly means there’s a safety net in place if things do go wrong as he has stepped in before and done well. In the meantime, he will carry on absorbing the knowledge.
Sometimes you can’t see what’s under your nose and somebody, somewhere, will end up with a terrific manager in Duncan one day. With Benitez coming in, though, he might have to go away to get that chance.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3hndbZE
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