“I have some Everton fans say ‘We saved the club’” – Rafa Benitez
Rafa Benitez is at it again. Sitting with his mates at The Overlap for a cosy chat he has once again shared some untruths that are being perpetuated by rival fans and friends in the media.
He took over a terrible team and couldn’t spend money. The fans wouldn’t let him be successful. He’s a great manager, there must be something wrong with Everton.
These are the myths of Benitez (except for the something wrong at Everton bit, obviously). The myths that can very easily be disputed and disproved because the job he did at the club was so fantastically bad the receipts are all there in public view.
Let’s rewind to summer 2021.
After finishing tenth Everton were predicted to improve on that position. A total of 20 Guardian writers placed Everton an average of 8th in the league for the upcoming season. The BBC had Everton down as 10th in the league, while bookies’ odds reflected Everton’s position as a comfortable mid-table side capable of potentially challenging for Europe if they can get the most out of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and James Rodriguez.
Rafa Benitez was to sell, overwork or isolate all three before the season was even half way over.
This is the first myth of Rafa Benitez as Everton boss. That he took a spiralling, flailing team and added some stability until the Goodison fans turned.
The reality is that Benitez took a limited team that was comfortably top half and, while he couldn’t spend to improve, was blessed with a striker in top form, Brazil’s starting number nine, a World Cup Golden Boot winner and a supporting cast including a young and talented Anthony Gordon, a smart signing in Demari Gray and England’s number one goalkeeper. It’s a squad Sean Dyche would kill for today.
Not a single pundit predicted Everton to finish in a relegation battle and very few predicted a bottom half finish. The fact is Rafa Benitez’s Everton finished multiple places below where anybody expected them to finish.
The second myth of Rafa Benitez as Everton boss is that he was not given a chance with the fans. The morons who held a banner up at the wrong house before he signed helped to shift a media narrative that did not actually come to fruition.
At his first Everton game, a 3-1 victory over Southampton where the warning signs were evident in a terrible first half performance, Everton were bailed out by a wondergoal from Doucoure and then a late flurry to finish the game off.
Even before a ball was kicked the fans rallied behind Benitez. According to the Independent: “While he can completely park his connection with Liverpool, it is a much harder poison to swallow for a large swathe of supporters.
“But they did as kick-off approached here. When the stadium announcer offered Benitez a warm welcome as the Everton’s new manager, there were no boos and not a smidgeon of dissent.
“The moment was marked with loud cheers and applause.”
Everton fans sang his name in the stands and that continued for a positive start where Everton secured 10 points out of 12. Things were looking good. But the critics will say the real question is what happens when it goes wrong?
Benitez’s first poor performance came away to Villa where, according to one report on Sky, he was ‘tactically outclassed’ by Dean Smith. Everton lost 3-0 but injuries and the positive start meant dissent was minimal. A quick scroll through the club’s official social media had criticism of Rondon’s performance and the shaky defence, but very little mention of Benitez and his tactical disaster class.
At this point it’s worth remembering those 10 points he secured in his first four games. Because Benitez then led Everton to an excruciating nine points in the next 15 games. The team had won once since September, had lost nine of their last 13 games and had been thrashed by Liverpool 4-1 and humiliated by relegation-bound Watford 5-2 at home. Norwich, one of the worst teams in the league, had just coasted to a 2-1 victory to seal his fate with Everton hovering above the relegation zone.
Rafa blamed the inability to win over the fans and injuries for his fate. While Benitez was still at the club theanalyst.com highlighted his archaic tactics as the reason for Everton’s slump in form:
“Not only does that make Everton one-dimensional and therefore predictable for opponents to shut down (note how Brentford stumped them by forcing Everton to hold 60% of the ball last weekend), but it also means they need their top players performing. “
“The Spaniard’s style of football invites pressure in an era when targeted high-pressing is almost universal – certainly among the division’s top ten – and a territorial retreat quickly translates to lower self-esteem.”
The stats showed he was one of the worst managers in the club’s history, up there with Mike Walker in terms of win percentage. Everton sat bottom
Off the pitch Benitez did incredible damage to Everton. He instantly sold James Rodriguez and then set about removing any bit of influence Director of Football Marcel Brands had. Brands was famously against signing flop striker Solomon Rondon, who owner Moshiri described as a ‘gift’ to the new manager despite Brand’s reservations.
Brands said: “In the Summer of 2021 we were looking to bring in Luis Diaz from Porto, I was working hard in making James Rodriguez go to Porto as part of the deal that would bring Diaz to the Club however Rafa Benitez (Everton Manager at the time) ruled against as he was unsure on the player.”
Brands later revealed Benitez wanted to sell club talisman Richarlison too. Once Benitez was removed from the club Richarlison was essential to keeping the club up with a number of inspired performances including a winner against Chelsea in a must-win home game.
Brands, frustrated by Benitez, left the club. He is now director of football at PSV, who won the Dutch league last season.
Benitez was unanimously disliked by the Everton squad, who disagreed with his tactics and lack of man management. He sold Lucas Digne after falling out with him, leaving him out of the squad as the team form tanked. Digne’s replacement in one game, Ben Godfrey, was playing out of position against Wolves and it was his poor backpass that helped Wolves open the scoring.
Benitez then accused Lucas Digne of refusing to play, but Digne refuted that in L’Equipe: “It was a way for him to protect himself. I never asked for that. People who know me at the club know that everything was going very well. I was not the only one to leave, moreover ( James Rodriguez, in particular).”
“In relation to the style of play, especially. I thought we had a team that could have a lot more possession, which we had the quality for.
“He asked me the question, I gave him my answer. I know my place. I felt legitimate to give him my feelings and those of the other players in the locker room.”
According to the Echo Digne claimed Benitez had “a ‘bad philosophy’ and believes the ill feeling towards the Spaniard was ‘unanimous’ in the Everton dressing room.”
And it wasn’t just players Benitez isolated. The Echo tells the story of staff changes. “Former Everton director of medical services Danny Donachie has taken to social media to tweet a cryptic message. Donachie left the club in November after Rafa Benitez overhauled the medical department at Finch Farm and on Sunday tweeted a quote from Wayne Dyer, an American self-help author, which says: ‘How people treat you is their karma. How you react is yours.’”
It is important to note Everton suffered from terrible injury problems under Benitez. Players were often rushed back, resulting in further long term issues. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was played while injured and it began an 18-month injury nightmare for the striker that has only really eased with Sean Dyche’s careful rehabilitation.
In late December Benitez told the Liverpool Echo playing Calvert-Lewin against Burnley on Boxing Day would be a risk because he was not fit. Calvert-Lewin had not played since August 28.
Benitez said: “For Dominic to be fully fit he will still need, for me, two or three weeks.”
A week later Calvert-Lewin played 90 minutes against Brighton. He missed a penalty in the 25th minute and Everton were beaten 3-2. Calvert-Lewin suffered another injury in April during Everton’s relegation battle run in, missing a total of 141 days over the course of the season.
On leaving Everton, as if there was any doubt about his complete collapse as a football manager, Benitez went on to manage Celta Vigo where he was sacked eight months in with the team one place above La Liga relegation zone.
Now Benitez is beginning another media tour where his old mate Jamie Carragher and paymasters at Sky will be sharing his version of events at Everton. It will be parroted by opposition fans who were managed by him decades ago when his brand of anti-football was still relevant.
But Everton fans know what happened when Rafa Benitez rocked up to Goodison Park and systematically destroyed morale, the playing squad, the backroom staff and any sort of good will he still had by being brave enough to take the job in the first place.
The reason for Benitez’s failure at Everton was because of Benitez. It was not an easy job. But it was a job that a competent manager can do. Just look at Sean Dyche. For all of his detractors he has achieved more and performed better than Benitez with a significantly weaker squad and in significantly worse conditions.
Everton were not in a good place. Koeman started the rot. Moshiri is at the heart of everything wrong with the football club. But when Lampard looks like a better manager than you it is time to focus inwardly.
Time to stop the excuses Rafa.