I was one of Ancelottis biggest supporters, especially in the face of people saying they wanted rid after 1.5 seasons of COVID interrupted nonsense. But let's get a few things right.
Whether it was by luck or by skill, he had us sitting pretty in the league and rightly takes praise for the points gained against the top 7 sides in the league.
But we also surrendered points against some of the very worst sides in the league when all we needed to do was not get beat in 5 very winnable games and we would be in Europe. Yes, some of that is on the players, that can't be in doubt. But these are players he himself picked. He continued to pick Sigurdsson, Gomes, Iwobi, when it was clear they were not working. He continued to not pick Josh King at all, even when options were limited. Whether he was the answer or not, we will never know, because he never even tried. He stumbled across a formation that worked, the back 4 wall, and dropped it never to return again in order to squeeze other people in to a side that wasn't performing. Try something new? Sure. But if it doesn't work, at least go back to something that did/does.
He had the opportunity to do something very special and he squandered it, spectacularly.
People saying about leaving to go to Madrid like it was his team. He was there for 2 years and was unceremoniously sacked after winning them the Champions League they craved without so much as an explanation. Had it been Milan he left for, I could totally understand, but it wasn't.
The financial position we find ourselves in is certainly not all his doing. It preceded both his and Brands tenure, but let's not pretend like he was here through altruism. He was paid £11m per year to be here, and by hook or by crook, we supported him in his insistance in bringing Allan and James, his 2 trusted lieutenants here. He was certainly backed as well as he would've hoped without putting us in an even more perilous position than we are currently in now.
As for the signings we've made since, we are obviously trying to navigate some tricky waters with a very restrictive rule set making it hard for us. And perhaps he was all too aware of what was coming. If so, that doesnt make it some noble exit, it makes it even worse. The "well, it's not my problem" attitude that is characterised by his famous shrug of the shoulders. In other words, he was happy to take the money and the plaudits, but didn't want to actually do the job he was being paid handsomely to do.
Say what you want about Benitez, he has taken a job he didn't need to take, a job for which he is the villain before a ball is kicked, and all while knowing everything that may have caused "Dear Mr Ancelotti" to run in the first place.
We are in a predicament at the moment, but nothing more. We have been in much worse positions before and have worked through it. I would say it is definitely better to have the money and not be able to spend it than to need it and not have it. Hopefully we can make the best of a bad situation, get behind the team, and try and get ourselves in a better position to go again.
Im not generally a very positive person, but the negativity around this club is genuinely toxic, and is doing us no good whatsoever.