The comment I made was Benitez is around the same level as Koeman, Emery or Pochetino not at Mourinho or Pep. It wasn't meant as a frame of reference for Koeman V Emery V Pochetino but rather to give an idea at the level I believe Benitez to be at. I apologise if that was unclear in the first post.
I assumed from the fact you keep quoting me that was the bit you found disagreeable. It's fair enough, you can make a case for most things but that's where I pitch Benitez. A very good manager but not at the very elite level.
As for Koeman his track record ranks similar to Pochetino and to an extent Emery, especially ignoring the last two months. Koeman achieved very similar to Pochetino at Southampton and won more than him in Spain, and has thus far always finished in the top 7.
I think Emery and Pochetino are better managers than Koeman. In any post or article I've written I am hardly blindly defending Koeman. However it's not unrealistic to think, when you consider their Cvs they are similar. I suspect over the next 18 months Pochetino will move into another level to Koeman, a level I'm not sure Koeman has within him.
However to say they are not broadly at the same level, when one has gone from Southampton o Spurs and another from Southampton to Everton would seem unusual.
At no point have I or would I say we shouldn't consider moving Koeman on. I think Pochetino and Emery are far better fits for what we are trying to do.
Apologies for losing my temper last night.
