2021/22 Rafael Benitez

[Billy Dean]

Didn't he finish 4th with them while bringing through youth players due to a transfer ban?

Then, when the ban ended, they signed a load of expensive players he didn't want and he was pressured into playing them all immediately and they didn't adapt quickly.

He finished 4th because the league was quite poor that year apart from the top 3. They lost something like 9 games in the 2nd half of the season. They were then very poor the following season. No tactical plan or identity. I think you can't blame that on a couple of Germany internationals coming in. Another manager then won the champions league with them. Change manager by all means, but not Lampard please.

 

[NathDogg]

It's ok lads, he has the numbers, we ran more in every department than Lancearmstorng FC.

 

[Marius57]

He finished 4th because the league was quite poor that year apart from the top 3. They lost something like 9 games in the 2nd half of the season. They were then very poor the following season. No tactical plan or identity. I think you can't blame that on a couple of Germany internationals coming in. Another manager then won the champions league with them. Change manager by all means, but not Lampard please.

Im not advocating for him. I'm not massively against him either mind. But keeps getting thrown out that carlo only had us 10th as if its failure, but no acknowledgement about his points total and the strength of the league or anything. So pointing out that even in a bad season for them, he had them in 4th and qualifying for champs league.

Another manager then won the champions league yes. But you don't know that lampard wouldn't have managed that if he had seen out the season. Its well reported he left because of disagreements over transfers and the players they signed that he didn't want have hardly been overwhelming successes even under the new manager. That's why they then went and bought lukaku.

 

[kenada_blue]

The concern is that we're on our worst run in twenty-two years, with a squad that appears to have no confidence and a disenfranchised fan base.

People are right to be worry whether he has the ability to stop the rot, with a very difficult month of a fixtures, and guide us towards safety and stability.

Also, a new manager in the summer is all well and good, but it needs to be part of a long-term plan: the DoF starting to look at targets now and move players on.

I can't help but worry that we'll eventually remove Benitez and bring in another manager who isn't part of a wider, long-term strategy.

Very true. But I don't think we can do that right now in terms of firing Benitez and getting that right guy in for December/Jan.

Which is why if we were to get shut, Big Dunc should take over for the remainder. That gives the board more time to think carefully especially when the protest happen to remind them to do better

 

[tsubaki]

He finished 4th because the league was quite poor that year apart from the top 3. They lost something like 9 games in the 2nd half of the season. They were then very poor the following season. No tactical plan or identity. I think you can't blame that on a couple of Germany internationals coming in. Another manager then won the champions league with them. Change manager by all means, but not Lampard please.

They were always going to struggle given what he was trying to do, and his failings there were no better or worse than all the other managers who’ve failed there.

He at least left them in a better place than he found them, with enough youth players given enough time that they’ve helped transform that side (leading directly to that CL win). Realising what they had in the youth setup there could save them a fortune and help attract more talent.

I am not sure he’d do the same here but the same sort of thing would improve us massively in the medium and long term.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

I'd take a regressive manager who wins and doesn't lead us to utterly cowardly capitulation at HOME to them.

Worse than the utterly embarrassing aways that Moyes, Silva and Martinez served up at various points.

He can spin my opinion, but he needs to get some battling performances and nick points with the resources he's got (I.e. the injuries) and show signs of a plan when in a better position.

If he gets time of course.

This interview just before the Villa game seems part of a mantra that he spins, saying he knows what Everton fans want and will incrementally improve all of the players week by week to achieve this. Seems like a well rehearsed con at this point.

"If you want to achieve something, you have to set yourself objectives that you can achieve and that you can get,"

"It is too far away at the start to think in terms of a position in the table. It's not something you can see in front of you every week.

"That's why I say, 'one game at a time'. It is better to tell a player how he can improve one thing and a team how they can improve two things. After two months, you may have improved five or six things and then you're getting stronger."

He said: "So far, they've played in the manner I associate with Everton. I've always thought they're a team who should look to get the ball forward quickly, involve the crowd, play with intensity and get the ball in the box.

"We know what the fans in general want," Benitez responds. "In the end, they want the team to win playing good football.

"This can vary depending on the country - in Spain, there was the period of passing football, the tiki-taka, because Barcelona were doing so well so everybody wanted to copy it."

"Here, you have Manchester City spending a lot of money on good players to play in a certain way and a lot of people naturally feel they have to copy their playing style because that is perceived to be the right way of playing. But it's not the right way for everyone.

"You have to have a mix of things. You need to control the games and you need to pass the ball properly when you have it and sometimes you have to be direct as you have to attack. Going forward is what the fans expect, and here the fans are expecting crosses, headers, tackles and positive football.

"At the same time, you have to keep the ball in order to manage games. A good team and a winning team is one with balance, both in possession and out of possession. We strive to play a brand of football that the fans appreciate, in one way or another way, but winning games normally means you have to be offensive."

 

[PhilM]

They were always going to struggle given what he was trying to do, and his failings there were no better or worse than all the other managers who’ve failed there.

He at least left them in a better place than he found them, with enough youth players given enough time that they’ve helped transform that side (leading directly to that CL win). Realising what they had in the youth setup there could save them a fortune and help attract more talent.

I am not sure he’d do the same here but the same sort of thing would improve us massively in the medium and long term.

People will disagree but...

...like yourself I'd rather we appoint manager who'll come in and revitalise the club over the medium and long term rather than solely focusing on the short-term.

We all want silver as soon as possible as it's been far too long, yet thinking objectively we need direction and strategy; we need an astute, motivated manager.

We've bumbled from one manager to another over the past five years without any coherent plan - it's been their own whims, desires and stubbornness.

In the short-term, I'd be content with seeing Everton playing with an actual obvious style of play that matches our squad and the club's transfer strategy.

Shift the dross, make shrewd signings (again, look at Moyes and West Ham), revitalise the youth setup and instil some passion in the club once again.

People want us to spend money in the transfer window, but do they actually trust the current people to buy the right players at the right price?

 

[tsubaki]

People will disagree but...

...like yourself I'd rather we appoint manager who'll come in and revitalise the club over the medium and long term rather than solely focusing on the short-term.

We all want silver as soon as possible as it's been far too long, yet thinking objectively we need direction and strategy; we need an astute, motivated manager.

We've bumbled from one manager to another over the past five years without any coherent plan - it's been their own whims, desires and stubbornness.

In the short-term, I'd be content with seeing Everton playing with an actual obvious style of play that matches our squad and the club's transfer strategy.

Shift the dross, make shrewd signings (again, look at Moyes and West Ham), revitalise the youth setup and instil some passion in the club once again.

People want us to spend money in the transfer window, but do they actually trust the current people to buy the right players at the right price?

The last point should be a clear no - the state of the club is down to that money, spent on players no better than (and often worse than) those already here.

I know Rondon was a free but I do wonder how different things would be if Simms or Dobbin (or even Kean) had made those ten appearances of his. I bet they’d have scored or made an assist at least, and we might have more points.

 

[Billy Dean]

They were always going to struggle given what he was trying to do, and his failings there were no better or worse than all the other managers who’ve failed there.

He at least left them in a better place than he found them, with enough youth players given enough time that they’ve helped transform that side (leading directly to that CL win). Realising what they had in the youth setup there could save them a fortune and help attract more talent.

I am not sure he’d do the same here but the same sort of thing would improve us massively in the medium and long term.

Chelsea’s academy and ours are very different

 

[jazzy]

The news that we will apparently go for Mourinho if we sack Benitez is totally inexplicable.

Has Moshiri learnt nothing.

Mourinho would literally be the worst possible managerial appointment. I could even make a case for Tony Pulis ahead of Jose.

Much as I detest Benitez I'd keep him in situ if the alternative was Mourinho.

Just get rid of Brands and Benitez and bring in a respected DoF and hungry young coach and start the rebuild with players who have desire and something to prove.

 

[kenada_blue]

Didn't he finish 4th with them while bringing through youth players due to a transfer ban?

Then, when the ban ended, they signed a load of expensive players he didn't want and he was pressured into playing them all immediately and they didn't adapt quickly.

I don't see how taking a very good side to scrape 4th due to a transfer ban would qualify him to be in with a shout at the Everton job.

And anyway...Big Dunc slapped his team in his first game just on the back of telling them to run more.

Lamps also said Chelsea aren't an academy side to justify binning off Abraham and Tomori for expensive signings.

 

[jazzy]

The last point should be a clear no - the state of the club is down to that money, spent on players no better than (and often worse than) those already here.

I know Rondon was a free but I do wonder how different things would be if Simms or Dobbin (or even Kean) had made those ten appearances of his. I bet they’d have scored or made an assist at least, and we might have more points.

They could not conceivably have done worse.

 

[daza_1973]

The news that we will apparently go for Mourinho if we sack Benitez is totally inexplicable.

Has Moshiri learnt nothing.

Mourinho would literally be the worst possible managerial appointment. I could even make a case for Tony Pulis ahead of Jose.

Much as I detest Benitez I'd keep him in situ if the alternative was Mourinho.

Just get rid of Brands and Benitez and bring in a respected DoF and hungry young coach and start the rebuild with players who have desire and something to prove.

Mosh obviously has a penchant for washed up hollywood managers it seems....
What's George Graham up to these days?

 

[PhilM]

The last point should be a clear no - the state of the club is down to that money, spent on players no better than (and often worse than) those already here.

I know Rondon was a free but I do wonder how different things would be if Simms or Dobbin (or even Kean) had made those ten appearances of his. I bet they’d have scored or made an assist at least, and we might have more points.

While I have my doubts regarding Dobbin's and Simm's abilities, it would have been financially astute and at least set a precedent that youth are considered.

I suspect a mixture of believing they're not good enough, which raises other concerns about our youth setup, and perhaps a lack of oversight are to blame.

Rafael came in and like other managers have been allowed to make decisions on who we purchase even though they go against what the club needs.*

It may be easy to say with hindsight, however Rondon should never have been signed even without what we know now as it goes against any long-term plan.

Like you say, they may have also contributed more than the waste of space has. Will our next manager be given free will to buy without wider considerations?

That's what worried me the most about our board.

*and against the strategy Brands mentioned previously.

 

[tsubaki]

Chelsea’s academy and ours are very different

They are, but I do wonder how much our academy being bad is a consequence of it being largely ignored for 6/7 years now in favour of signing players on huge wedge who turned out to be crap.

I mean look at Dowell - yes, he’s not made it in the end but if we’d tried with him and not spent 50million plus on Klassen, Iceland, Vlasic and Rooney (and subsequently Iwobi) would we be worse off now?

If there was a clear path to the first team from there it would result in better players simply because they would be more attractive to recruits.