2021/22 Rafael Benitez

[Toffeepot]

Anyone who thinks Benitez is getting sacked whilst BMD is being built is crackers.

Its all hands on deck and anything outside of the bottom 6 or so places will see him safe in the boards eyes.

I think he'll be managing our first game at BMD in all honesty there is little appetite to keep hiring and firing managers its cost us too much in terms of compensation + having to fund the new manager with his own players every 18 months.

Not just fund them for new players but getting stuck with deadwood each time too which lead to this summer's frugality, and though I like the signings made, we didn't get all we were chasing through penny pinching. We definitely need to stick with a manager for a good stint and I think RB is the perfect fit for that

 

[blueblue]

Let's hope he does well mate as Moshiri won't tolerate any failure from him.

He has all of the players that Moshiri saw challenging last year, its on Benitez now ?

Fair comment.

I do agree that Moshiri expects success , the difference this time is I think he may have more patience with Benitez.

Hiring and firing managers has proven to be a disaster, I think Moshiri has realised that and I think that is why he has gone for the tried and trusted in Ancelotti and Benitez. Bring them in and give them time to build a team.

This is the model he should have started with in the first place imo.

 

[LocalNative]

You're allowed to think Benitez is a fat biff but still want to see us be successful, even if he's in charge.

 

[Spadge Vernacular]

I think that's very rose tinted glasses for Ancelotti.

Start of last season we had some good spells going forward but couldn't defend. Then once the season got on my God those home games against the poorer sides in the league was the lowest of the low.

I grew up going to the game in the 90s and we were generally rubbish but even then was infinitely better watching than Carlo's team for big chunks of last season.

Agreed mate, Benitez has got to sort out whatever was a home form issue but maintain the away form ?

He might just do it, too!

 

[MikeH72]

Agreed mate, Benitez has got to sort out whatever was a home form issue but maintain the away form ?

He might just do it, too!

Wasn’t even a home/away issue for me with no fans in grounds, we played exactly the same way home or away, we just happened to get luckier in more away games than home.

 

[Kev The Rat]

People banging on about money not being spent in the window - its almost as if the money spent in the past has helped managers. It hasn't. We have bought poorly, consistenly, and its not helped.

With Brands/Moshiri calling the shots, even if money had been spent I would have expected more of the same.

So any attempts to play that get out of jail card wont fly I'm afraid.

 

[Barnfred 55]

I mean it absolutely works the other way round too. As someone who genuinely doesn’t fall on either side of this bizarre war, I can see that there’s clearly a vociferous and at times aggressive James/Ancelotti cult on here. Last season anyone criticising any decision Ancelotti made was rounded on by a group of people who thought he was a literal god sent down from the heavens to bless us Everton peasants with his presence. To deny that such a group of posters exists is actually, ironically, cultish.

I've been one of James's biggest supporters on here in this spat. Throughout, I have consistently agreed that he doesn't it into the manager's tactics. I have stated numerous times that the managers tactics fits the profile of the current group of players that we have. I have said that it would be wrong to build the team around James the way that Carlo did, and that he could only expect a limited amount of game time, mainly from the bench. I have expressed an opinion that this limited game time would probably suit the player because of the injury issues he obviously has. I have agreed that it would have been best had he been sold in the window, provided we brought in somebody to replace him in the squad. When the window closed I said he had to get himself fit and the manager had to find a way to get him into the match day squad. I said that to get rid of him then would be pure stupidity because we would undoubtedly be covering a huge amount of his wages plus our squad is incredibly thin from an attacking perspective. The vast majority of James supporters in here have basically been saying exactly the same as me. Where we may differ is I believe our manager is pragmatic enough to understand that he needs to find a role for James now that he is here. Most believe that he won't as he holds a grudge against him. But tell me whether you think the above is cultish. As far as I'm concerned the stance I've taken is perfectly reasonable, but I'd appreciate your input as a neutral.

The reason that myself and so many others are having to post in here so frequently in his defence is because there is a group of around 10 posters who are trying to demonise him. They want him out of the club at any cost irrespective of the effect that has on the squad/team, and are inventing issues and problems that don't even exist to justify their statements. They are delivering character assassinations with very little evidence to support them. Some of the posts have been hateful.

I accept that during our posts many of us have expressed an opinion that James is a fantastic footballer when on his game an some may have said he is one of the most talented players to ever play for Everton. But again, I'd hardly call that cultism or hero worshipping.

 

[ArtetaMoney]

People banging on about money not being spent in the window - its almost as if the money spent in the past has helped managers. It hasn't. We have bought poorly, consistenly, and its not helped.

With Brands/Moshiri calling the shots, even if money had been spent I would have expected more of the same.

So any attempts to play that get out of jail card wont fly I'm afraid.

The money thing has all been built up by Sky and the constant calculators and running totals they have on every day of the window.

People become obsessed with how much we’ve spent, rather than what impact that player will have on the group. The signings of Gray and Townsend were baulked at due to the small fees paid, yet both have had more of a contribution than players we paid significantly more for.

It is a given that most of the time, the team that spends the most wins more games than the teams that spend the least. However, the business we did in the summer isn’t looking too bad at the minute.

The real test will be when we start to pick up injuries to key players, hopefully, that doesn’t happen.

 

[4737carlin]

People banging on about money not being spent in the window - its almost as if the money spent in the past has helped managers. It hasn't. We have bought poorly, consistenly, and its not helped.

With Brands/Moshiri calling the shots, even if money had been spent I would have expected more of the same.

So any attempts to play that get out of jail card wont fly I'm afraid.

Get out of jail card? the only people looking for those are the clowns who foolishly predicted Rafael would be a failure

 

[JLW]

People banging on about money not being spent in the window - its almost as if the money spent in the past has helped managers. It hasn't. We have bought poorly, consistenly, and its not helped.

With Brands/Moshiri calling the shots, even if money had been spent I would have expected more of the same.

So any attempts to play that get out of jail card wont fly I'm afraid.

By spending almost nothing this season we are still stronger than last season.
We have Gray, Townsend and dare i say it Gbamin so we are stronger so no excuses.

 

[Barnfred 55]

I don't hate James , I never have.
I think I recognise the reality of the situation.
I will be perfectly happy if the manager includes James in his plans for the remainder of the season, but I just don't see that happening.
James is costing the club a lot of money that it can ill afford, for that reason and because he won't(probably) be used by the manager then I would think it best for him to have moved on.

If that stance puts me into a cult of some kind then so be it.

In fairness to you, I was wrong to single out your post to respond to. Out of the group of posters I was referring to, you were probably the least hateful towards James.

However I think I'm correct in saying you want him out regardless of the effect on the squad purely because it's your belief that the manager will never play him. I think the words you said were I want him gone. No ifs nor buts. no questioning of whether the manager is right or wrong in leaving the squad so short of attacking players, In not playing him even if we were hit by injuries, in preferring 17 and 18 year old from the youth team if we suffered injuries.

Now personally, I don't think any of the above will happen because, maybe giving the manager the benefit of the doubt, I believe he is pragmatic enough to realise that he would be foolish to. But if he did sideline James completely, assuming he's got himself fit to play, then the manager is putting his own feelings ahead of the club and i won't condone that from any manager. And I would question anybody that does, and yes, it is a bit cultish.

 

[davek]

There is no way that 12th is acceptable, even mores so with Benitez in charge. We wouldn't have it under Ancelotti Silva or Koeman so why would the most controversial manager appointment in our history get a free pass on this?
Squad wise we are about 7 or 8th best in the league, 12th isn't acceptable.

It is. Very much it would be accepted by the owners of this club having provided Benitez with no cash and after him losing a senior player in the first team squad.

You are kidding yourself if you think they'd be on Benitez's back with a 12th place finish this season.

We wont fall that far and will no doubt finish top half, but even if we didn't Benitez is bomb proof here short of a relegation struggle...utterly bomb-proof.

 

[JLW]

It is. Very much it would be accepted by the owners of this club having provided Benitez with no cash and after him losing a senior player in the first team squad.

You are kidding yourself if you think they'd be on Benitez's back with a 12th place finish this season.

We wont fall that far and will no doubt finish top half, but even if we didn't Benitez is bomb proof here short of a relegation struggle...utterly bomb-proof.

You're making out like Benitez has got a squad assembled from 1.7mil.
We are stronger than last season do you agree? if you dont please explain how we are not? 10th wasn't good enough last year so why is 12th good enough now?
He has what Ancelotti had and more but last season was unacceptable.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

You're making out like Benitez has got a squad assembled from 1.7mil.
We are stronger than last season do you agree? if you dont please explain how we are not? 10th wasn't good enough last year so why is 12th good enough now?
He has what Ancelotti had and more but last season was unacceptable.

That's thing I've been trying to get my head around mate with some of Benitez's acolytes. We're being told that the squad is stronger and better than last season and that supposedly Benitez is a better manager than Ancelotti yet we shouldn't expect to do better than last season's 10th placed finish, even a 12th placed finish is being considered as success for Benitez, it's baffling.

 

[PaddyJames]

Just because he's inherited a squad that doesn't mean it's his side. He's spent 1.5 million in a summer transfer window. Thats woefully low. The squads value isn't anywhere near what has been spent on it anyway.