2021/22 Rafael Benitez

[AsiaAsia82]

Defending the playing of Rondon has similarities with Roberto not dropping Howard, even when everyone knew he was finished.

Let’s see how this works out.

 

[Jeff Jones]

I thought his big fault at Liverpool was that he kept rotating, no matter what. They dropped points because he left out players who
rarely had poor games. Resting them when they didn't need a rest.
It'll be interesting to see what does if ever we have all or most of our best available for a few weeks.

 

[Rooney_Tunes]

to sum it up we need quality
Running hard will only get you so far

That's Brentford...

 

[ToffeeTim]

Agree with all this.

It was inevitable;



Everton's attitude problem was here long before Benitez. That's not hyperbole from a fan either, it's from the clubs captain in Seamus Coleman and previous manager Carlo Ancelotti. I put together some words on it in May;

Everton's Attitude Problem - Grand Old Team

Bare. Bear with me. I’m not a writer. I’ve wrote written about 5 opinion articles since setting up GrandOldTeam way back in 2007, with the last coming 17 months ago. I leave the words to Evertonians significantly more articulate and informed than myself so thank you for humouring me with a read...

www.grandoldteam.com

We have Tim Cahill publicly criticising the attitude of these players. We have Alan Stubbs, throwing rocks in glass houses saying the same and encouraging fans to challenge the board.

A big issue with Benitez though is that he is very easy for players, and to be fair, the board, to hide behind. Make no mistake this does happen, Coleman admitted the players have hid behind managers before Ancelotti.

We need to avoid the temptation to fume at the manager and instead, look at the board. That's where the rot has come from.

These are all fair points, but where are the board going? When has a board left over results on the pitch?

Can we really fix the issues at the club and unite people behind a common goal until the manager is representative of the wider club?

The first and simplest way for the board to start making changes and move in the right direction, is to admit they made a huge error with the appointment of Benitez, and bring in a long term manager with the responsibility of building a new squad.

The board are responsible for the position the club finds itself in, but they are not going anywhere. The club cannot move forward until we admit this is an experiment that cannot work. A disunited and divided club can never succeed. There is no example of this ever working in the past.

 

[degsy]

I was Anti-Benitez as an appointment...though tbh, I'm not sure just who else there was...not that I or We had a say anyway.
Now I'm not - for now.
I'm not a Happy Clapper though.
He's doing OK - up to now.
When he starts doing stuff I think is wrong (blethering on about moments, philosophies, playing zonal marking, playing sq. pegs in round holes, knives to gunfights attitudes and other such shenanigins) and the medium to long term results and types of performances drop off...like the Bovril Blowers last 2/3 months.

Then I'll be anti again...but it won't be Anti Benitez because he's an ex rs etc, it'll be because he's not getting performances like Vs United out of the Team.

Do well = degsy happy
Everton Supporter 101.

That was me 4th October.
Zonal Marking and the ultimate 'kin Square Pegs - Iwobi & Rondon...there is no premier league / EFC hole...resists temptation to include the 'a' word...of whatever shape they will ever correctly fit.
I knew he'd go Zonal...he can't help himself...anyway, not that I ever was, but as of now I'm officially not a Benitez happy clapper

 

[Colonel Getafe]

Know your enemy.

View attachment 143704

For just a split second I thought that was Lewandowski in the background. Then I realized who the two blokes at the front were.

 

[GrandOldTeam]

Really poor though from him to persist with his favouritism towards Rondon.

Maybe thinking play him into fitness but it's costing us.

 

[Tubey]

Really poor though from him to persist with his favouritism towards Rondon.

Maybe thinking play him into fitness but it's costing us.

DCL injury and no depth isn't it? Richarlison probably would have played if he was fit, and he obviously doesn't trust Dobbin or whoever else from the reserves.

But - and it's a big but - it should have been obvious to him by now that anyone but Rondon is a better solution. Same with Iwobi.

Rondon was the emergency budget option because we had no money to spend. We had to get rid of Kean as he was awful and a financial drain, but it left us with nobody but DCL.

There's a few areas of the pitch where we are one injury away from relegation standard starters - left back with Digne and the mystifying decision to lose Small and Nkounkou, Doucoure leaving us with Tom Davies, Coleman puts Kenny in contention. And people look at this squad and wonder why we can't win games consistently; it's actually amazing we win anything. Even objectively worse teams than us have better balance and more relative quality in depth.

 

[Rob17896]

HK is well before my time, but he was a tremendous player for the club. There is no way his appointment caused this sort of division and ill feeling.

I just don't see how the facts are similar with Benitez. And football is a lot different now than 35 years ago. It's almost a different sport

Fact he managed RS is the problem for some...I dont care.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Fact he managed RS is the problem for some...I dont care.

The fact is that creates an atmosphere where the club has never been more divided. Added to that is the stubborn tactics and shambolic defensive set up.

The humiliation that comes with getting thrashed under this manager is demoralising. I can hardly bring myself to watch this side, they don't represent my club.

Why should we back him? Name me a good reason other than people don't want another change. He was entirely the wrong choice and the longer we persist the harder it is to recover.

 

[Furey1878]

Need to see some bold decisions from Benitez now. He has a preferred system for us and that's fine but with current injuries and some agening players showing their limitations, we have to play to the strengths of the players available to us. Something resembling this:

Pickford
Godfrey Keane Mina Digne
Allan Gbamin Davies/Gomes
Townsend Richarlison Gray

- Keep Rondon as a bench option, better for him and for the mental health of Evertonians
- Gray plays at his best on the left
- Richarlison is our biggest goal threat, will do his share of running, need to get him on the end of chances rather than having him trying to make them for others
- Coleman is finished, may as well just try and build Godfrey up without having to rely on him at CB, Coleman should be utilised in a similar way to how he was under Ancelotti towards the latter part of last season, coming off the bench
- 3 CMs to stop us constantly being overran, this always looked liable to happen even with Doucoure in the side, especially now with him out we need the extra body in there
- Richarlison, Gray and Townsend give us a pacey and more dynamic front 3 - have Gordon be the stand in ahead of Iwobi
- In Doucoure's absence, Gbamin has to play. There is literally zero point of him being on the bench if not, if he's not fit then he shouldn't be on the bench, if we are just looking to keep him fit until Jan/next summer in order to shift him then remove him from the matchday squad so we don't have any lingering doubts

 

[Rob17896]

The fact is that creates an atmosphere where the club has never been more divided. Added to that is the stubborn tactics and shambolic defensive set up.

The humiliation that comes with getting thrashed under this manager is demoralising. I can hardly bring myself to watch this side, they don't represent my club.

Why should we back him? Name me a good reason other than people don't want another change. He was entirely the wrong choice and the longer we persist the harder it is to recover.

You don't know that yet. He has had a few games with a crap squad.

 

[ToffeeTim]

You don't know that yet. He has had a few games with a crap squad.

Of course the club is divided, how can anyone argue differently.

I really don't understand the mentality where things need to become absolutely horrific before they admit we are on the wrong path.

Saturday was complete humiliation. We are a running joke, and this is never going to work. Only blind hope is stopping us from making a change.

 

[toffeeblue9]

Really poor though from him to persist with his favouritism towards Rondon.

Maybe thinking play him into fitness but it's costing us.

It's horrible to watch but we know the only fit alternative at the moment is Dobbin and perhaps Benitez thinks he is simply isn't good enough/isn't ready yet and, hard as it might be to believe, simply isn't better than Rondon?

Simms is injured, DCL is injured and Richarlison has only just started training so we assume he wasn't quite ready to start

I want him out of the team at the earliest opportunity, but I'm not prepared to believe that it's favouritism just yet given the complete lack of alternatives he could have played there

 

[GrandOldTeam]

These are all fair points, but where are the board going? When has a board left over results on the pitch?

There's loads of examples of fan pressure forcing significant change at their clubs. Take our neighbours with Hicks and Gillett and there's a fair few more examples.

Can we really fix the issues at the club and unite people behind a common goal until the manager is representative of the wider club?

The first and simplest way for the board to start making changes and move in the right direction, is to admit they made a huge error with the appointment of Benitez, and bring in a long term manager with the responsibility of building a new squad.

The board are responsible for the position the club finds itself in, but they are not going anywhere. The club cannot move forward until we admit this is an experiment that cannot work. A disunited and divided club can never succeed. There is no example of this ever working in the past.

The problem isn't Benitez mate.

The problem, as you say, is the people who appointed him - and Koeman. And Silva. And Allardyce. And even Ancelotti considering the clause to leave at the drop of a hat for free.

The decision making of the clubs majority shareholder, and his board have meant we've become a model for how not to run a club with an influx of money. This, despite nonsense like this;



Chairman. CEO. DOF. All of these can be sacked tomorrow by Farhad Moshiri. He's reshuffled deckchairs on the titanic with the boardroom and take emotion out of it - Everton have failed as an organisation under this board. 3 years ago they were talking up going for titles!

At this point, to me pressure towards the board would seem more constructive than pressure towards any manager - even if that manager is Rafael Benitez.