Conditions not right for Benitez to thrive at Everton

benitez

Rafael Benitez is an interesting character. There are few managers so swayed by emotion and his best work is done where he is loved, in communities who appreciate and share his obsession with football.

At Valencia, Liverpool, Napoli and Newcastle he connected with the communities and enjoyed success relative to the constraints of his working conditions and that connection has impacted his decisions going forward.

Equally, though, there is an ability to be cold, focussed and impersonal. That has caused issues with clubs like Inter, Chelsea and Real Madrid. Perhaps it is over simplistic,but his track record suggests that the sense of a common goal is vitally important to things working out between Benitez and a club. It is for that reason that his appointment at Everton jarred.

In many ways, it was a great fit. Further to the suggestion that Benitez forges and keeps deep attachments to certain places, he still lives on Merseyside with his family despite taking jobs in Italy, Spain and China since settling there in 2004 after taking over at Anfield. Geographically, going to Goodison Park made sense but in other ways it didn’t. In football, proximity usually means rivalry.

Although Benitez spoke about a growing link to the blue half of Liverpool over his years around the city, banners and protests against him from Toffees supporters suggested achieving that all important emotional understanding with the fanbase was always going to be a tall order. A good start to the season proved there would be tolerance but that is just evidence of a calm spell during a choppy marriage.

Players are unlikely to see the warm, affable Benitez with regularity because the training ground is where his focus is sharpest. It is never personal but even those who have thrived under him speak about the difficulties working with him can pose. Steven Gerrard has often admitted he enjoyed the greatest moment of his playing career under Benitez, the 2005 Champions League final victory, but acknowledges he struggled for visual approval from the Spaniard, whom he believed would have sold him given the choice.

Isaac Hayden, the Newcastle midfielder, once compared playing for him to being a robot. But Gerrard added that he chased verification and became a better player as a result. Hayden suggested that you realise what Benitez brings once he’s gone. Both lauded his tactical nous; it is always about taking the rough with the smooth but, generally, players improve under him.

Naturally, though, his approach does leave a lot of fall outs in its wake. For a manager with one of the greatest CVs in the modern game, he has never adhered the idea of massaging egos. Real Madrid was the job he dreamt of; it was his home and where he played and learnt his coaching trade. He couldn’t turn it down in 2015 but, again, was was set up to struggle from the off.

To succeed there you need to work in a structure, play a specific brand of attacking football, thrive in huge political situations and work with some of the biggest and most temperamental names around. Benitez is a superb politician, he can get his point across and control a narrative with ease, but he wasn’t afforded anything like what he usually needs to settle.

Everton has turned into a similarly difficult battle. Results are the most important thing, but once they nosedived, everything became doubly difficult. There isn’t that inherent faith from the supporters he enjoyed at Liverpool and Newcastle and, as such, each issue is magnified.

The situation with Lucas Digne is indicative of this. All is not well between them and, as far as Benitez is concerned, the Frenchman’s claim as one of the Premier League’s best fullbacks won’t fly if he isn’t falling into line. The fans, meanwhile, are always likely to back one of their most talented players over an unpopular manager.

But for all the controversy and distastefulness which met Benitez at Everton, and the subsequent collapse in form, supporters have not targeted him like they might. As part of the protest at the Arsenal game earlier this month — ironically their only victory since September — fans staged a walk out aimed at Farhad Moshiri’s ownership.

For his part, Moshiri hasn’t wavered in support of Benitez; he was restricted to spending less than £2m in the summer but Ukrainian defender Vitaliy Mykolenko is all set to join, meaning Digne’s days may be numbered. Marcel Brands, the club’s director of football, has already departed.

So this is where Benitez finds himself, in a job where backing is low from the people he would usually feed off but high in those in positions he’s fought before. His style is particular and he can bring success to any club where he is given the tools. Everton seem to be going all in for him and how this ends is anyone’s guess.

 


 

You could earn up to £10 (or currency equivalent) in bonus funds by joining Colossus with our New Player Bonus. Click here to join the action.

The post Conditions not right for Benitez to thrive at Everton appeared first on Colossus Blog.

Source: https://www.colossusbets.com/blog/rafa-benitez-everton/

Time Stamp:

More from Colossus