RAFA’S UP FOR A CUP

I’M noticing that the tone of many Everton fans now is a bit different to when Rafa Benitez first arrived.

When he was on the verge of joining the club there was an outcry, the majority of Evertonians didn’t want him.

Mostly, of course, because of his Liverpool links.

Already, though, in a short space of time I sense a bit of a change and some are now getting behind him.

Rafa (above) is clever. He will say all the right things and do all the right things in front of the supporters.

That will ultimately help him win them over.

He also knows that the fans are desperate to win something because their last trophy was back in 1995 – far too long for a club of Everton’s standing.

Right now they would take any of the cups, the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup. Benitez knows it and will have a right good go with strong teams.

He has been in the city for years, knows what the football talk is and will know of the desperation in the blue half for some silverware.

Whether he can achieve that, I don’t really know, but already he is saying the right things. He is a fantastic football politician – his own PR is brilliant. He knows what he has to do to win over the majority of Everton fans.

Already, to be fair to him, he has connected more than say Ronald Koeman, Marco Silva and Carlo Ancelotti did in terms of coming out and addressing the needs of the fans and saying the right things.

Everton should try and return to being the School of Science with an attractive style at Goodison, forge their own identity – and stop worrying about what’s happening on the other side of Stanley Park.