EVERTON WANT EXCITING FUTURE ... BUT RAFA’S A BLAST FROM PAST
LAST week, Everton Football Club made a very important announcement.
One that gave supporters hope of an exciting future.
One that hinted at a thrilling long-term plan.
One that should signal the laying of the solid foundations needed for success.
Oh, and in other news, they appointed Rafa Benitez as manager.
Confirmation that work on a new 53,000-seater stadium will start later this month and that the club hopes to move to the Bramley-moore Dock site in 2024 was, as chairman Bill Kenwright said, “momentous”.
It is hard to think Kenwright considered the recruitment of Benitez “momentous”.
Marcel Brands, Everton’s highly-paid director of football, certainly did not seem to think it “momentous”.
He said: “I think it’s always an advantage if you have experience of winning trophies because that’s always something special.
“I hope his experience will help us win the silverware we have been looking for.”
Some fanfare for the new man, that. Blimey.
But Rafa is Farhad Moshiri’s man, just as Bramley-moore has become Farhad Moshiri’s project. One of them is a smart move. The Everton owner’s investment in a sparkling, state-of-the-art home promises a brave, new era for a great club … but whether the acquisition of Benitez does the same is another question.
Forget, for a moment, his professional and emotional association with Liverpool – described, laughably, as “very distant” by Moshiri.
Rafa’s brave, new eras do not tend to stretch that long.
Since his time at Liverpool – his halcyon days – there have been six months at Inter, six months at Chelsea, two years at Napoli, seven months at Real Madrid, three years at Newcastle United, 18 months at Dalian Professional.
The odds on him being in a
Bramley-moore dugout come 2024 would appear to be slim.
Of course, he might buck his recent form and Evertonians would heartily welcome short-term success.
But, again, recent evidence does not suggest that is a strong possibility, although Benitez would have been performing miracles had he won anything at the top level with Newcastle, having won the Championship to get them back up.
Age has never been an issue when it comes to elite football management – at 65, Marcelo Bielsa is doing a fine job at Leeds United.
But the average age at the clubs we like to class as the Big Six – a cabal that Moshiri seems determined to crash – is under 50. Benitez is 61.
That he does not see age as a hindrance is to the owner’s credit and Moshiri is also clearly not of the opinion that you are only as good as your last job. Benitez won only 12 of his 38 games in China, where his salary was reported to be in the region of £12million a year.
He will be on little over half that amount at Goodison Park, but that is a wage not to be sniffed at. And, with his Anfield connections applying extra pressure, he will have to go some to justify it in the eyes of a lot of Everton fans.
Railing against Rafa’s past is now futile for them and Moshiri is right to describe Benitez as an excellent coach and dedicated professional.
He also comes across as a thoroughly likeable guy.
It would be a feel-good story if he could quickly turn grand, old Everton into a powerhouse once more.
But it is hard to escape the thought that, while Everton are planning for an exciting future, they have turned to a coach whose most exciting times are behind him.