London Jan 16 (BUS): Everton’s Rafa Benitez was sacked after 200 days in charge on Sunday with a harsh 40-word statement that offered no thanks to the coach whose appointment has always been controversial with fans.
The Spaniard never overcame his successful association with Liverpool, whose stadium is located just one mile (1.6 kilometres) from Goodison Park via Stanley Park, and his position became increasingly unacceptable as Everton sank close to the relegation zone.
Benitez’s name was chanted at Anfield within minutes after the announcement was made by Liverpool fans during their match against Brentford, according to the Associated Press.
They fondly remember not only his 2004-2010 reign, which included leading Liverpool to the Champions League title in 2005, but also his role in the decline of this fierce domestic rival.
Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Norwich left Everton six points clear of the relegation zone with just one league win since September.
Although Everton supporters are delighted with Benitez’s departure, the ownership will also remain in their sights.
After a generous and somewhat haphazard spending of around $750m on players since Farhad Moshiri became the club’s largest shareholder in 2016, Everton curbed spending in the summer transfer window after appointing Benitez. Four players entered for a total cost of barely $2 million.
The fear of relegation instead of trying to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2017 has become the European League.
While Liverpool have won the Champions League (2019) and the English Premier League (2020) since then, Everton are still without a trophy since the 1995 FA Cup and haven’t won the English Championship since 1987.
But the club is ambitious for the future with plans to move to a new waterfront stadium for Liverpool – at a cost of around $700 million – to start the 2024-25 season. Benitez will not be the manager who leads the team in it.
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