Rafa Benitez would already bring some heavy baggage with him if he indeed becomes the next Everton manager.
There’s the “He used to manage Liverpool and he called us a small club!” A huge suitcase indeed, and there’s the feeling this appointment is being shoved down Everton supporters’ throat by an owner, who might not quite get what it means to bleed Royal Blue.
And then there is – insert your favourite getting-too-old stereotype, but you might want to be careful in these hyper-aware politically correct days!
Benitez is 61 and hasn’t won anything since leading Newcastle to the Championship title in 2016-17. It is a trophy and the Blues have one of the same back to 1930-31 when it was called the Second Division.
Benitez would replace Carlo Ancelotti, a much bigger name in world football than the former Liverpool manager. However, there are similarities between the two. Ancelotti last won a trophy in 2016-17 when he won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich.
The Italian’s CV positively glitters with multiple silverware from multiple competitions in multiple countries; but he came to Goodison Park after getting the sack at Napoli.
Farhad Moshiri Everton’s majority shareholder wants a big name to patrol the sidelines for the club as it gets ready to leave Goodison Park and head to Bramley-Moore Dock and a new stadium. Benitez is a pretty big name on Merseyside.
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According to Football Insider, the mega-wealthy Alisher Usmanov has told Moshiri, his friend and business associate to name Benitez as the Toffees’ new manager.
It all sounds a bit cloak-and-dagger as the Blues’ claims Usmanov doesn’t own any shares in the club. However, USM and Megafone are among Everton’s sponsors. Usmanov owns both companies.
It doesn’t take a genius to see why Moshiri and Usmanov want a big name as manager. Both were shareholders in Arsenal. Arsene Wenger had a huge run of success as manager of the North London club.
However, Wenger wasn’t a big name when he took over at Arsenal, He wasn’t even a medium-sized name. Wenger’s success turned him into a big name.
Moshiri and Everton should resist the temptation to go after a big name unless it’s Pep Guardiola look to a younger man with something to prove and the desire to build a new wing in the School of Science. It’s what Everton’s long-suffering and devoted supporters deserve.