Brands gives green light for Benitez to take Everton job

According to some media sources Marcel Brands is ready to back Rafa Benitez for the Everton manager’s job.

If true this would be a potentially significant development in the drawn out and increasingly unreal process by which Everton are choosing their new manager.

Benitez is still very much the favourite for the job, despite the backlash from many fans and the huge pressure that will create on him to succeed, literally from day one.

One of the issues that seemed to be a major possible stumbling block to the former Liverpool boss taking the job, was whether he could work effectively with Brands.

The Dutchman has just been given a new three-year deal and was ready to start planning the summer’s transfer strategy before only a few weeks later Carlo Ancelotti walked out on the Blues and returned to Madrid.

I wrote that I felt Brands should be the man to take charge of this search for Ancelotti’s replacement, not least because his time at Everton has been a mixed one with some questionable signings to say the least.

However, as the process got underway it seemed the previous tensions amongst the board members were once more coming into play.

Once again David Moyes was being touted to return as he had been when Silva left and we know that is Bill Kenwright’s choice.

And then it seemed as though Nuno Espirito Santo was going to get the job and this seemed very much a Farhad Moshiri choice with his interest in bringing in a Premier League experienced coach who has been at a lower level Premier League club for a few seasons (like Silva).

But just when it seemed the Portuguese was a shoo-in it all went cold and one key reason was probably Nuno wanting to bring in a big backroom staff and especially his ties to influential agent Jorge Mendes.

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This was particularly an issue for Brands who was concerned his hands would be tied in the transfer market if he had to essentially go through one agent for new players.

Well whatever the exact reasons Santo didn’t get the job and now seems likely to be headed to north London to join Spurs.

After all this uncertainty it gradually became apparent that despite his baggage, Benitez was the new favourite to take over at Goodison Park. This is very much again Moshiri’s choice and it would be interesting to know what Brands thinks.

One of the main stumbling blocks (apart from his obvious unpopularity with Evertonians!) is whether Benitez could work with a Director of Football.

In some of his past jobs he has been very much in charge of all decisions about player transfers and who comes and goes. So will he work in harmony with someone like Brands?

Anyway, this story indicates that perhaps that road block has been removed and so the deal for Benitez edges nearer to becoming reality, for better or worse..!

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