The Premier League has seen 6 sides sack their coach this season. Xisco Munoz (Watford), Steve Bruce (Newcastle), Nuno Espirito Santo (Tottenham), Daniel Farke (Norwich City), Dean Smith (Aston Villa), and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (Manchester United) have faced the chop so far in the 2021-22 campaign. One manager who could possibly be next in line to face the axe is Everton head coach, Rafael Benitez.
Everton are currently 11th in the table after a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City last gameweek. The Toffees started the season brightly, but are now enduring a tough spell and have lost four of their last five league games. The pressure is mounting on the Spanish tactician to improve results in this competitive season where a string of good results can completely change the narrative.
There was a mixed reaction from the Everton fans when Benitez was appointed as head coach in the summer of 2021. The former Liverpool boss had to do something extraordinary to win over the sceptics. In his first 5 games as the Everton manager, the team managed to accumulate 10 points out of a possible 15.
Unfortunately, their form took a dip after that due to injuries to key players like Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Tom Davies, and Demarai Gray, that has seen the Merseyside club slip from 5th to 11th, Benitez’ position is under scrutiny.
Will Everton sack Rafa Benitez?
Since the 1-1 draw against Manchester United, Benitez’ men have earned just 1 point from the next 5 games, a 0-0 draw against Tottenham Hotspur and losing to West Ham United, Watford, Wolves and Manchester City in the process.
The upcoming 5 games sees the Toffees face Brentford away from home, Liverpool and Arsenal at home, and then Crystal Palace and Chelsea away from home. The next five games could be extremely important and the pendulum needs to swing in Everton’s favour or patience may start to run out with Benitez.
The expectations weren’t that high this season considering the business conducted by the club during the transfer window. One can sympathize a little with Benitez because the torrid run of results has largely been down to the injury crisis. However, whether the club hierarchy does keep patience with the former Valencia manager or not remains to be seen
The Royal Blues are reportedly lining up potential replacements for Benitez after a poor run of form, with Nuno Espirito Santo believed to be at the top of their wishlist. However, Benitez is likely to get a few more weeks to turn things around at the Goodison Park, but with Nuno waiting in the wings, he will need to pick up a positive result sooner rather than later.
Could Rafa Benitez’s job be at risk?