I think it’s time to say it, Everton must now act and change manager before this crisis of form and results gets to point where it cannot be turned around.
Bringing in Rafa Benitez was, I’ve said several times before, a huge gamble by the Everton board and everything had to go right for this to be successful.
All went reasonably well for a few weeks with some decent results and performances before injuries hit and things quickly went badly wrong once more culminating in some truly terrible losses in recent weeks.
Yesterday’s defeat at Crystal Palace was the latest of these results and perhaps represents a new nadir in this club’s seemingly endless lurch from one crisis to another.
Up until this point the focus of the supporters anger and frustration this season has been directed towards the board and owner Farhad Moshiri for their past decisions and it’s failings.
Benitez has largely avoided the ire of many fans, although of course there were always many who didn’t agree with his appointment to begin with.
But, yesterday those travelling supporters seemed to be finally losing patience as Benitez’s tactics backfired and he then substituted Richarlison when the Blues’ needed goals to get back in the game.
One of the many aspects of the manager’s personality is that he is a stubborn coach who will stick to his own preferences come what may.
He’s always had this almost perverse determination not to deviate from the path he’s chosen and his tactics and team selection this campaign has underlined this.
Benitez has always favoured a cautious, defensive, counter-attacking approach and this can work at times and in some situations for sure.
It’s also perfectly reasonable to be committed to creating a solid, compact side that is tough to beat, but Everton are actually not that team either.
It seems to me and I’m sure plenty of others that this is an increasingly one-dimensional and outdated mentality. Football has moved on from this sort of approach, which was very much the vogue about fifteen years ago.
Against Palace he again made the wrong decisions with a side set up in the wrong way and far too passive in it’s approach giving the home team far to much possession and respect.
It didn’t work at all and the Toffees’ were outplayed and out-worked again and lost yet another Premier League game.
Just over a week ago Marcel Brands left the club indicating that Moshiri has committed to giving Benitez more time and greater power over transfers etc. That would seem to suggest the board are going to sit tight and see this out hoping the team can turn the corner in the new year.
But, this sort of terrible run with just a single win in ten matches is relegation form. And, with Chelsea coming up next, which is another certain defeat I think and then a tough game against an in-form Leicester City, how long can this continue?
I don’t know who exactly should take over as manager and it’s only essentially another sticking plaster, that is part of the problem.
I would like a coach with a commitment to a high-energy, pressing game (maybe someone like Graham Potter although I don’t think he will leave Brighton) but I can’t see how this can go on for much longer with a crucial January transfer window looming.