Speaking on beIN Sports (16/6/21 7:00PM), Andy Gray has given his honest view on Everton’s reported move for ex-Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez.
Gray, an Everton legend, certainly wasn’t happy to hear that Benitez could be coming to Goodison Park.
Many Evertonians don’t want to see a former Liverpool boss taking the reins at their club, and Gray also questioned Benitez’s credentials.
What’s been said?
Gray was speaking about the idea of Benitez becoming Everton manager live on air, and he questioned whether or not his performances over the last 10 years warranted him getting such a high-profile job.
“Not much at all. I think if Farhad Moshiri goes ahead with that, if he didn’t know what Evertonians think he’ll find a huge amount of them, I would guess the majority of them would not be happy either. I’ve spoken to some people in the Liverpool area in the last hour or so and people are saying that if that happens they’ll never go back.” Gray said.
“If it had been 10 years ago when he left Liverpool it may have been ok if he was the last person Everton could appoint, but since then, has Rafa lit up the footballing world in a way that says he should be managing Everton? In my opinion, nowhere near it, and he shouldn’t be anywhere near the job either in my opinion, but I don’t hire and fire anyone at Everton, and people may think that my opinion is irrelevant, but it’s my opinion and I’m entitled to it.”
He might be right
Aside from the obvious Liverpool links, Gray may be right about Benitez’s credentials.
Since he left Liverpool what has he really done? He was sacked by Inter Milan in less than six months, he managed Chelsea for half a season before joining Napoli, where, admittedly, he did a good job.
The Real Madrid job followed, as did another swift sacking, before he took a massive step down to join Newcastle where he was relegated and didn’t achieve anything other than a promotion from the Championship with the best team in the division.
Benitez’s CV is incredible, but most of his best achievements are from 15 years ago or longer, and football has simply moved on since then.
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