Trevor Steven wants Everton to hire Rafa Benitez as next manager
Everton fans ought to let bygones be bygones and welcome ex-Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez to Goodison Park according to Trevor Steven.
As reported by The Athletic, Benitez is open to talks with the Toffees after Carlo Ancelotti unexpectedly quit Merseyside to return to Real Madrid this week.
It is understood the 61-year-old Spaniard, whose last job was with Dalian Professional in China, wants to return to management.
However, Benitez has strong connections to Everton’s close rivals Liverpool after a six-year stint in charge at Anfield saw him win the 2004/05 Champions League title.
Sky Sports pundit Steven wants supporters of his former club to put that aside and realise Benitez would be a great candidate to succeed Ancelotti in the Goodison hot seat.
“It’s a difficult one for Evertonians, but I feel he is a tremendous manager,” Steven told Sky Sports, as quoted on their Transfer Centre on Thursday [12:52pm]. “He is in Merseyside and has been very much aligned to Liverpool in the past but he’s moved on and had other jobs in the Premier League so what’s to stop him going to Everton?
“It won’t be something they will rush into. There will be a couple of weeks of looking around to see who is available and Rafa is. There’s no doubt about his credibility. He’s another manager of great reputation like Ancelotti is, so that would fit the bill. I wouldn’t be against it as an Evertonian.
“Football does move on, and football people are football people. There’s nothing to say Rafa couldn’t go to Everton and do a good job. He’s one of the contenders and I don’t think at all that he would be discarded by the board of directors because of his relationship and achievements across Stanley Park. I don’t think that will deflect Everton from getting the right man in to fulfil the role.
“I feel at the moment Everton need a manager with experience and Rafa Benitez has that, but there will be other candidates.”
It’s not easy
Let’s face it, we can all accept that Benitez is a good manager. But can we accept him as an Everton manager?
The former Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Newcastle manager has been around the block a couple of times in his managerial career and he’s usually always done a good job in England.
He’s a big name who’ll no doubt attract players to Goodison Park but the football he employed at Newcastle was turgid to say the least.
While Newcastle fans adored Rafa (perhaps just because he wasn’t Steve Bruce or Steve McLaren), the football they played at times was woeful and very defensive-minded.
That in mind, Ancelotti’s brand of football here wasn’t great and Benitez did get a tune out of Salomon Rondon in the North-East. Could Dominic Calvert-Lewin be someone who really shines under the pragmatic Spaniard?
It’s hard to say at this point because some of the other names linked with the Goodison vacancy have also been quite exciting.
Nuno Espirito Santo did a great job at Wolves, David Moyes is obviously adored here and has been superb at West Ham and Duncan Ferguson is a club legend.
Benitez has a CV that trumps all of those, yet would we really overlook him simply because he managed Liverpool?
That’s ancient history, but it still won’t be easy to stomach.
In other Everton news, Jim White exploded in a passionate rant about the Toffees on talkSPORT.
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