Darren Gough takes swipe at Everton fans over Benitez and Ancelotti
TalkSPORT host Darren Gough has blasted Everton fans for believing Carlo Ancelotti could have taken them to the Champions League.
After a promising start last season, the Blues ended up succumbing to a 10th-placed finish in the Premier League before Ancelotti quit Goodison Park to return to Real Madrid.
Ex-Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has since been installed as the Italian’s replacement, causing widespread anger from sections of the Everton fanbase.
Former England cricketer Gough feels as though it won’t be difficult for Benitez to do a better job than Ancelotti and has also taken a swipe at Everton fans for their high expectations last season.
“I tell you what – what does he need to do to win the fans over? Because I don’t think it’s going to be hard for him to beat 10th-place, 10th-place last year is disgraceful,” Gough said on talkSPORT on Thursday [05:13pm].
“How many fans come on last year from Everton at the start of the season and took the Micky out of us when we said, ‘listen, they’ll struggle to get into that top-six, it’s not going to be easy’?
“They all came on here and say, ‘I fancy us to win it or definitely get Champions League, it’s Ancelotti, he’s got some top, top players’.
“But I tell you what, it’s not going to be that easy, is it?”
Leave it out, Goughie
Gough needs to realise that after the way we started last season, a Champions League finish was not beyond the realms of possiblity.
West Ham finished in sixth-place, just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and a potential spot in the Champions League.
Leicester, who did win the Premier League title not too long ago but are nowhere near as big a club as Everton, finished within one point of fourth.
Tottenham and Arsenal had rotten seasons while Chelsea and Liverpool sleep-walked their way into the top-four so was it really impossible for us to finish in the top-four last season?
No, it wasn’t.
And what’s wrong with fans being confident and predicting good things for their team? What’s the point in being a football supporter if you can’t dream?
Don’t rubbish those dreams as though they were ridiculous – they weren’t.
Benitez should lead us to a better finish next season than Ancelotti did last term because, let’s face it, the way we performed in 2021 was abhorrent.
We have full faith in Rafa and we don’t think he’s going to have any issue in getting fans on his side.
In other Everton news, Benitez responded when he was asked about Rodriguez’s future.
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