Rafael Benitez rejects new theory about his Everton side
Rafael Benitez doesn’t believe that you can compare this Everton side to the one last season.
Speaking to the Liverpool Echo before his team face Wolverhampton Wanderers, the Spaniard emphasised the fact that his team is missing key players and didn’t spend that much.
Last season, after a strong start under Carlo Ancelotti, the Toffees fell away, but Benitez doesn’t think that you can compare the two seasons after a couple of poor defeats.
He said: “You cannot compare any season. You cannot compare any season with the last season.
“There are different circumstances, a different manager, different players.
“The starting point here – this team finished 10th last season – and did not spend too much because of the FFP rules, and we are missing some very important players.
“Considering all these things, we were doing well. Something which happens with all my teams is that little by little we are getting better and finish the season quite strong.”
A strong message from Benitez.
It is clear that the Spaniard doesn’t think that this little blip that the Toffees are going through is anything like what happened last season, and in many ways, he is correct.
Before the 2020/21 season started, Everton spent a lot of money on both fees and wages to sign the likes of Ben Godfrey, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and James Rodriguez.
Now, this season, the Toffees spent barely anything in the summer transfer window and have been without Dominic Calvert-Lewin for most of the season.
There have also been several other injuries that have meant that key players have missed games at various points.
So, Benitez is right, you can’t really compare the two seasons, but he still needs a result tonight to get things back on track.
Otherwise, you would think the pressure on him could slightly increase as time goes on and the Toffees continue to lose.
In other Everton news, Allan has revealed the differences between playing under Ancelotti and Benitez.
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