Sam Allardyce slams Richarlison and shares Rafa Benitez verdict after Everton lose 3-1 at Crystal Palace
Sam Allardyce has delivered his verdict on Everton after Sunday’s (12 December) 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace heaped further pressure on Rafa Benitez.
The Blues were well beaten at Selhurst Park, a result that means they have won just once in their last 10 games, and speaking on talkSPORT (13 December) the morning after, ex-Everton boss Allardyce has offered sympathy to his old foe.
“He’d be devastated, a man with his experience and what he’s done and where he’s held in the football world,” Big Sam said. “People would have expected him to do an awful lot more than he’s doing at the moment.
“Unfortunately the Everton players are not performing to the level they were at the start of the season.
“One win in 10, that is something that will be seriously looked at. When you get a bad run, normally you don’t last very long.
“When you see Richarlison doing what he’s doing, it’s not the best thing for a manager when he starts shaking his head. That’s the last thing Rafa needs at the moment, an individual showing petulance, that can reverberate around the world with the press by saying ‘the manager’s lost the players’ and that sort of stuff.”
Rounding on Richarlison
Richarlison’s reaction to being substituted early in the second half against Palace hasn’t gone down well with some, including Allardyce.
The ex-Blues boss knows all about dealing with big egos and the difficulties of making in-game decisions, and he looks to have sided with one of his contemporaries in Benitez, despite a strained relationship between the pair stretching back to their days as Bolton and Liverpool manager.
Benitez, speaking to reporters after his side lost at Selhurst Park, claimed his Brazilian attacker had suffered a knock in the first-half, justifying his withdrawal for Venezuelan centre-forward Salomon Rondon, who went on to score his first Everton goal.
It might well be a sensible decision to avoid risking a longer-term injury with a lot of fixtures on the horizon, but it’s still a decision that could come back to haunt him as it further angered Everton fans, particularly those that made their way down to South London and wanted their talisman to stay on to lead the fight for an equaliser.
In other Everton news, the Blues made an approach on Thursday to sign this ‘Awesome’ Gary Lineker-hailed ace.
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