Jamie Redknapp slams Rafael Benitez after Everton loss
Jamie Redknapp tore into Everton manager Rafael Benitez after Saturday’s 2-1 loss to lowly Norwich, blaming the Spaniard for acting like a “politician”.
The ex-England international expected the Goodison boss to be sacked imminently and tipped Duncan Ferguson and Wayne Rooney as options to replace him.
The pundit said on Sky Sports, as quoted by The Mirror: “Rafa has a habit of causing chaos at clubs. He’s a politician, always blaming someone else, getting this person against that person.
“He creates an atmosphere with the crowd against the board everywhere he goes. I am convinced he’s doing it again now.
“But when you go to Norwich and play like that, he has to go.”
Writing on the wall
The former Liverpool boss was an unpopular figure among Toffees fans from the minute he was announced to replace Carlo Ancelotti.
And aside from some decent early results the atmosphere has been hostile ever since.
Home and away fans were united in singing “You’re getting sacked in the morning” during the FA Cup tie at Hull City, with fans unimpressed at being taken to extra time by the Championship side.
Andros Townsend’s long-range winner looked to have bought the embattled manager some time and there would have been hope the team could build on the result.
But after the subsequent game against Leicester City was postponed the team managed to lose to then-bottom club Norwich, conceding twice against a side that had not managed to score a Premier League goal since November.
Even the most generous of Everton fans would have found this an unacceptable situation and it became impossible for Benitez to remain at Goodison.
His high profile falling out with full-back Lucas Digne, leading to the Frenchman’s sale to Aston Villa, put him in a vulnerable position and results have not been good enough to justify the manager’s stance.
In other Everton news, these two England legends have reacted to the situation surrounding the manager.