Simon Jordan blames Farhad Moshiri’s Rafa Benitez decisions for Everton mess after Burnley loss
Farhad Moshiri is to blame for the mess that Everton are in, specifically for the appointment and removal of Rafael Benitez, according to Simon Jordan.
The Toffees lost 3-2 at relegation rivals Burnley last night (6 April) to leave their opponents just a point behind them, in a game that was seen as crucial to either side’s survival hopes.
Manager Frank Lampard is struggling to get results of a demoralised playing squad, with financial worries in the background, and former Crystal Palace owner Jordan says the current situation is the owner’s responsibility.
Speaking on talkSPORT this morning (Thursday 7 April, 10.00am) he said: “It seems to me that the bringing in of Rafa Benitez, and then the subsequent dismissal has completely disrupted Everton Football Club.
“I’m not blaming Benitez, I’m blaming the appointment of Benitez. It destabilised the club.”
“It’s one and the same thing isn’t it?” host Jim White asked.
Jordan went on: “It’s not. Benitez took the job because he was offered it. The people that appointed him are the ones who are culpable.
“Benitez was always going to be a poisoned situation. He was always going to take them on the fast track to Palookaville because the fans weren’t going to have him.
“My point is not about Benitez’s management. The appointment destabilised the club because it alienated a section of fans. Then the wheels came off and they took him out, so it destabilised it even further.”
White then asked: “Well give me a name then. Who is to blame for Everton’s current predicament. Moshiri, Benitez or Lampard?”
“Moshiri ultimately,” answered Jordan.
Plenty to go round
Such is the state of affairs at the club right now, blame is not in short supply.
In isolation perhaps most of the factors contributing to the disfunction would not be a disaster.
But with so many combining, and the influence of so many people compounding the situation, it is a situation that can’t be avoided.
Lampard doesn’t look like that man to take the Toffees out of the mire, and while it is still possible, he is cutting it far too fine at the moment.
The actions of Benitez during his time strike as those of a man who thinks he knows better, and while in the past you can’t argue that he has, there is little in his recent record to suggest he deserved the backing he received at Goodison.
It was going to need to be nearly flawless for his Liverpool credentials to be overlooked, and with a bargain basement transfer window to work with that was unlikely.
The man at the top always bears ultimate responsibility because this has happened on his watch.
And he has actively made decisions along the way that have made things worse.
It is not to say the club would be thriving without Moshiri, but it is currently looking like it is barely possible for them to do so under him.
In other Everton news, Jim White spoke to Moshiri this morning while he was at the airport.
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