The Goodison Park club is locked in a spiral of negativity and more change is required if they are to prosper
. Whatever Benítez’s qualities as a coach, he was never likely to be afforded much patience by fans if things went badly. Benítez will probably argue he was undone by a series of key injuries, most notably Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Yerry Mina, while Abdoulaye Doucouré has not been the same since his foot problem. Any side would be affected by the loss of its spine, but in Everton’s case, those absences exposed deeper-lying, almost existential issues.
Which poses a major question: given four of the last five managers have been deemed failures almost from the off, areterrible at making appointments, or is there something in the character of the club that makes it essentially unmanageable? Rafael Benítez celebrates with some of his players after Everton beat Southampton 3-1 in their first game of the Premier League season.For a long time Everton were a club who battled on admirably despite a comparative dearth of resources. Since Farhad Moshiri became the, though, there has been a net spend of a little over £200m.
Was a first relegation in 71 years a serious prospect? Perhaps not, but given how poor their form had become, how shambolic their defending, nobody could claim to be entirely comfortable with just a six-point gap to the drop zone, even with games in hand. Once middle-aged fans are running on to the pitch to berate a manager, the jig is almost certainly up.
So Benítez had to go. But whoever takes over will inherit an odd mishmash of a squad patched together over the reigns of six managers. It’s not that there are not good players there – there are – but too many were bought at or beyond their peak. Of course bargains can be found among those cast off elsewhere, but it feels as though there has been a fundamental failure to accept Everton’s place in the modern world. Cosplaying being a big club has simply wasted money.
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