Why Benitez Is Not Good Enough

We were just boarding a flight back from Turin when we heard the news that Roberto Di Matteo had been sacked following the defeat against Juventus the previous evening. There had been no mumblings or rumours that Roman Abramovich was going to get the proverbial axe out but this didn’t create any special surprise towards the news. Despite the unbelievable and unprecedented success Robbie bought us earlier in the year and a good start to the current campaign, a poor run of form in the Premier League and Champions League bought the Italian’s reign to an abrupt early finish.

Even though Di Matteo had won the all elusive Champions League trophy we all knew, deep inside, that Robbie was a ticking time bomb. Abramovich didn’t want the Italian in the first place and only reluctantly hired him after plan AVB failed and the lack of availability of top class managers in the summer left few other options. The Russian was waiting for the first opportunity to give Di Matteo the boot and that classless act, against a legendary player and manager, has left a sour taste in the mouth. But there was no surprise – we all know how ruthless our owner can be. And besides our love for Robbie, our managerial merry-go-round has bought us more trophies (since 2003) than the managerial stability at Manchester United and Arsenal.

What really left Chelsea fans shaking their heads was the appointment of Rafael Benitez as Di Matteo’s replacement. We all know the history between Benitez and Chelsea – stemming back to the earliest days of the Jose Mourinho reign and extending right up and until Benitez left Liverpool in 2010 – it is a history filled with hate. 

Di Matteo on the touchline at Swansea

So when Benitez walked out of the Stamford Bridge tunnel, was introduced to the home faithful and sat down in the dugout the boo’s that echoed around The Bridge was like something we had never heard before. Booing a new manager before a ball had even been kicked is unprecedented at Chelsea F.C. and possibly the world – but Roman Abramovich and his muppet advisors could not say they where surprised.

Back in March of this year, when Andre Villas Boas was relieved of his duties, Chelsea’s away following, up in Birmingham, let the Chelsea owner know exactly what we thought of the rumours that Benitez was going to be hired at that point. Chelsea fans played a part in the hiring of Di Matteo until the end of that season – and the rest is history (making it)!

However it is not just the rivalry between Chelsea and Benitez that is behind the booing of our new manager. Chelsea fans believe that Rafa Benitez is, quite simply, not a good enough manager for a club of our current stature. Benitez won the Champions League and F.A. Cup in 6 years in charge of Liverpool – Di Matteo duplicated that in 6 months at Chelsea. Benitez bottled Liverpool’s best chance of winning the Premier League in over a decade and his ending days led Liverpool onto the slippery slope they still can’t get off of.

  Anti-Rafa banners and chants are common

He then took over one of the greatest Italian club sides Serie A has ever seen – Jose Mourinho’s treble winning, Champions League winning, Inter Milan. He made them a mid table team after just 6 months and was sacked in December 2010. Since then, until Abramovich gave Benitez a career saving opportunity, he has been out of a job.

And who can argue with the Chelsea fans who still question Benitez’s ability to manage at the top level? His start to his Chelsea career has been poor and has even lacked the honeymoon period that most teams experience after a managerial change. Questionable team selection and in-game substitutions, a consistent rotation of our best players, poor media handling and poor man-management becoming more evident after quotes of displeasure towards Benitez leaked from certain players recently will just lead to Chelsea fans further staking their claim that Roman Abramovich, on this occasion, was so wrong to pull the trigger.