Should Benitez be given an extension?

There has been a lot of media speculation of late, regarding Jose Mourinho’s unfulfilled love story in the western parts of London. Jose continues to make enemies with every person he finds firmly established with Real Madrid in order to force his way out. In case Real Madrid and Jose do part ways eventually, which looks very likely, then there is only one club where he can freely walk into, only one club whose fans will welcome him with open arms. No prizes for guessing which club.

As things stand, Rafael Benitez will take charge of the Chelsea team for one final time this Sunday when Chelsea host Everton. I, for one, am not sure at all what reaction to expect from the crowd. Rewind to late November when he was just appointed, and you will realize that the mood was very clear back then – Rafa wasn’t ever going to be accepted by the fans. “Rafa Out” chants could be heard everywhere. Slowly, fans got accustomed to seeing their surprise managerial appointment at the touchline twice a week, and some, although a very minute group, even decided to stick by him through the times. The ‘Rafa Out’ chants gradually subsided, but the hate and resentment was still there. Throughout this time, Rafa was playing a cat and mouse game when faced with questions about his future. At one point of time, he was even ready to throw his hat into the ring for the same job on a permanent basis. However, that changed during a dramatic press conference following an FA Cup game at Middlesbrough. The hate and chanting had become unbearable and his position was becoming untenable. This prompted Rafa to publicly declare that he will walk out after fulfilling his term. He pointed out that no amount of abusing and chanting will result in his sacking, and called out for the fans to stop abusing him and focus their energies in getting behind the team instead.

At the time, this rant (which also had some shades of complaint about his ‘interim’ tag) was viewed as a severely mistimed and damaging one. Instead, it has worked out to perfection. The crowd started getting behind the team (and stopped abusing their manager) and results took a turn for the better. The team reached the semis of the FA Cup, and have most certainly beaten Arsenal and Spurs to third. Benitez still had to win a trophy to consider himself successful, and in light of the recent Europa League triumph, one can possibly expect an acknowledging mood in the stands this weekend. In case the crowd, in majority, decide to thank their manager for the win and Champions League qualification, then it would signal a clear change of mood, and Rafa will deserve all the credit for turning it around. Definitely, there is not going to be any booing. Alternatively, if they decide that a warm, parting applause for the man they hate (hated?) will suffice, it would represent just an acknowledgement of the decent job that he has done, and not a sign of forgiveness.

For now, winning a trophy (largely viewed as unimportant by majority of big clubs), securing third place and Champions League football for next season seems like a happy ending to the season. But considering where Chelsea were in the table when Rafa took over, he should have done much better with their league campaign. Irrespective of how the Bridge reacts this weekend, this writer feels that Rafa should not be allowed to continue as Chelsea manager beyond this weekend. Here are a few reasons why:

Substitutions

This is one of the most easiest reasons to think of. In too many league games, Rafa’s substitutions, or a lack of them, have cost Chelsea valuable points. Points were dropped against teams like Reading, Southampton and QPR, mainly because of the team’s inability to close out the game. Rafa always made late changes, and a frequent writer to this website kept pointing it out as each game went by. The writer kept emphasizing that Rafa needs to be more proactive in his calls and try to do something innovative. Rafa usually waited for things to happen before thinking about a change when the situation called for an impact substitute. Usually, most of his substitutions were too late to make a difference. Another issue here is him choosing the wrong substitute. How many times have we seen like for like replacements when chasing the game ? Come on Rafa, what were you thinking of? The article here, among other things, discusses his substitutions and tactics on a game by game basis for a small period of the season. Rafa’s inadequacy in deciding substitutions was evident even in the Europa League final. Benfica made all their changes, Rafa made none. The last-gasp win and the ensuing celebrations have totally clouded this issue. Again, what was he thinking?

One may argue along the lines that he was saving legs for extra time. Doesn’t that give a pessimistic view of him? Doesn’t it make more sense to try and win the game in normal time itself when your players are fresher? Benfica were the better team for most parts of the match, and yet, there was neither a change in tactics by Chelsea, nor any fresh faces to liven up proceedings. Chelsea, again, had to rely on experience (credit to Fernando Torres‘ performance) and the leadership of their ageing legend to provide the spark. Please note here that I have no problem with the thought of saving substitutes for extra time, because Chelsea would have been the fresher team on the pitch had the game gone so far. But the very act shows a pessimistic and wrong attitude, and displays a lack of confidence to finish the game off in normal time. Had a single change been made at least, I would not have had much complaints.

Had Benitez not dropped as many league points as he did, Chelsea would have been right up there challenging for the title instead of dog-fighting with their London counterparts for third and fourth. A club like Chelsea, with an owner like Roman, will not be happy going the Arsenal way and being content with a top four finish every season. If they are to seriously challenge for the title next season, they need a faster thinking manager with more spark on the sidelines.

Relationship with fans

Rafa was never here to build bridges or make friends. There is still too much hatred for his past misdeeds among some supporters. Winning the Europa League may have somewhat narrowed that gap. How significantly though, remains to be seen this Sunday.

Personal agenda

Then, there are some people who argue that Benitez only took the Chelsea job to advertise himself for a longer term project in the future at an equally big (or bigger) club. In order to do that, he needed to show something in his resume to be considered seriously. His previous spell at Inter had ended in disaster (it was shocking to see how a Champions League winning squad fell apart within six months of him in charge, among other reasons) and he hadn’t been employed since then. When Chelsea came calling, it was too good an offer to refuse. There were trophies on offer, and a league title to challenge for. He must have fancied his chances to win at least one of them. This lured him into accepting the job on a short term basis, inspite of fully knowing what reaction to expect from the fans. He was well prepared for all the abuses (he knew what he was getting himself into) because he had only one thing in mind – win at least one trophy for the club, and more crucially, himself. Prioritizing the Europa league equally with the Premier League campaign backs up this claim. Which top club would risk burning out its squad by regularly flying across Europe chasing a second tier competition? Fergie even called it as a ‘punishment’ last season and promptly exited the competition at the first hurdle in order to focus on the Premier League. Rafa was never going to care a damn about which competition Chelsea would be playing next season, and hence, decided to seriously focus on the Europa League. Here, part of the blame must go to the club’s hierarchy as well for instructing him to prioritize in this manner, but you cannot deny his personal agenda.

Benitez had an aim when he took the job – to win a trophy. Now that he has achieved it, he can get himself into a ‘job done’ mood and consider himself successful.

Presence of other candidates

If the Special One indeed becomes available in the summer, then the others do not stand a chance. Barring Jose, there are still quite a number of experienced men on the market this summer – Roberto Mancini, Roberto Martinez, Harry Redknapp etc. (Di Matteo is still available too!), and we cannot even rule out a return for the unsettled ‘King Carlo’. So does Rafa stand a chance against them? Mancini might get a fresh chance in English football if he gets the job, but considering his Champions League failures in the past with City and Inter (his record in the competition is dreadful), it is unlikely Roman will appoint him. Martinez has done remarkably well with Wigan (and Swansea before them), and prefers a passing game that Roman craves for, so he would be a good choice. Carlo Ancelotti will be welcomed back by fans (some, like me, still feel that it was one of Roman’s most brutal sackings) in case he gets another chance at the Bridge, while Harry remains an outside candidate (assuming that QPR feel his wages are too much for their Championship campaign). With such potentially successful candidates available, would it be worth it appointing a man whom the fans are unsure whether to accept and trust?

Summary

Rafa has done a decent job so far, and has satisfied expectations. Third place consolidation and a trophy were what was asked for and he has delivered. But the association must end there. Rafa is too slow in his calls during a match, and prefers not to change tactics mid game, or in other words, he is ‘inflexible’ in his thoughts. This will cost Chelsea if they are serious about challenging for the title next season, because with Rafa, there is always a tendency to unexpectedly drop points.

Next, there is the issue of popularity. A successful, model club must always have a manager who is trusted and respected, if not loved, by fans. Now, it would be difficult to imagine Chelsea fans trusting Benitez, owing to the bad blood in the past. They will view it as a huge risk by placing the club’s future in his hands. Rafa will never be unanimously accepted, there will always be a small group hating him, and when the manager is not universally accepted, it becomes detrimental to the positive surroundings around the club.

But inspite of his shortcomings, Rafa has conducted himself in a thoroughly professional manner. Barring that rant, he has always focused on players and insisted on discussing the game rather than off field issues. David Luiz’s transformation into a versatile center back-cum-holding midfielder has been a major success story, while the upturn in the fortunes of Fernando Torres has also been a talking point. The much criticized rotation policy has finally worked; how else could a small squad have gone through sixty nine games in a single season and won regularly (Di Matteo was already facing burnout issues before he was sacked)? Overall, Rafa has done a fairly decent job, certainly not as woeful as one may have expected. Conspiracy theories had crept up as well. “Out of his love for Liverpool, he is here only to destroy Chelsea, not to save their season” – arguments and fears featuring similar content were common. He has put all such conspiracy theories to rest with this positive end to the season and displayed true professionalism. Like a true professional as he has been throughout, he must shake hands at the end of what was a poorly thought out arrangement, and walk out of what has been a short, mistimed, unthoughtful, and definitely eventful spell on the sidelines with his head held high.

Rafa Benitez can walk away a happy man. Chelsea does not need him and will not care about him, and the feeling will be mutual. He saw an opportunity there for the taking, and fulfilled what was desired. Now, the red carpet is there for a new manager to enter, spend, and better an already brilliant squad. The ‘Rafa Out’ movement must be realized finally (as we all wanted it to), and hopefully, ‘Mourinho In’ will be the case this summer. What we hope for is, Abramovich’s managerial shortlist must never again include the name of Rafael Benitez.