The Spaniard never overcame his successful association with
Liverpool, whose stadium is only a mile (1.6 kilometers) from Goodison Park
across Stanley Park, and his position became increasingly untenable as Everton
sunk closer to the relegation zone.
Everton has only one win in 13 league matches under Benitez,
scoring 12 goals and conceding 27 in that time, although key striker Dominic
Calvert-Lewin has only just returned from four months out injured to play two
matches.
Benitez’s name was chanted at Anfield within minutes after
the announcement by Liverpool fans during their match against Brentford on
Sunday afternoon.
They not only fondly remember his 2004-10 reign, which
included leading Liverpool to the Champions League title in 2005, but also his
part in the decline of such a fierce, local rival.
The end-game came for Everton with a 2-1 loss on Saturday to
a team in the relegation zone — Norwich — which left Everton six points in
front of the eastern England side.
“Everton Football Club can confirm the departure of Rafael
Benitez as first team manager,” the club said in a statement. “Benitez, who
joined Everton in June 2021, has left the club with immediate effect. An update
on a permanent replacement will be made in due course.”
However delighted Everton supporters are to see Benitez’s
departure, the ownership will also remain in their sights.
After a lavish and somewhat haphazard outlay of about $750
million on players since Farhad Moshiri became the club’s majority shareholder
in 2016, Everton reined in its spending in the summer transfer window following
the appointment of Benitez after Carlo Ancelotti went to Real Madrid. Four
players came in at a total cost of barely $2 million.
The fear has become about the danger of relegation — after
collecting 19 points from the opening 19 matches and another 19 games to go —
rather than trying to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2017 in the
Europa League. While Liverpool has won the Champions League (2019) and Premier
League (2020) since then, Everton is without a trophy since the 1995 FA Cup and
hasn’t won the English championship since 1987.
But the club is ambitious for the future with plans to move
into a new stadium by Liverpool’s waterfront — costing around $700 million —
for the start of the 2024-25 season. Benitez won’t be the manager leading the
team in it.
Among the contenders for the job are Wayne Rooney, the
boyhood Everton fan turned precocious striker who went on to become the
all-time leading scorer for England and Manchester United.
Rooney on Sunday marked a year as permanent manager of
Derby. In his first coaching job, the 36-year-old Rooney has had to navigate
ownership turmoil at Derby and has remarkably taken the team off last place
despite a 21-point deduction for breaking league financial rules.
A more experienced appointment would see the return of
Roberto Martinez, who led Everton to fifth place in 2014 which hasn’t been
replicated since. The Spaniard went to coach Belgium and is now preparing to
lead the country at a second World Cup in November having finished in third
place in 2018.
Remaining in place at Everton is former midfielder Duncan
Ferguson, who has been on the coaching staff since 2014 and has previously
served as caretaker manager in 2019 after Marco Silva’s firing.
Benitez’s successor will be Everton’s sixth permanent
manager in six years.