Removal of Benítez will not solve all of Everton’s deep-lying problems | Jonathan Wilson

The Goodison Park club is locked in a spiral of negativity and more change is required if they are to prosper

Perhaps the strangest aspect of Rafa Benítez’s time at Everton is how well it began. He may have been sacked after a dismal run of one win in 13 league games, but after seven league games Everton had 14 points, a better start than they’d had last season, when everybody was cooing about Carlo Ancelotti and James Rodríguez.

But the problem was that Benítez is Benítez and a significant part of that identity is bound up with Liverpool. 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. This is a club locked in a spiral of negativity and, whatever Benítez’s faults, nobody should think that many of the problems did not precede him. What is Everton?

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