[1]I am seriously beginning to wonder whether Benitez is now on some sort of wind-up. Like he’s realised that he has little chance of retaining the manager’s job further than the end of the season so has decided to get his own back by doing his utmost not only to ensure we are out of contention for any silver wear, but also ensuring that we fall out of the Champions League places. I can see no other reason for his frankly bizarre substitutions & some of his starting line-ups.
When he substituted Lampard, the midfielder walked straight past the interim coach – eyes straight ahead – even from my vantage point in the Upper tier at the Ethiad I could see that Frank was furious. You could argue that Hazard had even more reason to be annoyed, given that he had looked very lively in the first half & was one of only a few players who looked likely to score.
Indeed, ask almost anyone watching that game who should come off & I imagine “Ramires” would have been the universal reply. He was not having a great game, had been booked & was playing a very dangerous game with his constant fouls – yet Benitez saw fit to leave him on & take Lampard off who can always be fancied for a goal & Hazard who at least was looking a problem for the opposition.
Benitez’s delusional interviews where he still insists we are “improving” under his tenure are also turning me into a gibbering maniac – this is not bravado – he is arrogant, stubborn & stupid enough to actually believe that this is true; the small gap between us & United has now become a yawning, unbridgeable chasm & our team which was a team of talented individuals, all be it in transition, looks like a group of mid-table journeymen strangers.
This along with his refusal to even attempt to make amends for his past barbs at the fans demonstrates a man who will not acknowledge his own foibles – even when laid bare for the world to see – if he won’t acknowledge them, he won’t change either which makes the rest of the season look very bleak indeed.
Many fans believed that his position would not be called into question unless our Champions League qualification place was in danger – we have now reached that stage; the owner & the board need to decide whether their own egos are worth more than the future of the club. This is their mess & the longer they leave it, the longer it will take to clear up & the more long term damage will be done.
One thing Benitez has managed to do though is finally unite the support – even those previously willing to give him a chance now acknowledge that they were backing a lame horse. Being part of a Chelsea crowd at the moment is a surreal experience – seething hatred & abject misery does not make for a lively atmosphere – we are going through the motions – just as the team seem to be doing.
Ferguson must be laughing himself silly – one of the easiest titles in his long & illustrious career – even more astonishing given the fact that this is probably one of the most ordinary United sides for years. They have had no real competition since Arsenal pressed the self-destruct button pre-season by selling them Van Persie, then we wrestled that button off them by employing the unemployable Benitez & City have proved little more than one season wonders at the moment even given their team of super-stars.
The next two weeks could see us fall out of contention for everything, I wonder what the board & owner have in the envelope marked “Plan C” – as “Plan B” has been such an unmitigated disaster it doesn’t bode well but could it possibly be any worse?
Posted by Trizia
(You can see all the Terrace Talk articles here) [2]