Benitez is wrong to question Chelsea fans’ support of the team
It was hardly surprising that Rafael Benitez eventually exploded with frustration.
He has not been particularly successful on the field – recording a lower win percentage than many of his predecessors and playing largely uninspiring football – and has been massively unpopular with Chelsea fans.
But the timing of the explosion which saw him finally berate everyone and everything he blames for the events of the past three months was strange.
To accuse fans of not supporting the team after 2,000 of them had travelled to Middlesbrough on a cold February night was wrong.
Benitez is unpopular and has been since before he was even appointed, but supporters have remained behind the team and individual players, such as Frank Lampard as he edges closer to Bobby Tambling’s goalscoring record.
Fans have enjoyed the wonderful form of Juan Mata, were happy when Demba Ba was signed, pleased at how good Cesar Azpilicueta seems to be and, more recently, encouraged by Nathan Ake’s full debut.
The fans have been supporting the team. They just don’t like Benitez.
When he was Liverpool manager he accused Chelsea fans of lacking passion. Now they have shown passion, he criticises them for that.
Those who have followed Benitez closely throughout his managerial career point to how meticulous he is, spending long hours at the training ground and having an in-depth knowledge of football.
In that case, he must have known how unpopular he would be at Chelsea.
Former Chelsea captain Andy Townsend has summed the situation up perfectly by pointing out that Benitez “knew what he was letting himself in for” when he came in as Roberto Di Matteo’s replacement.
In truth, Benitez has shown dignity during his time in charge to take three months, or 27 games, before reacting to the opposition he faced.
But one of the things some fans dislike about him is his apparent air of pomposity – and perhaps it was inevitable the outburst would come at some point.
The fact he railed against all and sundry, suggesting if Chelsea don’t qualify for the Champions League it will down to the fans and board rather than his own tactics and team selections, will have come as no surprise to his detractors.
Stamford Bridge has been a right mess since Di Matteo was sacked. Results and performances have got worse and obviously fans have been unhappy.
They have been angrier with the board than at any time in the Roman Abramovich era and there have even been cases of supporters turning on each other in the stands, with factions opposed to Benitez clashing with those who think the negativity is harmful.
The atmosphere is not what it used to be at home games, although that has developed over a period of years and there are many factors to blame for it.
But it is still wrong to say the fans have not been supporting the team. Nobody would pay as much as Chelsea fans do to watch games without wanting their team to win.
They just don’t like Benitez. It’s as simple as that.
James Clarke is the author of Moody Blues: Following the second-best team in Europe
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01/03/2013 @ 4:46 pm
Its both hilarious and uncompromising. Benitez as Chelsea’s coach? Appointing him was mindless. This man would coach the team in blue without anything blue or Chelsea on him (often with a Liver-red tie) when he first came. It’s a pointer to the fact that his heart wasn’t where his hands and legs were;would you expect such a one to succeed? The board is something else. Abrahamovich,stop toying with our dear team. Up Blues!!!
28/02/2013 @ 10:50 pm
On the plus side Rafa seems to have got Chelski fans creating their own banners and flags for once instead of having plastic ones issued by the club!! I stand by my opinion.
Oh and the blue copy of the Torres banner with the Shankley gates on is hilarious.
28/02/2013 @ 7:49 pm
/\/\/\/\/\/\ L O L…..delusional sad liverpool fans….sad really
28/02/2013 @ 7:17 pm
AndyYNWA – in a way you’ve summed up why Chelsea fans are right. You point out how ridiculous it was to sack Roberto Di Matteo when he’d won the Champions League. That’s what is behind the current state of affairs at Chelsea – without the ridiculous decision to sack Di Matteo none of this would be happening.
But then you question the fans right to oppose that move and the unpopular choice of manager to replace him.
The fans take a principled stance after a move so inexplicable it’s (in your words) “priceless” and suddenly they have “zero class”? How does that work?
And this idea that banners and chants are responsible for results just doesn’t wash. The banners didn’t lose at home to QPR. The chants didn’t squander 2-0 leads against Southampton and Reading. It’s as though Benitez has no say in how his team performs.
Lastly, Liverpool fans criticising another club’s supporters for not backing a manager have clearly forgotten how they hounded Roy Hodgson – good enough to be the England manager – out of Anfield.
28/02/2013 @ 5:00 pm
Chelsea fans are showing themselves and their club up for what they really are. At Chelski there is ZERO class in the boardroom, on the pitch or in the stands.
The club has cast aside each successful managers like used gossamer in Abramovich’s relentless quest for the European holy grail.
And what do they do when they win it??? Sack Di Matteo…Priceless!!
Now don’t get me wrong, Rafa at LFC was at times a bloody minded, stubborn character who somtimes made questionable tactical decisions. However, Rafa has a point here. What is the point of the banners, the boo’s, the chants when all it serves is to harm the the progress of the team? Like I said, zero class.
One day the Russian will grow tired of his toy and return Chelsea to the yo yo club it was before the rubles came in.
Come in agents Torres and Rafa, your work is done.