Rafa Benitez was sacked as “Everton fans think Liverpool are laughing at them”
Peter Crouch has suggested that Rafael Benitez's prior association with Liverpool was, in part, behind his undoing as Everton manager.
Benitez, 61, was given his marching orders on Sunday, less than 24 hours after his side were beaten by relegation-threatened Norwich City.
It was the club's 10th Premier League defeat of the season – and their ninth in their last 12 league matches – to leave them six points above the drop-zone in 16th.
The Everton board called an emergency meeting after the match, where they made the decision to relieve Benitez of his duties after just six months in charge.
Given his past association with rivals Liverpool, Benitez was always going to face an uphill battle following his appointment as Toffees manager.
But few expected his reign to unravel quite this quickly and leave Everton searching for another new boss, their sixth in as many years.
Crouch, who played at Liverpool under Benitez, believes the Spaniard's prior association with the Reds was a big contributing factor to his downfall at Goodison.
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He told the Daily Mail: "Rafa Benitez will forever remain a great manager. That will not change. But taking the Everton job was always a tough ask, even for a man of his standing. As soon as they started losing games it was going to be an immediate uphill battle and one he has sadly lost.
"Let’s be honest here, if his name was anything other than Rafa Benitez, there would not be as much of the understandable anger among the fans. I’m not sure we would be talking about his sacking either, because he was only six months in. But Liverpool was the obvious problem.
"Everton fans think Liverpool fans are laughing at them. That is a huge factor in summing up the way in which Rafa’s spell in charge has spiralled."
Benitez spoke out not long after his sacking as Everton boss and acknowledged that he knew it would not be an easy task right from the very start.
"We knew it wouldn't be easy," admitted Benitez.
"It was a big challenge, both emotionally and in terms of sport. My love for this city, for Merseyside and its people, made me accept this challenge, but it is only when you are inside that you realise the magnitude of the task.
"From the very first day, my staff and myself worked as we always do, with commitment and full dedication. We didn't only have to get results, but we also had to win over people's hearts.
"However, the financial situation and then the injuries that followed made things even harder."
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