There must have been a
point before Chelsea's clash with Manchester City that some of the
home supporters had a brainwave. They were really irritated by the
appointment of Rafael Benitez and they needed to let the world know
how they felt.
Protests in football
have taken many forms. Street protests outside Anfield against Hicks
and Gillett, a chicken on the pitch at Blackburn to suggest that
Venky's were better suited to meat processing than football, and a
colour-themed anti-Glazer stance at Manchester United. You can now
add the A4 print-out protest to the list.
How it made its way
through the mental filter should be questioned and there now needs to
be a point where Chelsea supporters realise that Sunday's protest
made them look utterly daft.
Regardless of the fact
that Benitez has been in as many Champions League finals as Chelsea,
fans are entitled to their opinions. He is the anti-Mourinho. José
is the managerial ultimate at the Bridge and the hiring of the
pantomime villain does not sit comfortably. That is understandable.
The problem is not that they did not want Rafa Benitez as their
manager.
The real issue is the
fact that their vitriol was pointed in entirely the wrong direction.
Benitez is a manager
whose work at Liverpool is no longer given the recognition it
deserves by many due to an ugly downfall, his subsequent failure at
Inter Milan and a series of misconceptions that have become facts to
those who mention them frequently enough. Rafa the defensive manager,
for example. The same defensive manager whose side scored more goals
in the Premier League than any other in 2008-9. You get the idea...
This is a manager who
wanted a route back into the English game and was offered a six-month
audition for redemption by a club with huge resources and a talented
squad. Why would he turn it down?
Yet on Sunday
afternoon, he was the target of the anger. It was the equivalent of
being fired from your job and scratching your keys against the door
of your replacement's car, rather than the one owned by the boss who
sent you packing. Chelsea fans don't want Benitez. We get that. So
why not direct the protests at the man who fired Roberto di Matteo
and hired the Spaniard in the first place?
It is simple. He has
the money. He has given Chelsea fans success beyond their wildest
dreams and without him, life is slightly unnerving. Without the man
who sat in his box entirely disinterested by the Microsoft-enhanced
handiwork in the stands, Chelsea would not be European champions.
Rather than criticise
the man at fault for the turnover of Chelsea managers, a
self-defeating protest against a manager who had not yet managed a
minute of football took place.
If Chelsea fans really
oppose what is happening, they should put Roman Abramovich's name on
the paper.
I would advise
investing in some A3 paper to do so, just to get the message across.
