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Rafa Benitez - was he right?

Stevie

by Stevie
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Stevie

Stevie

Posted
Posted

To be honest I thought Rafa's comments displayed a bit of sour grapes.  Even Man Utd have went away in Europe in the past looking for a draw.

 

Ignoring that though does he have a point about Everton being a small club?  Even when they won the titles in the 80's they were only averaging 30,000.  Since then they've been a selling club and don't even have the fan base to fill Goodison Park regularly.  Was he right?

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NE5

NE5

Posted
Posted

To be honest I thought Rafa's comments displayed a bit of sour grapes.  Even Man Utd have went away in Europe in the past looking for a draw.

 

Ignoring that though does he have a point about Everton being a small club?  Even when they won the titles in the 80's they were only averaging 30,000.  Since then they've been a selling club and don't even have the fan base to fill Goodison Park regularly.  Was he right?

 

Remember when we lost Gordon Lee to Everton Stevie ? They were most definitely bigger and better than us then or that would not have happened. And they were for a long time afterwards too, as they won the title and Cup winners cup under Kendall.

 

Their downturn started when they changed boards, apparently they thought they were bringing in new board members who would be better than the old ones ..........

 

 

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Guest Bellers

Guest Bellers

Posted
Posted

Lets be honest if Rafa had made these comments about ourselves we'd be going mad. He was bang out of order in my opinion, he may have been frustrated with the result but there was really no need to make such a comment...

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brummie

brummie

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There are many more ways to judge the size of a club than crowds. Such as silverware won, for a start. I've no idea what Liverpool's crowds were like in the late 70s and 80s, but I certainly remember how much they won.

 

I'd also point out that Everton's spell of success coincided with football as a sport being almost dead and crowds everywhere being awful. I always thought that, had they had the chance to compete in it rather than be denied by the post Heysel ban, that Everton side was a banker to win the European Cup.

 

I think Benitez was probably talking about expectations, and Everton as a "small club" in the sense of a club that would go to Anfield without any real expectations that they could win. That's a description that fits an awful lot of clubs these days, regardless of what size crowds they get.

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brummie

brummie

Posted
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Lets be honest if Rafa had made these comments about ourselves we'd be going mad. He was bang out of order in my opinion, he may have been frustrated with the result but there was really no need to make such a comment...

 

True. No worse than Mourinho or Wenger constantly whingeing about teams going to their grounds with the intention of defending for 90 mins to try and squeeze a point out of it.

 

Slightly more tactless given the local derby thing.

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Guest BooBoo

Guest BooBoo

Posted
Posted

To be honest I thought Rafa's comments displayed a bit of sour grapes.  Even Man Utd have went away in Europe in the past looking for a draw.

 

Ignoring that though does he have a point about Everton being a small club?  Even when they won the titles in the 80's they were only averaging 30,000.  Since then they've been a selling club and don't even have the fan base to fill Goodison Park regularly.  Was he right?

 

Remember when we lost Gordon Lee to Everton Stevie ? They were most definitely bigger and better than us then or that would not have happened. And they were for a long time afterwards too, as they won the title and Cup winners cup under Kendall.

 

Their downturn started when they changed boards, apparently they thought they were bringing in new board members who would be better than the old ones ..........

 

 

To be honest I thought Rafa's comments displayed a bit of sour grapes.  Even Man Utd have went away in Europe in the past looking for a draw.

 

Ignoring that though does he have a point about Everton being a small club?  Even when they won the titles in the 80's they were only averaging 30,000.  Since then they've been a selling club and don't even have the fan base to fill Goodison Park regularly.  Was he right?

 

Remember when we lost Gordon Lee to Everton Stevie ? They were most definitely bigger and better than us then or that would not have happened. And they were for a long time afterwards too, as they won the title and Cup winners cup under Kendall.

 

Their downturn started when they changed boards, apparently they thought they were bringing in new board members who would be better than the old ones ..........

 

 

 

Every single thread. Quite incredible.

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Guest Knightrider

Guest Knightrider

Posted
Posted

Everton's pathetic reaction to these nothing quotes does give credence to any notion that they are indeed a small club. However, traditionally they are and always have been a big club. Attendances aren't the true measure of a club's size anyway, but even so historically their average attendance is pretty much the same as ours, 30,000 plus. Just to show how meaningless attendance stats can mean, the number one supported club in the UK's average attendance historically is a mere near 6,000 more than  our own figure - Man Utd's. Not a great deal higher is it?!

 

No, the true measure is success and logngevity at the top and Everton along with Arsenal have enjoyed more years in the top-flight than any other club while success wise they are above us in the table and have won titles in every decade bar the 90s and now the naughties.

 

That's traditionally, in the age of the history counts for nowt, it is all about image and wealth Premiership then yes, Everton are a small club, but by the same token, these new 'rules' have allowed us to become a big club, or certainly move ahead of clubs like Everton, Villa, Spurs et al who were all previously above us in the reckoning prior to '93.

 

In short though, the whole big club debate is a load of bollocks and really, who cares. Those that constantly ask the question whether their club is bigger than what it is or how their club compares alongside others in the "big club" stakes have little cock syndrome.

 

What isn't in question here regarding Everton is that they are and always will be the ugly little sister of their neighbours Liverpool who shadow them like a Blue Whale shadowing plankton, as their pathetic reaction to Rafa's comments highlight.

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NE5

NE5

Posted
Posted

To be honest I thought Rafa's comments displayed a bit of sour grapes.  Even Man Utd have went away in Europe in the past looking for a draw.

 

Ignoring that though does he have a point about Everton being a small club?  Even when they won the titles in the 80's they were only averaging 30,000.  Since then they've been a selling club and don't even have the fan base to fill Goodison Park regularly.  Was he right?

 

Remember when we lost Gordon Lee to Everton Stevie ? They were most definitely bigger and better than us then or that would not have happened. And they were for a long time afterwards too, as they won the title and Cup winners cup under Kendall.

 

Their downturn started when they changed boards, apparently they thought they were bringing in new board members who would be better than the old ones ..........

 

 

To be honest I thought Rafa's comments displayed a bit of sour grapes.  Even Man Utd have went away in Europe in the past looking for a draw.

 

Ignoring that though does he have a point about Everton being a small club?  Even when they won the titles in the 80's they were only averaging 30,000.  Since then they've been a selling club and don't even have the fan base to fill Goodison Park regularly.  Was he right?

 

Remember when we lost Gordon Lee to Everton Stevie ? They were most definitely bigger and better than us then or that would not have happened. And they were for a long time afterwards too, as they won the title and Cup winners cup under Kendall.

 

Their downturn started when they changed boards, apparently they thought they were bringing in new board members who would be better than the old ones ..........

 

 

 

Every single thread. Quite incredible.

 

bore alert.

 

Shame that you haven't once been able to post any information to disprove such comments. The obvious conclusion is that you can't, because its impossible and you are also out of your depth.

 

 

 

 

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indi

indi

Posted
Posted

This bit here is all you'll ever need to know about the whole big-club vs little-club bollocks:

 

 

In short though, the whole big club debate is a load of bollocks and really, who cares. Those that constantly ask the question whether their club is bigger than what it is or how their club compares alongside others in the "big club" stakes have little cock syndrome.

 

 

 

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