The inevitable link returns and with it, the inevitable melt down.
Regardless of opinions on Benitez due to his connections with Liverpool, he seems to me to be the closest thing to a direct replacement for Ancelotti, which depending on your view point may be a plus or a minus in his column.
They have actually had remarkably similar careers, albeit Ancelotti has had a couple of higher profile jobs over Benitez, and a few more successes to boot. Both started at smaller clubs in their own country, before achieving success in their home leagues and winning European competitions. Even then, managing Liverpool and Milan, they contested 2 European finals against each other, taking 1 apiece.
Since then, they have both managed Chelsea, Real Madrid and Napoli, both took jobs at less successful English clubs which raised eyebrows. Both have managed opposing teams in Milan and Merseyside, and they have a similar list of honours, having both won several domestic cups and European trophies at almost every stop along the way. Ancelotti has 18 to Benitez 11, including 4 League trophies to Benitez 2 and 3 CL to Benitez 1, but to be fair to Benitez, I would argue he accomplished some of his at smaller, lesser fancied teams like Valencia and Liverpool (zing), while Ancelotti didn't win anything in any of his jobs at non galactico sides.
He is the biggest name and the most successful candidate we are likely to attract, while his ties to the city and him supposedly actively seeking the job are plus points to me as he is less likely to go running at the 1st flash of leg from a top club.
I honestly do not care about his history with Liverpool at this point. I've said before and it bares repeating, his time with Liverpool was mixed at best, and a good majority of their fans didn't like him while he was there. Going to Chelsea turned a lot of those who did. This appointment would probably end it for the rest. Yes, he will likely always be associated for winning them THAT game, but even a League Cup win here would wipe out most of that good faith. They would hate it so much.
There are people they have employed that I would genuinely despise having anything to do with our club, but Benitez doesn't get close to that list.
He would have an uphill battle convincing a large majority of our fan base, and a good proportion would have such low expectations that it might actually be a good thing. But outwardly, to the rest of the world, appointing someone with his name and reputation is probably the biggest move we can make following the loss of Ancelotti, without looking like we are taking a huge step back and/or hitting the reset button. Again.
In terms of style, there is probably not a lot in it. Both tend to have well organised teams that are based on a solid defensive base, but I was interested to see recently that Benitez Madrid was actually 1 of the more attacking sides they've had for a number of years and recorded a number of high scoring, high profile wins. He also seems to to favour a slightly more aggressive and energetic press than Carlos more passive tactics. He also has a reputation for buying and developing younger players, certainly more so than Ancelotti.
In terms of fitting in and moving forward, assuming he continues with Ferguson on his back room staff, this could point to the next step in developing a succession plan, with him learning the ropes under 2 of the longest serving and successful coaches of the last 20 years, and he will learn different things from each of them.
I honestly believe that even modest success here, getting us competing for top 5 for example, and the possibility of a cup competition, which he has always excelled in, he could actually end up being more well liked here than he ever was over there, and that feeling could end up being mutual.
The connection to them is unfortunate, but it is what it is. If he accepts a job here, it only proves that he has no deep seated loyalty to them. And similar goes to Ancelotti. If a job comes up at Liverpool in 12 months time and things haven't worked out at Real, Ancelotti would take it if he was offered it, deep down we all know it. It takes a lot more to develop those strong ties to a club that is not ur spiritual home, and I don't think either of them found that at Liverpool or Everton respectively. I actually think he probably has stronger ties to Newcastle as a club. To them, it is just business, with the added bonus for Benitez that he likes the area, the people and has found a home away from home here.
When he was first linked, a couple of years ago, I was not keen on the idea at all. But the more I've thought about, the more I could see it working. At the very least, he would organise us and make us hard to beat, and if he agrees to coming in and developing a partnership with Marcel Brands, maybe he could actually oversee the redevelopment that Ancelotti was clearly only paying lip service to, and allow for plans to be put in place for when he eventually does move on.
All in all, I'm sure I will remain in the minority by considering his appointment a positive one, but like I say, the more I've thought on it, the more it makes sense to me.
As with all managerial appointments though, I suppose the only way we will ever know for sure, if it is a good idea or a bad one, will be with Hindsight.
