Can the Rage of Rafa save Chelsea's season?

4Mar 2013

England - Premier League

Romilly Evans looks back on another week of comedic tragedy at Stamford Bridge..

As an intense reality show, Big Brother has nothing on The Chelsea Apprentice. Like many previous contestants before him, Rafa Benitez stepped foot inside Stamford Bridge's house of horrors full of emboldened hope. I mean, how difficult could it be? An easy and not insubstantial payday, plus the chance to plug your credentials back in the popular Premier League domain. Hell, if you can stick it out till the end of the season, you may even pick up a trophy along the way.

However, fantasy and reality rarely match up so neatly. And the trials and tribulations of this managerial hot-seat have already tested Benitez to his psychological limits. Firstly, there's Chelsea's Not-So-Secret Billionaire and his boardroom of capricious carnivores, who marked the Spaniard for an early death as soon as they hired him with the title "interim manager."

Then there's a locker room of highly-paid superstars whose aggregated loyalty rivals Weasel Wanderers. And finally, there are the restless natives in the stadium, who never liked you much even before you arrived.

Yes, being the Blues' boss is a thrills-and-spills ride to surpass Jurassic Park. Make no mistake, as soon as the good ship Chelsea hits stormy seas with a poor run of results, these Pirates of the Caribbean will eat their captain.

That, of course, is exactly what's happened to Chelsea in recent months, with the outcome that they are now embroiled in a genuine battle for the key Champions League places (alongside north London adversaries Tottenham and Arsenal) and have just two trophies left to contest (the lesser FA and Europa Cups).

Under mounting pressure from the press, rumours of a dressing room riven with discontent, and the mounting terrace taunts, Benitez finally snapped midweek. The studio execs upstairs had the Get Me Out Of Here meltdown they were looking for.

The rage of Rafa was directed on a particular faction of Blues supporters, whose steady stream of abuse has driven him to distraction. Then again, after toying with their affections on more than one occasion during his six-year spell at Liverpool and replacing the popular Roberto Di Matteo, what did he really expect? Clearly, a good deal more support from the board, whose decision to brand his appointment "interim" Benitez classed as "a massive mistake."

In essence, though, Rafa's was an impassioned plea to save the club - and his soul - through some collective solidarity filtering down the Stamford Bridge food chain. "If we are to succeed, the fans have to support the players, support the team, create a good atmosphere at the Bridge," he implored. Whether his call for unity comes to be known as the Bridge Over Troubled Water speech remains to be seen.

However, the anticipated hostile reception in SW6 on Saturday largely failed to materialise. The placards and chants were still in evidence, but in shorter supply. Even the team put on a decent show against West Brom, where their profligacy in front of goal (coupled to keeper Ben Foster's excellence) masked a dominant 1-0 victory. So, hot on the heels of Chelsea's 2-0 fifth-round Cup win at Middlesbrough, that's now two wins inside a week - and a better than 50% strike rate for Benitez's 28 games in charge in all competitions.

Benitez was quick to speak of "a good feeling" around the ground and the backing he had received from players and fans alike, thanking him for his earlier rant and the toxic air it had cleared. He even wore a sunny disposition to his post-match press conference.

Having passed his latest task, there was every reason to smile. Ten games to go in the league and Chelsea are well-positioned to claim a place in Europe behind the Manchester clubs - currently available at 1.3 to back. They are also in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup and the last 16 of the Europa League to look forward to. Who knows, Benitez's legacy could yet be a silver one.

Nevertheless, reports that he has consistently been denied access to Roman Abramovich - and has only been able to pass the owner notes in class via technical director, Michael Emenalo - eloquently demonstrate that Benitez is living on borrowed time. For now, though, the 52-year-old has been granted a stay of execution until his short-term contract expires in the summer.

In any case, it's not as if the Chelsea hierarchy could replace him with anyone better in the, erm, interim. Promote John Terry to benchwarmer-manager status? Bring back Avram Grant? Hardly a ratings-winner.

So while the sword of Damocles still perches precariously above his head, Benitez can carry on regardless. Venting his splenetic juices may just have helped the Blues remember their common cause. Although in a game predicated on tribalism, his detractors will not be able to stifle their dissension in the name of the greater good for long.

Not that they'll need to. By the summer, as with all shows that the Director General unwisely commissioned (The Voice aside), Rafa's season will come to an abrupt end. You can pre-order the box-set on Amazon. Predictably, plenty are still available.