The vast majority of Chelsea fans were relatively pleased after their 2-0 defeat of Middlesbrough in the FA Cup fifth-round tie. A team including the forgotten duo of Paulo Ferreira and Yossi Benayoun, as well as Dutch youngster Nathan Ake, had produced a competent display and achieved the required result.
It was surprising, then, that Rafa Benitez chose his post-match interview to criticise the fans for constantly berating him since his appointment as interim manager in November 2012.
The reaction to Benitez's appointment has been more extreme than anyone could have anticipated. Banners have been hung at home and away calling for his dismissal, and he has been regularly jeered by a significant section of the supporters.
His comments laid the blame for the poor run of form that sees Chelsea 19 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester United at the door of the fans. According to Benitez, the fans' rejection of him as a manager has harmed the morale of the team and affected results, directly contradicting a statement he made before the Arsenal game earlier this year.
He also took a swipe at the board, saying that giving him the title of "interim manager" has harmed his standing in the eyes of the players and supporters.
The supporters' dislike of him stems from comments he made whilst managing Liverpool that Chelsea fans needed plastic flags to get behind their team, so the decision to attack them after a good performance by the team seems very strange. The fans have supported the team throughout his tenure.
As well as continuing with classics such as "Carefree," "Super Frankie Lampard" and "One Man Went To Mow," one of Stamford Bridge's resident lyrical masterminds came up with the rather catchy refrain "We don't care about Rafa/He don't care about us/All we care about/Is Chelsea FC."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but that song shows that fans are still behind the club and the team, but they disagree with the appointment of a manager who has insulted them in the past and failed to apologise.
That's the rub. Whilst the fans have reacted strongly in rejecting the decision to associate the former Liverpool manager with their club, he could have made his job a lot easier by using the "s-word": sorry.
That is all it would have taken. Apologising for saying that Chelsea fans lacked the passion of their counterparts in the Kop would have led to an atmosphere of indifference rather than the venomous hatred that has been spewed at him. As it stands now, he has tried to put out a fire by dousing it with white spirit, and the way the fans react at Stamford Bridge in their match with West Bromwich Albion will be key to the remainder of the season.
There is talk that people will continue wasting their time making banners with the legend "Chelsea Supporters 1/Rafa Benitez 0," but the main issue will be the vocal reaction to his comments. A response as vitriolic as he experienced in his first game in charge will only serve to back up his "facts," so the best way the fans can respond is to ignore him.
Silence is golden, and if they can get through the whole game sticking to the standard hymn sheet, with the addition of "One Di Matteo" on 16 minutes, and refuse to either boo or cheer when Benitez is announced, it will make their point succinctly.
Deep down, the fans know the negative atmosphere they have helped to create has contributed to the decline in form of a team that began the season as European champions. But to try to change that attitude by laying the blame squarely at their feet is ridiculous and unhelpful.
It is unclear what he was trying to achieve through the timing of his comments, but seeing as Chelsea's previous two managers have been relieved of their duties following Premier League matches against the Baggies, Benitez will be hoping that he doesn't become the third in a row to fall to the West Midlands side.
Read more Chelsea news on BleacherReport.com
~Bleacher Report - Chelsea~Read more... http://www.chelseamashup.com/2013/03/01/chelsea-vs-west-bromwich-albion-why-reaction-to-benitezs-comments-will-be-key/
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