Steven Gerrard's hit the nail on the head when it comes to Benitez and Everton

The former Liverpool captain was responding to reports linking him with the once vacant role at Goodison Park

“…never a possibility.”

Steven Gerrard’s reaction to the reports linking him with the once vacant hotseat at Goodison Park is pretty much exactly what you’d expect.

As Liverpool captain for over a decade, the idea of the Champions League-winning former midfielder strapping on a blue tie and sitting in the Toffees’ dugout seems utterly paradoxical.

Rafael Benitez’s decision to take the role is, comparatively, less so, though certainly still something of an eyebrow-raiser given his time at Anfield.

“Rafa wasn’t born in the city, he’s not a red through-and-through and he never played against Everton for 20 years and competed against them, so I think it’s a very different situation [to mine],” the ex-England international told ESPN. “Rafa is his own man and will make his own professional decisions, so there’s no surprise that he wanted to get back in the Premier League at a big club and have the opportunity to compete against all the top teams in the league, so I wasn’t very shocked and surprised at all in all honesty.”

There is a distinction there to be made between player and manager regarding such moves, however, it is ultimately difficult to separate this from the sentimental, emotional perspective that is football’s very life essence.

While no one should be rushing to scrape clean any record of Benitez’s involvement in our prior cup triumphs - most notably the ‘Miracle of Istanbul’ of 2005 - it is somewhat bizarre to see the Spaniard in full Everton gear, taking pressers and conducting training sessions.

As Liverpool fans, we’d have loved nothing more than to witness the 61-year-old pick up where he left off with his “small club” comments and publicly reject the Blues’ offer live on TV before whipping on a Jurgen Klopp paper mask and whirling round his living room singing ‘Allez Allez Allez’.

After taking a job at Chelsea only two years after moving on from Liverpool, however, we shouldn’t be entirely surprised by the manager’s decision to try his luck again in Merseyside - except on the blue half this time.

When it comes down to it, Benitez isn’t an out-and-out Liverpool fan.

That doesn’t mean he doesn’t adore the city, its people or the club he helped mastermind a fifth Champions League title for, of course.

But as Gerrard has alluded to in his comments, we have to look at the move as a purely “professional” decision.

What do you make of it all, Reds?

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