Rafa may have uneasy truce with Chelsea fans

After Chelsea beat Middlesborough in midweek, and Rafa Benitez launched into his tirade about the Chelsea fans’ continuing protests about his management, the media turned up at Stamford Bridge yesterday like vultures hoping for a corpse to feed on, but you could sense their disappointment, especially as the soccer betting was predicting that the Spaniard would be sacked!

There were still some banners, and it is clear that the fans will never warm to the ex-Liverpool manager, but his words do seem to have had a calming effect on the Blues’ faithful.

The most important reason for this was not his impassioned rant about his managerial experience and skills, or the ownership of the club, hut his statement that he would be staying until the end of the season and then moving on. With that promise, we can relax a little and concentrate on the team’s success for the rest of the season, without worrying about having Benitez in charge next year.

Despite only beating West Brom 1-0 yesterday, with another goal from Demba Ba, we were always in control, and it should have been by more. The win takes us back above Spurs and five points clear of Arsenal who play each other today, so we will have pulled away from one or both of the clubs challenging us for a Champions League spot. If Rafa can manage that, and a trophy, I will not become his biggest fan, but I might not boo him as loudly!