Chelsea FC: 6 Reasons Rafael Benitez Should Be the Blues' Next Boss

Chelsea Football Club finally parted ways with expensive summer managerial signing Andre Villas-Boas this past weekend after the Blues failed to score a goal against West Bromwich Albion.

The situation of the young manager's dismissal is one to discuss, but for that you can turn to Chelsea Were Right to Sack Andre Villas-Boas, But....

Now the attention has turned to who is going to replace the departed manager for the long term.

Currently Roberto Di Matteo is the caretaker in charge if the Blues, but there must be a permanent replacement to be named for the future.

Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is the most likely to take the job in my opinion, and here are six reasons why he should definitely be at the helm of Chelsea.

History of Dealing with Stubborn Owners

When Benitez was at Liverpool he had to endure the ownership tenure of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

The two American owners seemed more interested in trying to make the club a cash cow.

However, they missed the fact that your club cannot keep getting better when your manager is forced to sell off great player after great player to try to finance even lower league talents.

Benitez took Hicks and Gillett with a grain of salt and still managed to make a valiant effort that fell just short of winning the English Premier League in 2008-09.

Yossi Benayoun

Rafael Benitez also already has yet another former Liverpool player on the books for the Blues.

Although, Yossi Benayoun is on loan to Arsenal at the moment, having never really gotten his Chelsea career off the floor after suffering an injury that saw him out for much of the 2010-11 year.

The little Israeli international was one of the Spanish tactician's favorite super-subs as well as a part-time starter.

That additional player experience then could provide great skill and insight into how to play Rafael's style of football, and his locker room presence could help convert others to the world of Benitez as well.

Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard may be in his 30s, but that has yet to truly slow him down—even with inconsistent time on the pitch he still leads the club with 10 goals in the EPL and is third in assists with five.

Although Lampard will turn 34 this summer he has had a relatively injury-free career, helping his overall fitness chances for several years to come.

With the career longevity that Manchester United's Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes have shown there is no doubt that Lampard could fit into the sort of veteran mold if he remains healthy.

On top of all that Super Frank has to offer, Rafael Benitez has shown his ability to manager another great English midfielder in Steven Gerrard at Liverpool.

Lampard is stylistically a very similar player to 31-year-old Gerrard, which is one reason they never worked well together in the English National team.

Benitez will know that Lampard can flourish in a role right behind a strong striker like Fernando Torres or Didier Drogba, and this could make for a great working tandem for the next year or so while the Blues search for an heir to Lamps' throne.

Fernando Torres

While the criticism has been piling on Fernando Torres since even before he came to Chelsea, the Spanish striker is in need of a manager that knows him and wants him.

Carlo Ancelotti seemed to have not truly wanted Torres at times as he looked reluctant to place the 27-year-old in a permanent starting role.

Andre Villas-Boas likewise seemed to not know who or what Fernando Torres was or could bring to the side.

Even with his form being in question, if there is a manager that could possibly get the most out of Torres it has to be Benitez, who brought the player to England for Liverpool back in 2007.

4-2-3-1 Formation Similarities

Chelsea have been in love with the 4-5-1 formation since the reign of Jose Mourinho.

Rafael Benitez's playing formation of choice is the 4-2-3-1 is very similar and the Blues offer the tools to play with that exact style, as exemplified in a possible lineup below.

Petr Cech; David Luiz, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Ashley Cole; Michael Essien, Oriol Romeu; Juan Mata, Frank Lampard, Ramires; Fernando Torres.

The formation has won multiple European games for Benitez and has proven to be very effective.

Proven Trophy Winner

Rafael Benitez brings a proven ability to win silverware to the club.

The Spaniard rose to prominence with two La Liga titles during the height of Real Madrid's Galactico era in the early 2000s when the took Valencia to the summit of Spain in 2001-02 and 2003-04.

Benitez also won his first piece of European silverware in 2003-04 with Valencia lifting the UEFA Cup.

Liverpool made their move for Benitez soon after, and the Spanish tactician led the Reds to the UEFA Champions League Trophy over AC Milan in what has been called "The Miracle of Istanbul" during the 2004-05 season.

2004-06 would end up giving the Reds four pieces of silverware in total with the 2005 UEFA Super Cup, 2005-06 FA Cup and the 2006 FA Community Shield.

In total the mastermind's career winning percentage is over 52 percent with 670 games that have seen 350 total wins, 163 draws and 157 losses.

Even in a short six-month tenure at Inter Milan, he still also won two pieces of silverware with the 2010 Italian Super Cup and the 2010 FIFA Club World Cup.

Conclusion

All in all Rafael is in my opinion the best option at the moment that is available to Roman Abramovich.

The Spanish shot-caller combines experience, proven success and league and player familiarity in the EPL.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check out more on Bleacher Report and at the links below. You can follow me on Twitter @thedailyatz and Facebook, or visit my website.