Monday, January 19, 2009
Shut up, Rafa
It may seem odd to question the credentials of one of Europe’s leading managers but with every Rafa Benetiz outburst you can’t help but wonder. What is he playing at?
To come out and suggest that Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson get a favourable ride from football officialdom probably doesn’t find much argument from many in and out of the game. But rather like location in business, timing is everything and Rafa’s timing is as off as an Indonesian train schedule.
His team had a slender lead at the top of the Premier League, enjoying their best start to the season since Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister but some results had looked less than convincing and a resurgent Manchester United were breathing down his neck.
So what was he thinking? Put the pressure on referees? Take the heat of his players? Or just mindless attacking for the sake of attacking?
The time to come out with such drivel is either at the start of the season or when United have a slight cushion at the top of the table. Not when your own side is barely hanging on to top spot.
Anyway it is a bit rich for Rafa and Liverpool to complain about decisions favoring one team over another. I mean Liverpool never get dodgy penalties ever. In the whole history of Jamie Carragher how often has he pulled down a player in the box and how often has it been missed by match officials?
Then we have the nonsense of Rafa’s contract. Que? Rafa, it is not becoming of such a great club as Liverpool to air all this in public.
Maybe he thinks by doing so he is putting pressure on the divided board knowing that, or hoping that, he has the fans behind him. But how much longer will they stay loyal to him when his loose talk seems to backfire nearly every time he opens his mouth.
He needs to forget about Fergie, forget about Manchester United and concentrate on givimg those supporters what they truly crave. Their first Premier League title. For if he doesn’t do that then all this contract talk will be academic.
To come out and suggest that Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson get a favourable ride from football officialdom probably doesn’t find much argument from many in and out of the game. But rather like location in business, timing is everything and Rafa’s timing is as off as an Indonesian train schedule.
His team had a slender lead at the top of the Premier League, enjoying their best start to the season since Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister but some results had looked less than convincing and a resurgent Manchester United were breathing down his neck.
So what was he thinking? Put the pressure on referees? Take the heat of his players? Or just mindless attacking for the sake of attacking?
The time to come out with such drivel is either at the start of the season or when United have a slight cushion at the top of the table. Not when your own side is barely hanging on to top spot.
Anyway it is a bit rich for Rafa and Liverpool to complain about decisions favoring one team over another. I mean Liverpool never get dodgy penalties ever. In the whole history of Jamie Carragher how often has he pulled down a player in the box and how often has it been missed by match officials?
Then we have the nonsense of Rafa’s contract. Que? Rafa, it is not becoming of such a great club as Liverpool to air all this in public.
Maybe he thinks by doing so he is putting pressure on the divided board knowing that, or hoping that, he has the fans behind him. But how much longer will they stay loyal to him when his loose talk seems to backfire nearly every time he opens his mouth.
He needs to forget about Fergie, forget about Manchester United and concentrate on givimg those supporters what they truly crave. Their first Premier League title. For if he doesn’t do that then all this contract talk will be academic.
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