Rafa cracking up?

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:The simple fact for liverpool fans, is that united have done better then them in EVERY single competition they have both been involved in.

Plus United have played 2 extra tournaments. Now that must really burn!

Good to see rafa coming across as the jls bitter conte he really is. Cracking up

Oh god you are right. I wish we could swap positions with Arsenal.

Well done spectacularly missing the point of this thread.

Your post had a point? Looks like a pure wind-up to me. I responded in kind.

An Arsenal fan talking about our manager cracking up? Please.

Rosicky wrote:

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:The simple fact for liverpool fans, is that united have done better then them in EVERY single competition they have both been involved in.

Plus United have played 2 extra tournaments. Now that must really burn!

Good to see rafa coming across as the jls bitter conte he really is. Cracking up

Oh god you are right. I wish we could swap positions with Arsenal.

Well done spectacularly missing the point of this thread.

Your post had a point? Looks like a pure wind-up to me. I responded in kind.

An Arsenal fan talking about our manager cracking up? Please.

At least Wenger has admitted Arsenal arnt good enough. Unlike Rafa who seems to think Liverpool are better than United even though they have done worse than United in FOUR competitions.

Delusion

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:The simple fact for liverpool fans, is that united have done better then them in EVERY single competition they have both been involved in.

Plus United have played 2 extra tournaments. Now that must really burn!

Good to see rafa coming across as the jls bitter conte he really is. Cracking up

Oh god you are right. I wish we could swap positions with Arsenal.

Well done spectacularly missing the point of this thread.

Your post had a point? Looks like a pure wind-up to me. I responded in kind.

An Arsenal fan talking about our manager cracking up? Please.

At least Wenger has admitted Arsenal arnt good enough. Unlike Rafa who seems to think Liverpool are better than United even though they have done worse than United in FOUR competitions.

Delusion

Does he? I'm not sure you can read. He says they are equal, he included Chelsea in that as well.

Wenger on the other hand was saying Arsenal were still in the title race even when they were 15 points off the pace.

Ray Parlour wrote:

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:

Six wrote:

Rosicky wrote:The simple fact for liverpool fans, is that united have done better then them in EVERY single competition they have both been involved in.

Plus United have played 2 extra tournaments. Now that must really burn!

Good to see rafa coming across as the jls bitter conte he really is. Cracking up

Oh god you are right. I wish we could swap positions with Arsenal.

Well done spectacularly missing the point of this thread.

Your post had a point? Looks like a pure wind-up to me. I responded in kind.

An Arsenal fan talking about our manager cracking up? Please.

At least Wenger has admitted Arsenal arnt good enough. Unlike Rafa who seems to think Liverpool are better than United even though they have done worse than United in FOUR competitions.

Delusion

Does he? I'm not sure you can read. He says they are equal, he included Chelsea in that as well.

Wenger on the other hand was saying Arsenal were still in the title race even when they were 15 points off the pace.

Pretty obvious that was for the media. Everyone who's not stupid knew what he meant.

L-r d wrote:He is personally defending Benitez's honour Ray, cut him some slack .

Saints had it right(when he used the term i did yesterday) Benitez is just a poor version of Mourinho now. What would a non winning Mourinho come across as? well here we have it.

Ray Parlour wrote:I was talking about the not congratulating United bit. That's a bit out.

Arsenal should never have been brought into debate IMO.

Stimulus Package wrote:http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8054673.stm

Benitez refuses to laud Ferguson

[video]
Benitez aims to build for next season

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez refused to congratulate Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson for beating his side to the Premier League title.

"I prefer just to say well done to the club, a big club, a good club," he said after Liverpool beat West Brom 2-0.

"Normally you have to be polite and respect the other manager but during the season we have seen a lot of things that I didn't like, so that's it.

"I say congratulations to United because they have won. And that's it."

Benitez's comments will only serve to continue the ongoing feud between the two managers as they have traded blows while their teams have battled for the league crown.

United's victory gave them a record-equalling 18 titles along with Liverpool.

The Old Trafford club will also be targeting a fourth European Cup triumph when they play Barcelona on 27 May and that would put them one behind Liverpool's haul of five wins in the competition.

Liverpool's win over the Baggies should secure second place in the Premier League but the victory was marred by an on-field spat between Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa.

The pair were involved in a heated pushing exchange as the Reds struggled to keep a Baggies side at bay late on.

"The disagreement between my two players was because we wanted another clean sheet, we wanted 21," explained Benitez.

"I don't like what I saw but I am trying to see the positive side of things.

"We were looking to hit targets, a record points tally for the club of 83 and we achieved that. We wanted 13 away league wins, which is also a record.



Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher (right) is restrained by Xabi Alonso (second right) after a spat with Alvaro Arbeloa (left)
Carragher (right) had to be restrained after a spat with Arbeloa (left)

"And we wanted another clean sheet and runners-up position. You could see why Jamie Carragher was like he was with Alvaro Arbeloa.

"For me that is a positive message about the mentality of the team. We wanted to show character and a desire to win and be second and stay as close as we could to Manchester United.

"Arbeloa was going forward and we had some problems in defence, so we wanted to protect Jose Reina better, he has 20 clean sheets and Manchester United's Edwin van der Sar has 21. That was important."

Liverpool have now failed to win the top-flight title since 1990 and Benitez says they will continue to compete with their rivals until a new stadium is built for the Reds.

The construction of a replacement stadium for the current Anfield home has been delayed by co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

"On an economic level we cannot fight with the other big teams, at least for now, in particular because of the stadium," added Benitez.

"Manchester United's Old Trafford has 76,000 seats, Arsenal's Emirates has 60,000 and Chelsea can count on Abramovich.

"Until we have a new stadium, we will not be able to compete economically. In the meantime we'll have to do things very well to be competitive."

In conclusion: yes, Rafa is cracking up. He's turning into Wenger - a bitter failure of a manager who blames money and referees for the team's inability to win anything and who thinks statistical records are some sort of consolation for the absence of trophies. Defending his vice-captain for nearly punching two of his own teammates, in the name of equally VDS's clean sheet record for this season is truly, truly pathetic.

I used to like the man but this season my estimation of him has plummeted. The bitterness and excuses were there from almost the opening day of the season. I once though Benitez was the man to win Liverpool the league but he's looking increasingly like a humourless and not as talented Jose Mourinho.

L-r d wrote:

Six wrote:
Journalist: So what do you have to do to overtake Manchester United? What do Manchester United have that maybe Liverpool at the moment don't have?

Clearly they have spent big, big money on top class players so they can make mistakes and change players and you don't notice. If you remember when we played them they had Giggs, Scholes and Berbatov on the bench - we can't do this. We are talking about Gerrard and Torres all the time and they can play Berbatov, Rooney, Ronaldo or Tevez - it doesn't matter. They can hold 35,000 more fans in their stadium and that means more money which is a big difference. So how can you reduce the gap? Now, on the pitch we are reducing the gap which is very important. So we have to do the right things during the summer and keep the same mentality on the pitch.

Saints: It's not like he just walks in to the press conference and starts whining. He just answers the questions. Is what he says here wrong?

Six wrote:He may not have congratulated Fergie, but Fergie has hardly been a gracious loser himself over the years(for example, he said United were the better team when we beat them 4-1 at Old Trafford). They have both been as bad as each other over the season.

Stimulus Package wrote:

Six wrote:He may not have congratulated Fergie, but Fergie has hardly been a gracious loser himself over the years(for example, he said United were the better team when we beat them 4-1 at Old Trafford). They have both been as bad as each other over the season.

Perhaps so, but your attempt to make this a Man U-Liverpool (Fergie-Benitez) argument is a whopping FAIL.

Stimulus Package wrote:

Six wrote:
Journalist: So what do you have to do to overtake Manchester United? What do Manchester United have that maybe Liverpool at the moment don't have?

Clearly they have spent big, big money on top class players so they can make mistakes and change players and you don't notice. If you remember when we played them they had Giggs, Scholes and Berbatov on the bench - we can't do this. We are talking about Gerrard and Torres all the time and they can play Berbatov, Rooney, Ronaldo or Tevez - it doesn't matter. They can hold 35,000 more fans in their stadium and that means more money which is a big difference. So how can you reduce the gap? Now, on the pitch we are reducing the gap which is very important. So we have to do the right things during the summer and keep the same mentality on the pitch.

Saints: It's not like he just walks in to the press conference and starts whining. He just answers the questions. Is what he says here wrong?

Defending Carragher trying to fight with two of his own teammates (as vice captain of the club, no less) by talking about an irrelevant statistical record as a motivating factor is sheer nonsense. Look at Carragher as he assaults poor Arbeloa - does he look like a man concerned with statistics? Does he fuck. And blathering on about number of away wins, clean sheets, points gained and the rest is nothing more than a pathetic cover for not winning a trophy again. We've seen it from Wenger, Benitez is truly patronising and arrogant to think he can get away with it.

As to the money - add in the wage bills and the numbers are much, much closer. And Arsenal won the league with squads that cost somewhat less than the squads at Man U at that time. Man U's squad that won the league three years ago cost less than the Chelsea squad at that time. Liverpool currently have more money than Arsenal, at least in terms of money available for transfer fees, so they can at least economically compete with them, another big team by just about every definition.

So no, Benitez isn't just answering journalists' questions, he's using diversionary tactics because he lacks the balls to discipline the club vice-captain and has had another unsuccessful season. When he started talking about refereeing decisions (another moment of intense hypocrisy given what Liverpool have been gifted this season) Liverpool were in a good position. It took them weeks to get back to good form. That was a moment of unforgiveable folly and double standards.

Believe what you will, Benitez has now confirmed he's as much of a cocksucker as any other manager at a big English club.

Six wrote:Would our season have been that much more successful had we won the FA Cup, league cup or Champions League?

Stimulus Package wrote:

Six wrote:He may not have congratulated Fergie, but Fergie has hardly been a gracious loser himself over the years(for example, he said United were the better team when we beat them 4-1 at Old Trafford). They have both been as bad as each other over the season.

Perhaps so, but your attempt to make this a Man U-Liverpool (Fergie-Benitez) argument is a whopping FAIL. I'm perfectly happy with people criticising Ferguson, pointing out his nonsense, his ridiculous bias, his arrogance, his lack of grace.

debaser wrote:

Six wrote:Would our season have been that much more successful had we won the FA Cup, league cup or Champions League?

Seriously?! Okay, league cup and to lesser extent FA Cup I can understand...but CL.. Are you quite insane?

Six wrote:At least someone wants to play ball.

To start with, I don't think Benitez is a better human being than any other manager. As I said he and Fergie and all the others are just as bad as each other. The only difference here is that one has won the league and the other hasn't.

Carragher is certainly not worried about clean sheets, he is pissed off because United have just won the league. Whether deciding to punish him publically or sort it out internally is a question of man-management. Perhaps Rafa has decided Carragher is the sort of player that will benefit more from a quiet word and doesnt want him to feel betrayed by slaughtering him in the media for something that isn't that much of a big deal. It's not about having the balls to publicly discipline him, its to do with what most benefits the player and the team.

Would our season have been that much more successful had we won the FA Cup, league cup or Champions League? Sure its another trophy, but not the one we really want. In terms of the league itself the season has been mostly successful, certainly not a failure, definitely an improvement on last season.

The outburst at Fergie was directed at his treatment of referees. He doesnt explictly say United get better decisions, he just thinks Fergie gets away with talking about the referees too much. He's not wrong.

That's my spin on this. Got to go out now though.

Stimulus Package wrote:

Six wrote:At least someone wants to play ball.

To start with, I don't think Benitez is a better human being than any other manager. As I said he and Fergie and all the others are just as bad as each other. The only difference here is that one has won the league and the other hasn't.

No, the difference here is that one is the most successful manager in the world, the other is a failure offering weak excuses.

Carragher is certainly not worried about clean sheets, he is pissed off because United have just won the league. Whether deciding to punish him publically or sort it out internally is a question of man-management. Perhaps Rafa has decided Carragher is the sort of player that will benefit more from a quiet word and doesnt want him to feel betrayed by slaughtering him in the media for something that isn't that much of a big deal. It's not about having the balls to publicly discipline him, its to do with what most benefits the player and the team.

So fuck footballers being public role models, fuck the fact that thousands of young lads who idolise him saw him do it, fuck the position of the club in the community, fuck the fact that football clubs only have so much money because of the media coverage and hype, fuck off everything except whether poor Jamie will feel better if Rafa has a private word rather than actually makes him accountable for his actions?

Pathetic. Even Souness handled the same sort of situation much better, and Souness was a truly terrible manager.

Would our season have been that much more successful had we won the FA Cup, league cup or Champions League? Sure its another trophy, but not the one we really want. In terms of the league itself the season has been mostly successful, certainly not a failure, definitely an improvement on last season.

You won nothing, and marginally improved on your prior best points total in the league. Wow.

The outburst at Fergie was directed at his treatment of referees. He doesnt explictly say United get better decisions, he just thinks Fergie gets away with talking about the referees too much. He's not wrong.

Rafa spoke about specific decisions that had gone Man U's way. He also explicitly said that Fergie is the 'only' manager who can get away with making derogatory comments about referees and the FA. Yet Rafa completely got away with those comments, thus proving himself wrong.

Epic fail.

That's my spin on this. Got to go out now though.

Enjoy.