Taken from Sunday Supplement programme on Sky
The News of the World's Rob Beasley told the Supplement that Rafa Benitez's petulance could cost him his Liverpool job.
The back of the Sunday papers are dominated by stories that Benitez could be on borrowed time at Anfield and Beasley believes that the Spaniard only has himself to blame.
"I think this is classic Benitez," said Beasley, "he behaves at times like a petulant spoilt brat.
"One of his favourite ploys is to give these secret little briefings where he asks journalists to turn off their microphones and he then gives them a bit of inside information.
"He's certainly got a problem with the new owners, he's spent a lot of money and now he wants more.
"The thing about Benitez that annoys me is not just his petulance, but nothing is ever his fault. But when things go well it's always to his credit and nobody else's and I don't like that in a manager.
"He's made a classic mistake of believing his own publicity. He's had a degree of success at Liverpool - nothing in the Premier League - they haven't won the championship since 1989-90 and thats a long time for Liverpool not to be the dominant force in English football."
And Beasley also doubts the one thing that many feel is Benitez's strength: his tactical nous.
"Yes he's had Champions League success once and they won the FA Cup under Benitez, but that's not the success that is expected at Liverpool.
"People try and make him out to be some sort of tactical magician, well he wasn't a tactical magician in the 2005 Champions League final because they were being trounced by Milan and so his tactics were quite clearly wrong.
"And if anybody says 'well he was a tactical genius because he turned it around' well when you're in that sort of a mess it doesn't take much tactics to say 'we're in a mess, let's just go and attack and try and get back and turn it around'.
"And again against West Ham in the 2006 FA Cup final, they were out thought, out manoeuvred and trailing.
"It was the last throw of the dice - 'let's pile forward' and Steven Gerrard got them out of jail in that one as well. Both finals they won on penalties."
Beasley and the rest of Fleet Street's finest around the Supplement breakfast table feel that Benitez's attitude will bring to an end his Liverpool tenure.
"I'm not a fan of Benitez the manager and Benitez the person because I think he's a bit snide and secretive. He tries to use the press to then ignite the fans - who adore him at Liverpool - to try and put pressure on the owners.
"He's made the classic mistake, he's called it on with the owners and they've said 'no, we're in charge, not you, get your head down'.
"If you remember not that long ago there was that classic press conference when Benitez showed his petulance and stupidity to the extreme where he'd had a tiff, they'd wrapped him across the knuckles and said 'keep your head down, focus on coaching and training the players - that's your job'.
"And in the press conference Benitez was asked 25 different questions. 25 times he said 'my job is to focus on the coaching and training of the players'.
"Now after you've been wrapped across the knuckles by your boss and you go and do that, you are effectively saying 'sod you' and the owners have come back to him and said 'no, sod you!'"
Sums up the NOTW in my opinion. I'd love to get some dirt on these journalists and throw it back in their faces.
If you want to watch the video clip
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid958992159/bctid1367653697
Beasley you bald b***ard (allegedly)
This is the type of F***ing clown that gives journalists a bad name...
We all know that Rafa should not have come out and openly criticised the club's new owners, but frustration can make you do stupid things. If there is a quality player available and the owners won't give Rafa clearance to go out and sign him, then that is going to be frustrating for him, as indeed it would be for any manager at a top club. It would be worrying if Rafa wasn't showing an interest in signing quality players.
When Randolph and Mortimer (as I like to call them) took over the club we were led to believe that we would be competing at the top end of the market. Okay, Benitez has been backed financially as he signed Torres, Babel, Benayoun etc, but Torres was the only one out of the new signings worth £20 million plus. Although I have said previously that I do think the new owners would back Benitez in the January transfer window, the signs now are clearly worrying. There's no clarification on the Mascherano situation, and that's ridiculous in my opinion. One thing is certain... If Mascherano was at Chelsea, Man Utd, or Arsenal they would have sorted out a permanent deal as soon as possible for a player of that quality... What did Man Utd pay for Hargreaves & Carrick?... That's an indication that we should be paying £17 million for Mascherano if that's the asking price.
I've said this before, but Benitez is the right man for Liverpool Football Club. I've disagreed with his selections sometimes, but then I disagreed with a lot of Kenny Dalglish's signings & selections, but that's not to say I thought he wasn't a good manager. Rafa Benitez is an excellent manager, there is no doubt in my mind about that. Is there another Manager out there who could have came to a club in Liverpool's position at the time and achieved what Rafa Benitez has achieved? Who knows?... One thing is certain though and that is that we have won the The Champions League, The Super Cup, and The FA Cup, and got to the Carling Cup Final, and Champions League final again, while also reaching our highest Premiership points finish... If you'd have told many Liverpool Fans that these would be Rafa's achievements in his first couple of seasons (when he arrived) you'd have been laughed at, and told to F**k off! Okay, we haven't won the Premiership yet, but we will achieve that if the owners of the club stand by Rafa Benitez... Alex Ferguson took a long time to win anything at Man Utd, and went through another dry patch a few seasons back... was he sacked?... NO! Arsene Wenger has gone through barren spells recently at Arsenal... Has he been sacked? NO! and this is because the owners of Utd and Arsenal realise they have a quality manager in place, and so do we. Roman Abramovich sacked Jose Mourinho because of a falling out, and maybe it had something to do with the fact that Mourinho never delivered the Champions League title in the short space of time that he was at the club... Benitez has, and added another final to his resume that we should have won as well... Mourinho would have given his right bollock for that... The owners mustn't listen to n*b head journalists like the one on this post... Rafa Benitez is a quality Manager, and one that could lead this club to further greatness... therefore, he mustn't be forced out.
« Last Edit: Jan 08, 2008 07:42:53 pm by Istvan Kozma »
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