He may not have the charisma, the style or the language skills, but when it comes to picking a fight, Rafael Benitez is looking more and more like the new Jose Mourinho.
The Liverpool manager is bringing to Anfield the 'creative tension' Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon once claimed was no bad thing at his club as internal battles threatened to tear them apart.
Benitez, having finally made Liverpool serious title contenders in the Premier League, knows he is in as strong a bargaining position as he will ever be at the club and is milking it for all it is worth.
After forcing owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to agree to his salary demands on a new contract, Benitez is now insisting on control over transfers too, and taking pot-shots at those in charge.
Not only does he think he is a master manager, he also seems to believe he is a crack negotiator too.
The Spaniard is rapidly revealing himself as a kind of megalomaniac who likes nothing more than to confront anyone standing in his way. Remind you of anyone?
Wading deeply into hostilities with Sir Alex Ferguson clearly is not enough for Benitez, but at the rate he is going, something is bound to go against him.
With Liverpool facing Everton twice in a week and Steven Gerrard due in court in between, it could come sooner rather than later.
The Liverpool manager is bringing to Anfield the 'creative tension' Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon once claimed was no bad thing at his club as internal battles threatened to tear them apart.
Benitez, having finally made Liverpool serious title contenders in the Premier League, knows he is in as strong a bargaining position as he will ever be at the club and is milking it for all it is worth.
After forcing owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett to agree to his salary demands on a new contract, Benitez is now insisting on control over transfers too, and taking pot-shots at those in charge.
Not only does he think he is a master manager, he also seems to believe he is a crack negotiator too.
The Spaniard is rapidly revealing himself as a kind of megalomaniac who likes nothing more than to confront anyone standing in his way. Remind you of anyone?
Wading deeply into hostilities with Sir Alex Ferguson clearly is not enough for Benitez, but at the rate he is going, something is bound to go against him.
With Liverpool facing Everton twice in a week and Steven Gerrard due in court in between, it could come sooner rather than later.
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