Sunday, January 11, 2009

Liverpool Manager Rafa Benitez Shouldn't Rise To Sir Alex Ferguson's Bait

Rafael Benitez really shouldn’t go around suggesting Sir Alex Ferguson “organise’’ the fixture list as Manchester United’s manager is liable to accept the offer.

That was the wry reaction within Old Trafford to Benitez’s remarkable comments yesterday.

Within seconds of Benitez’s speech, a text message was sent by a Sky employee covering events at Liverpool’s Melwood training ground to Ferguson’s base at Carrington, telling the champions it would be worth tuning in. Benitez’s discourse was greeted with a mixture of astonishment and amusement.

This speech differed markedly from Kevin Keegan’s “I’d love it’’ outburst against Ferguson 13 years ago. Keegan spoke from the heart. Benitez was talking from the head. Liverpool’s manager is a shrewd soul, a man who ponders situations like a chess grandmaster before making any move. He must have considered the ramifications of verbal pyrotechnics which could end up burning Liverpool.

Two issues are at play here: the substance, if any, of the claims and the potential fallout. Ferguson does escape with certain tirades at referees, but that is partly because experience has taught the canny Scot how far he can go.

There was a worrying period when, to the cynical eye, there seemed almost a rotation of United substitutes working the linesman over. That appears to have ended.

But if Benitez seriously believes Ferguson enjoys a cosy relationship with the FA, all tea, cake and “just say what you want about those beastly referees, Sir Alex’’, then Liverpool’s manager needs a crash course in the history of club-versus-country during the Ferguson era.

If he genuinely thinks the authorities let Ferguson and United off lightly then he should have been around when the Scot heard the FA had published details of the Patrice Evra disciplinary ruling on their website. He looked like he had swallowed the famous hairdryer.

As for the fixtures, nobody really took Ferguson’s complaint about the champions being “handicapped’’ this season that seriously. Ferguson’s message was meant more for United’s dressing room, to stir up the siege mentality. Again.

The idea that Ferguson manipulates the fixtures is ludicrous; the reason why United attract so much television interest is because Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov are the biggest draw in town.

So what of the consequences? Ferguson will see Benitez’s outpouring as a coup, a signal that Liverpool are worried about United. Ferguson’s players will feel that Liverpool are rattled. In truth, there is a calmness and sense of real purpose among Benitez’s squad, who are focusing on what they need to do to win the title, not becoming obsessed about rivals.

The managers who have handled Ferguson best are those who never lost their cool with him, like Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn Rovers or Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. The only piece of paper Benitez needed to read from yesterday was the one showing the Premier League table - with Liverpool top.

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