Take a look at this quote: "People expect more from me and it's not easy. But they are also not doing what they said they were going to ... I can have a spectacular game but nobody guarantees me I will be starting the next match. It shatters your confidence ... He [the manager] can go from complimenting you to just plain trashing you in a matter of minutes."
Now compare it with this one: "I have been here two years and I know how he is. He has never sorted out a situation with a player by talking with him... If I'm doing something badly and you are my boss, and you value me, then you are going to come and tell me what I have to do to play again. This is what hurts me. His dialogue with the players is practically nil."
The first quote comes from Nani earlier this season when the Portuguese winger couldn't hold down a place at Manchester United. The second comes from Liverpool's Albert Riera after the Spaniard's frustration boiled over this week.
Both complaints are borne from a lack of match action but they also reveal the inherent differences between the respective methods of Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benítez.
Because while Ferguson will slaughter you in front of everyone, he will also lavish praise when it's deserved. Not only that, the United manager will show compassion and patience if he believes someone harbours genuine promise.
He has proved this with Nani, an underachieving show pony for much of his time at Old Trafford but now starting to emerge as a proper player.
Benítez, on the other hand, struggles when it comes to showing his human side. Unlike Ferguson, he just can't bring himself to put a kindly arm around the shoulder when circumstances demand a lighter touch. Without doubt, his man-management skills could do with a tweak.
Among other things, that's what separates the two. That's why Nani has turned into a force for United, while Xabi Alonso got the hump with Benítez and left, and why Riera will probably end up leaving, too.
It might also have a bearing on why, going into Sunday's clash, 15 points separate United and Liverpool.
Now compare it with this one: "I have been here two years and I know how he is. He has never sorted out a situation with a player by talking with him... If I'm doing something badly and you are my boss, and you value me, then you are going to come and tell me what I have to do to play again. This is what hurts me. His dialogue with the players is practically nil."
The first quote comes from Nani earlier this season when the Portuguese winger couldn't hold down a place at Manchester United. The second comes from Liverpool's Albert Riera after the Spaniard's frustration boiled over this week.
Both complaints are borne from a lack of match action but they also reveal the inherent differences between the respective methods of Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benítez.
Because while Ferguson will slaughter you in front of everyone, he will also lavish praise when it's deserved. Not only that, the United manager will show compassion and patience if he believes someone harbours genuine promise.
He has proved this with Nani, an underachieving show pony for much of his time at Old Trafford but now starting to emerge as a proper player.
Benítez, on the other hand, struggles when it comes to showing his human side. Unlike Ferguson, he just can't bring himself to put a kindly arm around the shoulder when circumstances demand a lighter touch. Without doubt, his man-management skills could do with a tweak.
Among other things, that's what separates the two. That's why Nani has turned into a force for United, while Xabi Alonso got the hump with Benítez and left, and why Riera will probably end up leaving, too.
It might also have a bearing on why, going into Sunday's clash, 15 points separate United and Liverpool.
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