Big Phil Scolari or Rafa Benitez, who is feeling the most pressure? That is the question doing the rounds of football at the moment.
The Liverpool manager has had a fair go at losing the plot, what with his rant about Sir Alex Ferguson and the pressure he has put on referees, as well as his pop at officials after saying the second half against Wigan in midweek was “crazy”.
Then there is his refusal to confirm that Robbie Keane has a future at Liverpool.
But as Scolari and Benitez prepare to square up at Anfield for tomorrow’s massive Premier League clash, the Brazilian is running his Spanish counterpart close for bizarre outbursts.
After his own attack on officials, Scolari yesterday named who he thought was the most dangerous player in the Liverpool team.
Most people would expect him to say Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres – but, no, the Blues boss went for Dirk Kuyt.
Yes, the hard-working Dutch striker who has been converted into a right midfielder by Benitez because he does not score enough goals.
Scolari was full of praise for Gerrard and understood why he was asked: “If you stop Gerrard, do you stop Liverpool?”
However, Scolari had another name up his sleeve, saying: “They have one player who I like so much and nobody has mentioned his name yet. It is not Gerrard or Torres.
“No, it is Dirk Kuyt from Holland. When he was playing for Holland and I was the manager of Portugal, I used to think to myself, ‘Please don’t play him.’
“And if they didn’t, then, it was a huge relief. He’s a fantastic player and very dangerous. He works so hard.”
In lots of ways the point Scolari was actually trying to make is that Chelsea cannot afford to think of Liverpool as a one-man team.
He was either slightly deluded or playing his own version of Fergie’s mind games, because that is exactly what Liverpool have been in recent weeks, with skipper Gerrard pulling the strings.
Scolari knows this but would not admit it. When asked if Chelsea must stifle Gerrard to succeed this weekend, he said: “And Torres? And Riera? And Mascherano? That’s like saying my team is all about Lampard.
“They have fantastic players, the same as us. Gerrard is a fantastic player, one of the best in his position. Look, in England we have two players in this position – No.8 or No.10 – and you won’t find any better elsewhere in the world.
“Gerrard and Lampard are the best in this position. It’s not only Gerrard, though, that we have to beware. Okay, he’s fantastic because he scores, marks, dribbles, crosses. He’s the complete player.
“But the other players together help him to make this. I’m thinking about the complete Liverpool.”
This is a huge challenge for Chelsea, who so far this season have only taken one point from 12 off the other sides that make up the so-called Big Four.
That came at home against Manchester United, with the Blues having lost to Arsenal and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge and been thumped at Old Trafford 3-0 earlier this month.
Two wins on the trot in the league, including Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, have helped Chelsea rise to second place, but Scolari knows that this could be a watershed game in their title challenge with United.
He added: “A win would be very good for us. We started the Boro game under pressure because we were in fourth position.
“Villa had won and the other teams were in front of us. For confidence it’s very good, but we know we are behind United and together with Liverpool. We are not better than these two teams, but for confidence it’s very good.
“We’ve played better than before in the last four or five games.
“We’ve won games, played better than before and have had more heart in these games.”
Scolari knows that if his team does beat Liverpool, he will be the next target for Sir Alex Ferguson’s mind games.
But the Chelsea manager remains defiant, warning: “He (Fergie) works very hard, is very good and he has mental ideas about this and that.
“However, don’t forget that we have a good team. That’s more important than A, B or C names. We have a good team.”
And they will need to show that at Anfield, for talk is cheap.
The Liverpool manager has had a fair go at losing the plot, what with his rant about Sir Alex Ferguson and the pressure he has put on referees, as well as his pop at officials after saying the second half against Wigan in midweek was “crazy”.
Then there is his refusal to confirm that Robbie Keane has a future at Liverpool.
But as Scolari and Benitez prepare to square up at Anfield for tomorrow’s massive Premier League clash, the Brazilian is running his Spanish counterpart close for bizarre outbursts.
After his own attack on officials, Scolari yesterday named who he thought was the most dangerous player in the Liverpool team.
Most people would expect him to say Steven Gerrard or Fernando Torres – but, no, the Blues boss went for Dirk Kuyt.
Yes, the hard-working Dutch striker who has been converted into a right midfielder by Benitez because he does not score enough goals.
Scolari was full of praise for Gerrard and understood why he was asked: “If you stop Gerrard, do you stop Liverpool?”
However, Scolari had another name up his sleeve, saying: “They have one player who I like so much and nobody has mentioned his name yet. It is not Gerrard or Torres.
“No, it is Dirk Kuyt from Holland. When he was playing for Holland and I was the manager of Portugal, I used to think to myself, ‘Please don’t play him.’
“And if they didn’t, then, it was a huge relief. He’s a fantastic player and very dangerous. He works so hard.”
In lots of ways the point Scolari was actually trying to make is that Chelsea cannot afford to think of Liverpool as a one-man team.
He was either slightly deluded or playing his own version of Fergie’s mind games, because that is exactly what Liverpool have been in recent weeks, with skipper Gerrard pulling the strings.
Scolari knows this but would not admit it. When asked if Chelsea must stifle Gerrard to succeed this weekend, he said: “And Torres? And Riera? And Mascherano? That’s like saying my team is all about Lampard.
“They have fantastic players, the same as us. Gerrard is a fantastic player, one of the best in his position. Look, in England we have two players in this position – No.8 or No.10 – and you won’t find any better elsewhere in the world.
“Gerrard and Lampard are the best in this position. It’s not only Gerrard, though, that we have to beware. Okay, he’s fantastic because he scores, marks, dribbles, crosses. He’s the complete player.
“But the other players together help him to make this. I’m thinking about the complete Liverpool.”
This is a huge challenge for Chelsea, who so far this season have only taken one point from 12 off the other sides that make up the so-called Big Four.
That came at home against Manchester United, with the Blues having lost to Arsenal and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge and been thumped at Old Trafford 3-0 earlier this month.
Two wins on the trot in the league, including Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, have helped Chelsea rise to second place, but Scolari knows that this could be a watershed game in their title challenge with United.
He added: “A win would be very good for us. We started the Boro game under pressure because we were in fourth position.
“Villa had won and the other teams were in front of us. For confidence it’s very good, but we know we are behind United and together with Liverpool. We are not better than these two teams, but for confidence it’s very good.
“We’ve played better than before in the last four or five games.
“We’ve won games, played better than before and have had more heart in these games.”
Scolari knows that if his team does beat Liverpool, he will be the next target for Sir Alex Ferguson’s mind games.
But the Chelsea manager remains defiant, warning: “He (Fergie) works very hard, is very good and he has mental ideas about this and that.
“However, don’t forget that we have a good team. That’s more important than A, B or C names. We have a good team.”
And they will need to show that at Anfield, for talk is cheap.
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