Now RAFA launched new bizarre attack on United chief Gill.
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Rafa's rant! Liverpool boss launches stinging attack on Fergie - plus full transcript
RAFA BENITEZ'S rant will go down as the stroke of genius - or the moment he cracked.
RAFA BENITEZ yesterday launched an astonishing Kevin Keegan-style rant against Alex Ferguson. The Liverpool boss viciously went for his Manchester United counterpart, questioning his conduct and integrity in a pre-planned assault.
Benitez pulled no punches as he gave Fergie the worst mauling of his 23-year United career. The Spaniard condemned Fergie’s treatment of match officials, especially comments he made about ref Martin Atkinson and refs’ chief Keith Hackett. And he also blasted Ferguson for moaning about the fixtures schedule.
The Kop boss raged: “We had a meeting about the Respect campaign. I was very clear, ‘Forget the campaign’ because Mr Ferguson was killing the referees, killing Mr Atkinson, killing Mr Hackett.
"How can you talk about the Respect campaign, then criticise the ref every week? "At Old Trafford the United staff always go man-to-man with the refs, especially at half-time when they walk close to the refs.
"You can see how they put refs under pressure. “Now he is complaining that everybody is against United. But the second half of the season they are at home against all the teams at the top, it’s a fantastic advantage.”
Rafa: Showing signs of Kevin Keegan's infamous outburst in 1996.
Keegan’s infamous ‘I’d love it’ outburst against Fergie came when the then-Newcastle boss cracked in 1996.
The Liverpool manager has been seething at Ferguson's conduct for months and finally poured out his pent-up anger after hearing the Manchester United boss claim that nerves could derail Anfield's most threatening title push since 2002.
Benitez even warned Luiz Felipe Scolari to be on his guard for dirty tricks when Chelsea visit Old Trafford on Sunday. 'I know what happens every single time you go to Old Trafford, but maybe someone new to English football doesn't,' he said.
'So I would say to Mr Scolari that he needs to use a zonal marking system against United's coaching staff when the half-time whistle goes. 'When the referee and his assistants start coming off the pitch, they are always man-marked by United officials, so I suggest Scolari's men mark the space in between to stop them getting through.
'We always try to mark United's staff on the walk from the bench to the tunnel, so others should do the same. 'They are talking and talking all the time and it seems only Mr Ferguson can keep complaining about referees or fixtures without anything happening. I have had five years of it now and have a lot of details. I think it is time people knew the facts.'
In an extraordinary outburst at Liverpool's Melwood training ground, Benitez produced an A4 sheet of paper chronicling instances of Ferguson evidently flouting football's rulebook.
Benitez spoke out in an emotion-charged voice and, with more than a hint of sarcasm, repeatedly referred to his bitter rival as 'Mr Ferguson', adding: 'It is clear they are nervous about the second half of the season because we are top of the table.
'They might want to play mind games, but I do not. It is far too early, so I will stick to the facts. 'On November 1, United played against Hull and Mr Ferguson was given a two match touchline ban and £10,000 fine for improper conduct after confronting the referee Mike Dean.
'Then, with the Respect campaign under way, he was charged again with improper conduct, following remarks against referee Martin Atkinson and referees' chief Keith Hackett. Yet nothing happened. 'He was not punished for it. He is the only manager who cannot be punished for these things.
'At Christmas, I don't know how they managed to play at home on the 29th when all the others played on the 28th. We had a lunchtime kick-off at Newcastle, just 40 hours after our previous game and I didn't hear him moaning too much that day.
'Perhaps the best option would be for Mr Ferguson to sit in his office and organise all the fixtures and then let everyone else know, so we can see who we are playing and when. Then no-one could complain. Simple.
'Other managers need to know what he is like with referees as well. Always, he and his staff are walking close to them and talking, talking, talking.
'Only Mr Ferguson can talk about fixtures, referees and any other subject without anything happening to him.'
Seeing red: Rafa Benitez let rip at the United boss with a list of complaints
'All managers need to know is that only Mr Ferguson can talk about the fixtures, can talk about referees and nothing happens. 'We need to know that I am taking about facts, not my impression. There are things that everyone can see every single week.
'Are they under pressure? Maybe they were not thinking that we would be at the top of the table in January. But we are at the top of the table and they are nervous.
'I am not telling the authorities what to do. But I have been here for five years and know how things are going on. I will be watching United's game with Chelsea. 'The result does not matter to us, if we win at Stoke that result does not matter.'I was surprised United wanted to start the mind games too early, maybe it is because we are top of the table. But I only wanted to explain our position.
'It is a massive difference to play early on a Saturday, say, after a European match in midweek. 'But they will play the second half of the season with home matches against the other top teams, and that is a massive advantage to them.
'They cannot complain about the fixtures after they were playing on December 29 while the rest played on the 28th.'I have decided that I had a lot of information and I have been watching every single week what has been going on. Then they started talking about us, but every single week we know they will be talking.
'But we want to stay at the top and maybe they will talk about us right to the end. 'To hear someone talking when he has problems with referees every single week, and now complaining about the fixtures and complaining about everything, I think that is not fair.
'You can see every single week how they put (referees) under pressure, we know this. We have seen it before. We have seen players sent off at Old Trafford and we do not see our opponents sent off.
'It is part of the game. But to complain and to always have an advantage is not fair. 'We had a meeting in Manchester with managers and FA about the Respect campaign. And I was very clear, forget the campaign because Mr Ferguson was killing the referees, killing Mr Atkinson, killing Mr Hackett.
'But he is not punished. How can you talk about the respect campaign and criticise the referee every single week? 'You can analyse the facts and come to your own decision and ideas. 'There is still no news about my contract, my agent has not received any documents so he is a little bit disappointed. But we will see.
'I would rather not talk too much about this, though, when we have an important game ahead.' -
woOOoo spicyy ramen.. lawls
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as far as mind game goes, Rafa is not and will never be in the league of SAF.. so just keep his mouth tight and try to motivate his chargers would i think be a better option..
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Originally posted by Saltiga:
as far as mind game goes, Rafa is not and will never be in the league of SAF.. so just keep his mouth tight and try to motivate his chargers would i think be a better option
yeah, i agree.looks like rafa is ruffled, and hence he played right into fergie's game. he shld maintain cool and concentrate on his game. fergie's already won in this case....
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Alright, Liverpool to lose the league. Guess this is where Benny loses it
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So trueeee
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sound more like a cry baby leh this one..... at least SAF got more standard with mind games.....
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Wenger: Rafa rant won't affect title race.
ARSENE WENGER admits he was suprised by Rafael Benitez' rant — but believes it will have no impact on the title race.
The Liverpool manager claimed his Manchester United counterpart Alex Ferguson gets away with criticising referees, in a fiery press conference on Friday. And Arsenal boss Wenger has revealed he was shocked to hear such comments from the normally mild-mannered Spaniard.
He said: “It came as a complete surprise, because he is usually a quiet man and I would not like to comment further on that. "I do not know what it was really about. I do not know what Alex Ferguson is doing — nobody knows in the country.
“But if Ferguson, or Benitez or I do something which is not right, you have people around the referees who can make reports."
Despite insisting there is no problem with managers criticising officials, the Frenchman believes he was right when he claimed Aston Villa staff influenced referee Lee Mason on Boxing Day.
He said: "I believe it is important we focus on the game, if we see something abnormal we can say it, which I did at Aston Villa after the game. “But apart from that, I couldn’t see any deep problem there with English football.
“It is hard to determine what influence this will have on the results of the teams.” Wenger has also played down comparisons with Kevin Keegan's famous outburst during the run-in to the 1995/96 title race.
He added: “There was a famous story with Keegan and Ferguson, where in the end they said that moment where Keegan lost his nerves, that lost the championship - but I am not convinced.
“I think it was more their defensive frailty which cost them the title that year, not the manager losing his calm. “However, it will certainly have an impact on Benitez and Ferguson’s relationship, but not on Ferguson.”
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its true. SAF always rant about referees and get away with it.
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but regardless of what happened, SAF wasn't targetting any club with his comments.. its just against the league so its kinda surprise to see Rafa respond to it.. BTW, Rafa does crack easily during such exchange, just like during Jose time..
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Jose rejects Rafa's complaints
Jose Mourinho has rejected Rafa Benitez's claims that Manchester United receive preferential treatment from referees.
Benitez launched an outspoken attack against United boss Ferguson on Friday accusing the Scot of getting away with criticising referees.
The tirade has caused ripples throughout the footballing world with many observers expressing their views of the incident.
Former Chelsea boss Mourinho, who does not enjoy a good relationship with old rival Benitez, has added his opinion and he believes the Spaniard's criticisms are wide of the mark.
"I played at Old Trafford many times, including a few wins, and never saw anything strange," Mourinho told the Italian media.
"It is only normal that a referee will feel under pressure in an atmosphere like that with 80,000 people."
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I believed Rafa was trying to play some mind games of his own... If he really felt anything was wrong he could have made this statement long ago and no need to wait until the eve of United and Chelsea match...
I feel Rafa was trying to put pressure back on Fergie after what he said of Pool and probably was worried his own players would really get nervous for the run in after reading what Fergie have said...
In a way, I guess Rafa was also trying to fire up his own players to perform better from now on but... it didn't seem to work if last nights match was anything to go by... Over the 90mins, I thought Stoke had the better of the game and could have even won it.
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Sir Alex Ferguson claims a new victim
Rafa: with a devil over his shoulder...
BEFORE the season started, Sir Alex Ferguson was asked to assess Manchester United’s rivals in the Premier League. He was generous about Arsenal and the work Arsène Wenger did with young players. He was respectful towards Chelsea, the experience of their manager and squad. He talked of clubs outside the so-called Big Four, noting how impressed he was with Aston Villa and Everton, the potential of Tottenham. Liverpool? He had little to say.
That seemed odd until the thought occurred that maybe it was a ploy. Ferguson plans his press utterances as if on a tactics board, after all. Downplaying Liverpool was something he had done before and he has done it since.
Has the old master of mind games been trying to annoy Anfield through indifference? Only he knows, but one thing is now clear. The United manager has lodged himself, just above the goatee beard, firmly up Rafael Benitez’s nose. Benitez is known for playing a straight bat in press conferences but devoted his most recent Friday briefing to a sustained and premeditated denunciation of “Meester! Fer-goo-son!” It was a white-lipped, saucer-eyed rant from the “and another thing” school popularised by Kevin Keegan. Ferguson, who declined to react publicly, probably watched the scene repeated on Sky Sports News all evening, sitting on his sofa with a grin, fingers curled around a glass of Rioja.
Keegan’s explosion against Ferguson, when he said he would “love it, love it” if his Newcastle team pipped United to the title in 1996, is held to have contributed towards the opposite outcome. Wenger spent years sparring verbally with Ferguson and appeared to win many of the individual rounds. It did become clear, though, that Ferguson was getting under Wenger’s skin more than Wenger was getting under his, and, with United reestablished above Arsenal in the Premier League pecking order, a truce was called.
It is not only the precedents that make Benitez’s attack appear risky. Do a team with a narrow lead at the top of the table while chasing their first title in 19 years need concocted distractions? Only if the answer is “yes” was Benitez’s action logical - and perhaps he conceived his tirade to deflect attention from Steven Gerrard.
Any other justification for such headline-spawning invective is dubious, but Benitez has something of a compulsion for getting political when he speaks to journalists. He has got himself into trouble by airing grievances about Liverpool’s American owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, and Rick Parry, the club’s chief executive. When managing in Spain he had several famous outbursts. The most celebrated was his acid-tongued quip about Jesus Garcia Pitarch, his director of football at Valencia, who signed a winger, Fabian Canobbio, he did not rate. “Well, I asked for a sofa and they’ve bought me a standard lamp,” Benitez said.
In 2004, when Real Madrid equalised against Valencia with a 93rd-minute penalty after the fourth official had signalled one minute of stoppage time, he said: “For some people we are too strong a rival and it would obviously be wrong for us to win the league. I saw the fourth official’s board clearly. Without the extra minutes they would not have blown for a penalty. In any 100 other matches, they wouldn’t have awarded that penalty. At the Bernabeu you have to win twice just to get half a result.”
In 2003 he called one of his club’s directors, Manuel Llorente, “a man who has no friends, hangs around in the shadows waiting to stab you in the back”. As a two-time La Liga champion, Benitez could say he played his press games and came out top. If he wins the Premier League, “Rafa’s Rant” will be celebrated. Should Liverpool fall short, it will be used to condemn Benitez.
"Fer-goo-son" according to Rafa...
Some of his speech about “Fer-goo-son!” was humorously acerbic (“Scolari needs to use zonal marking against the staff of United because they are always man to man with the referees”) and had it been given by Jose Mourinho, in his sarcastic, smarty-pants way, it might have hit the mark. The danger is that Benitez, like Keegan, may have come across as angry and pressured.
Gerard Houllier said the most important 30 minutes of a manager’s week was his press conference, because it was watched, listened to and read by supporters, directors and players. A manager could use it to set a tone that resonated throughout his club.
Do Liverpool need to be angry and pressured? Ferguson, who is unlikely to make any big public response to Benitez’s accusations, knows calm heads win league championships.
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i agree, rafa's squard -.-
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Defiant Rafael Benitez insists Sir Alex Ferguson is 'scared’ of Liverpool
Rafael Benitez has raised the stakes further in his feud with Sir Alex Ferguson by describing the Manchester United manager as “nervous” and “scared”.
Stout defence: Rafael Benitez defends his war of words on Alex Ferguson
Despite his side dropping two points in the title race in a frustrating goalless draw with Stoke, the Liverpool manager said he did not regret his public attack on Ferguson and hopes it will stop him talking about his team.
“I don’t regret saying it and I don’t think it had any effect on the players,” Benitez said of his astonishing Friday press conference. “I can guarantee that a lot of people have sent a lot of messages, not to me but to our staff, and a lot of people in Liverpool think that at least one person has said something that everybody wanted to say.
"I’m not thinking about what people will think, I was thinking about my club. It was because of all of Mr Ferguson’s comments this season about Liverpool so we don’t understand why. I think he is nervous, clearly.”
United host Chelsea at Old Trafford, knowing that if they win, they will be five points behind Liverpool with two games in hand. It will make nervous viewing for Benitez.
“It doesn’t matter what he says. I’ve known him for five years now and people say that he was playing mind games but it’s too early. To talk too much about Liverpool isn’t fair so he has to think about his own team.
“He started talking when we won at Chelsea and [he suggested] we’d done a favour to United because we are not contenders, so maybe he’s a little bit scared. “I have a lot of respect for him because I think he’s a great manager but he was talking too much about Liverpool so he has to stop.
“I think that maybe he will say something or maybe he won’t. It doesn’t matter. He started talking a long time ago. It won’t have the same effect on me because if he talks too much and too quickly then I won’t understand so I will be happy.
“I think they have very good fixtures in the second half of the league and they had people in the committee when they were deciding the fixtures. Maybe he didn’t know that they had a person there so they have to improve their communication a little bit.
“He likes to talk about Liverpool. I don’t know what he thinks but I know what he says and he was talking too much about Liverpool for a long time. I can’t hear someone talking and talking all the time about everything and not say anything. We are in a good position and now we have to think about Everton, that’s it. He can’t score goals and I can’t score goals so he will be worried about the position of Liverpool, yes.”
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i think Rafa is scared of Stoke
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JOSE die die also want talk abt EPL one hor.
he think he who, still chelsea boss arh -.- -
You can forget the title, Benitez: Sir Alex hits back at Rafa's rant
Sir Alex Ferguson has written off Liverpool's title chances just a day after Anfield manager Rafa Benitez's extraordinary outburst against the Manchester United boss.
Ferguson, labelled a bully and a hypocrite in an unprecedented attack that has added real tension to this year's Premier League race, can see his team close to within five points of the leaders today, after Liverpool stumbled to a 0-0 draw at Stoke.
Benitez's team could not back up their manager's mind games, and their slip-up allows United to go top if they win their three games in hand. Sir Alex's patronising suggestion that it was progress for Liverpool even to be talking about a title challenge in the new year is sure to leave the Spaniard feeling even worse this morning.
'People say every season, it's going to be three or four teams challenging for the title,' said Ferguson. 'But I'm of the opinion it comes down to two teams when you enter the last month.
'Chelsea have contested the league for the last four years and I think they have the experience to be our main rivals again. You have to think that will count for something. It's a change for Liverpool fans and players to even be talking about winning the league. They haven't been able to do that for 19 years, or at least a good few years.
'It was important for a team like Liverpool to get a good start. They needed it and it has given them a greater expectation. Experience is important, though. It's been proven every team will drop points. Experience teaches you to not drop as many as the rest.' Rather than respond directly to Benitez's attack, Ferguson plans to let his team do the talking today against Chelsea, having prepared for the big game by announcing his strongest squad of the season.
But already many believe Benitez has come off worse.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has suffered himself at Ferguson's hands, and he believes the Liverpool manager will pay for his outburst.
'Benitez is usually a quiet man. It came as a surprise,' said Wenger. 'I am certain it will have an impact on their relationship but not on Ferguson.'
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yes, i agree with you fergie.
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he thinks by ranting like that..he will get backing from other managers/players or referees...haha..guess his plan backfired..
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Hmmm, i guess benitez is not one who learns from history. Ever since the premier league was established it has been proven time and time again that managers who play mind games with Fergie never come out tops, in the short run maybe........ but never in the long run
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having read some of the british news commentary, i am beginning to understand why rafa brings this up/outbursts at this stage of the game.
firstly, there are some truths in what he says about fergie. the point with regards to the match fixture is a case in point. fergie did cried baby on that one.
rafa clearly wants to put fergie on a defensive on being a loose cannon. if nothing is said on this stage and during the last 2 months run-in for the premiership, the stakes will be higher and teams are more likely to buckle under fergie's incessant loose talks.
if rafa is successful in putting a lid in fergie's mouth, or at least in restraining him because it has been brought out in the open, then it will be overall advantageous to liverpool and other teams in the running for the premiership. lesser teams will be less intimidated.
fergie is good in leveraging every advantage to him. when maurinho was manager at chelsea, he too is critical of fergie's outburst on refereees, fixtures, etc. even maurinho himself use the his off-field antics and tactics to his advantage.
i think rafa want to douse this early. since liverpool is top at this stage, the onus is on him to rattle and draw the boundary early to restrain/restrict fergie from using this again to his advantage.
this could turn out to be a masterstroke from rafa yet.
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Just one line. Never mess with the wily old fox,period.
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ALEX FERGUSON branded Rafa Benitez ‘disturbed’ and ‘ridiculous’ for his rant at the Manchester United boss.
Fergie hit back at the Kop chief after United had blown away Chelsea to put more pressure on league leaders Liverpool. Benitez laid into Ferguson on Friday over his conduct with referees and his complaints about the fixture list.
Fergie said: “I think he was an angry man. He must have been disturbed for some reason. I think you have got to cut through the venom of it and hopefully he’ll reflect and understand that what he said was absolutely ridiculous.
“But I’m not going to get into that because at this moment in time we should concentrate on chasing the leaders, who are Liverpool. We have got games in hand, of course, so we want to try and catch them up.”
Some Chelsea fans were guilty of a sick chant aimed at Cristiano Ronaldo regarding his car crash on Thursday, chanting ‘You should have died in the tunnel’.
Chelsea manager Phil Scolari, Ronaldo’s former Portugal boss, said: “I did not hear what they chanted because I was focused on the game.
“But after seeing his car I told Cristiano that he needs to say ‘thank you’ to God everyday and think about life.
“I told him he is young and God has given him a lesson. Now he needs to stay alive and live until he is 90.”
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Originally posted by redDUST:
having read some of the british news commentary, i am beginning to understand why rafa brings this up/outbursts at this stage of the game.
firstly, there are some truths in what he says about fergie. the point with regards to the match fixture is a case in point. fergie did cried baby on that one.
rafa clearly wants to put fergie on a defensive on being a loose cannon. if nothing is said on this stage and during the last 2 months run-in for the premiership, the stakes will be higher and teams are more likely to buckle under fergie's incessant loose talks.
if rafa is successful in putting a lid in fergie's mouth, or at least in restraining him because it has been brought out in the open, then it will be overall advantageous to liverpool and other teams in the running for the premiership. lesser teams will be less intimidated.
fergie is good in leveraging every advantage to him. when maurinho was manager at chelsea, he too is critical of fergie's outburst on refereees, fixtures, etc. even maurinho himself use the his off-field antics and tactics to his advantage.
i think rafa want to douse this early. since liverpool is top at this stage, the onus is on him to rattle and draw the boundary early to restrain/restrict fergie from using this again to his advantage.
this could turn out to be a masterstroke from rafa yet.
Or the moment Liverpool cracked?I thought what Rafa did was not very clever... By doing so, he has attracted more attention to his players. His players are not known to like the attention but unfortunately, what was suppose to be an offensive attack on an opponent to the masses has become a form of joke to the majority of pundits... People are quietly laughing at Rafa for what he said and the way he delivered it... If we watched the Football channel commentary, we could see the 3 English guest and host actually laugh at the way Rafa behaved... The angry manner he was seen to deliver it came across as he was losing control...
People in UK are comparing Rafa to Keegan in 1996... That can't be good... Rafa has come across as a quiet person for years suddenly he blows... One reason could be because this is the first time since he came to Pool that they actually stand a chance at the title at this stage thats why he is behaving the way he did... And Rob Lee rightly pointed out that Keegan's comments were immediately after a match when emotions were still high... Rafa came with a piece of A4 on his hand... which was amusing...
The fixture case Fergie pointed out was very valid... Its very much a double headed sword... United are known to be slow starters to the league and with a schedule like the one in the first half of the season, it could have very well ended their title ambition even before the new year... What I feel is, United's present position isn't only because they manage to did well in the first half but rather Pool and Chelsea fail to take the advantage during this period and instead drop points against lower sides...
Overall, I thought Rafa should have kept his mouth shut and let his players do the talking at their own pace... Which they have been doing quite well. But now with all the media attracted to the Pool squad for their next few matches to see if they can deliver what Rafa created... more pressure will be added to them.
Anyway, its alway better not to lead the table at too early a stage as being leader always bring extra pressure... Cos everyone wants to beat the leader, and for the players... they cannot do better, they can only try to maintain it but are constantly worried other will catch up or are closing in... These are pressure that are not known to Pool players yet... so let see how they handle it... cos their manager didn't seem to handle it too well i thought.