Liverpool and Benitez finding conspiracies everywhere
Did Liverpool try to “tap up” Gabriel Heinze? It’s a fair question to ask, considering how far Rafa Benitez went in his attempts to secure the defender’s services and then chastised the Premier League for favouritism for deciding against Liverpool (because of course, any decision that goes against Liverpool must be wrong and made because of bribes or an agenda or something similar).
Rafa Benitez:
“I would like to ask the Premier League a number of questions. How can a player with a signed agreement be treated like this?”
Because the club always comes first, and Heinze moving to Liverpool would directly harm United’s interests by making them weaker AND making a title rival stronger.
“He has a document which is clear but the Premier League prefers to believe the word of someone else who made a mistake. I know there were accusations made against Liverpool in the hearing which were unbelievable. How can this be allowed?”
The Premier League backed the club over the player - it wasn’t a case of Manchester United vs Liverpool, it was United vs their own player. Whatever you views on the issue, I’m sure you will agree that if this was your club and your player, you wouldn’t want him signing for your title rivals, signed agreements be damned. United made a better argument, had the recorded conversation that forbade Heinze to go to Premiership title rivals AND had to their advantage the fact that Liverpool had pushed so hard for Heinze.
As for the accusations against Liverpool - this is what you get when you go after a club’s player and help him to go to court, especially when you know that you have no shot at getting this done amiably. It’s tantamount to hijacking, and no club appreciates that (and as a fellow member of the Premier League, it’s not a move in good faith either).
Rafa isn’t done though - he then takes another leaf out of Chelsea’s book (or should I say Mourinho’s book?) and bitches about Liverpool’s fixtures, while fully knowing that it’s a random process that is then re-arranged manually in case there are clashes (or for TV obligations).
Rafa Benitez:
“I would like to ask the Premier League why is it that Liverpool always plays the most fixtures away from home in an early kick-off, following an international break? We had more than the top clubs last season and we have four already to prepare for this season.”
Other teams will be jacked the same way over the course of the season, and if there’s anyone to blame, it’s the TV deals, not the Premier League fixtures.
“It’s going to be very difficult for us to win the Premier League because the other teams are so strong but I want our supporters to know that despite the disadvantages we have, we will fight all the way. We will fight to cope with our more difficult kick-off times and all the other decisions which are going against us.”
Just like you were fighting at the end of last season, where second-string squads were sent out in the last few games causing Liverpool to drop several points? Who cares, right, because you still got 3rd place?
In fairness, Rafa’s right about the Styles decision, but it’s hardly one to raise a battle-cry over. The rest is just whining, and it’s not something that a manager of his stature and talents, at a great club like Liverpool, needs to resort to.
Source: Guardian
All the latest football headlines.
I think he’s been living in Liverpool a bit too long, everyone’s after him. Awwwwwww, diddums.:-(
Double standards?
What about Man U tapping up Tevez?
If Chelsea had so many early starts after International matches do you not think that Jose would be whining about it night and day? Have a look how many early starts we had, 10, the next highest was 5, you do the math
I also disagree with your assertion that whining is not something Benitez needs to do. It seems to benefit Chelsea and Utd so it’s about time Benitez tried the same thing, Ferguson and Mourinho escape censure over their comments and pressure so fair play to Rafa for trying the same
As per normal we see one set of rules for United and another for other clubs, like waiting for passports - not a problem for united, tapping up, like the early starts - like the Sky coverage giving extra cash to favoured teams - there is a bias there always is. Its about time Rafa and other managers stood up to the hypocrisy.
Rafa’s comments are just plain stupid. He made statements without any backing.
Eg.
“Then I want to ask the Premier League why it was so difficult for Liverpool to sign Javier Mascherano, when we had to wait a long time for the paperwork, but it was so easy for Carlos Tevez to join Manchester United?”
He forgot that it was the same deal for both Mascherano and Tevez. In fact, the Tevez deal should have gone through immediately because the Mascherano deal was already approved. It didn’t, it took months…
(Btw, not a word of thanks to the ManUnited lawyers that helped him with the Mascherano deal.)
@Aj - Rafa is not standing up to shit. He is being hypocritical.
When I first heard about Rafa’s tirade to the Premier League upon the losing of the decision as a Liverpool fan and a as a fan of Rafa I was a bit disappointed because such behavior has previously been below him (in the realms of Wenger, Fergie & especially Mourinho).
I cannot say whether the Premier League was right or not, but either way I think Rafa could have shown more class and not spoken out, to be fair Heinze wasn’t an absolute necessity although I do believe would have been a great addition.
Ahmed I’m also quite disappointed about your comment ‘Just like you were fighting at the end of last season, where second-string squads were sent out in the last few games causing Liverpool to drop several points?’.
I’m sure you know that Liverpool did indeed already have 3rd place sewn up at that stage with no chance of catching 2nd, and had a Champions League final to think about. It was also an opportunity to give backup players who have had to be patient a chance.
whys he hypocritical - for speaking out about what he observes - what he says can factually be backed up.
The prem league forced through the Tevez deal Liverpool (without uniteds help) took apparently months to work through the deal to coincide with prem rules - something United clearly dont have to abide by.
Seems ok for certain managers to complain but when others do its an issue.
Woot for double standards.
@Aj - please check your facts before you start defending your manager’s statements. It is hypocritical.
I will put the Tevez point in simple math:
Mascherano deal = Tevez deal
therefore,
if Mascherano deal = pass
then Tevez deal = pass
if Mascherano deal took 20years to pass, then because the presedent have been set, any other similiar deals should take normal time to pass. Besides, Mascherano had extra complication in that the rules did not allow for a player to play for 3 clubs during a season.
Rafa should have done himself a favour by not including this statement.
erm yeah. hes not MY manager as you claim - i think he has a point.
and once again are you able to clarify you statement or continue to act like a broken record?
Just as Jose mellows Rafa cracks under the pressure. At least his foam mouthed rants should bring colour to the season.
Aaditya - Rafa said that his team would fight all the way.
I was pointing a period last year when they weren’t fighting all the way. Some teams want to win all games, Some stop fighting when it’s not practical. Who wants to win more? It might be a good question to ask from time to time.
This is, once again, nothing personal against either Liverpool or Rafa. I guess I’ll have to wait until Fergie slips up (although you guys should have noticed that I’ve been critical of United in the last week as well and Fergie a lot of times in the past).
Feel free to point it out to me when it happens
I think mr. Ahmed Bilal should stay off the booze and let Sir Ferguson drink it himself.
If you look over the last decade I think you will have to agree with tha assumpions made by Mr. Benitez.
It has always made me laugh since I am a Chelsea suporter
Yes Ahmed, Rafa said his team would fight all the way this year, but that was to indicate that they will not be in a position, like last season, where the fight would give no gains. All pre-season Rafa has talked of making sure that in the final games of this season, unlike the last, Liverpool will still be involved in the title race.
Sure teams want to win all games, but if they have a choice of winning the most prestigious club tournament in the world (Champions League), or finishing 7 points behind 2nd place as opposed to 15 points. And with such a heavy workload last season on a squad lacking depth in important positions, the Champions League Final had to be prioritized.
I’m sure United or Chelsea would have done the same in saving their best players in the last 3 league games for the Champions League Final (not to suggest that you are arguing on their behalf, or I might have used the example of United’s lineup v West Ham ahead of the FA cup final featuring Fletcher, Richardson & Solskjaer with Ronaldo on the bench), but it wouldn’t have been such a big deal as their 2nd choice players would have been good enough, whereas Liverpool’s certainly weren’t enough last season.
Ahmed, yes Rafa said his team would fight all the way this year, this was to indicate that his team will still be involved in the title race in the latter stages of the season.
Regarding last season, of course every team wants to win all games, but given the choice of finishing 7 points behind the 2nd place finisher and finishing 15 points, any team would prioritize winning the most prestigious club competition in the world (Champions League).
Certainly in the same position a Chelsea or a United would have done the same (not that I’m suggesting that this is a Chelsea/United vs Liverpool argument, or I’d have mentioned United’s lineup last season vs West Ham ahead of the FA Cup final), but it wouldn’t have been such a big deal, such is the depth of their squads.
Last season Liverpool had a huge workload on a shallow (lacking in depth) squad, and a Champions League final to look forward to.
If Liverpool found themselves with no mathematical chance of being caught by those below them in the table, or catching those ahead, but with a Champions League final beckoning, no doubt Rafa would again rest a few key players in the last 3 games, and he wouldn’t be wrong to.
Only this time it would be the likes of Babel, Crouch & Benayoun stepping in rather than Zenden, Fowler (god that he is had battle-worn legs) and Mark Gonzales.
I think he is just angry at the premier league about Heinze but you must take it into consideration that all the things he said are true
@liverpool_Fan
As a lifetime United supporter I think Benitez has a point. In fact I would go even further:
I would ask the Premier League why it is that Liverpool have to play all their away games away from home.
Why is it that bus fares in London went up from 40p to £2.
Why is that George Bush got into power for a 2nd term
Why is that United were allowed to sign both Rooney and Ronaldo.
Why is it that the Premier league are in charge when the Liverpool board could do the job
Bleat bleat bleat
–
Actually, I stole this response from one of the article’s responses but I think it fittingly adresses your statement.
This article should have been titled “Rafa Benitez Loses His Mind”. Seriously, I have tremendous respect for Rafa Benitez but this outburst is so completely lacking in logic or even relevance to the topic he was talking about that it is deeply saddening. I mean, for fucks sake, isn’t he supposed to be educated?
With regard to Heinze, whilst I can understand Rafa being upset at not having him I don’t see the big deal about what happened. Yes, Heinze did have a document saying he could go for a certain price. Unfortunately it was contradicted by another a document, the contract Heinze signed saying that United owned him!
Karl i dont see how when i said Rafa is lashing out because he is angry about Heinze
fucking twat
Yep Benitez has definatley hopped off his horse i always find mself asking about our disadvantages so does every fan but i would never go mad on tv about it
(or would i hmmmmmm)
@Livepool_Fan
I was reffering to he following:
“…but you must take it into consideration that all the things he said are true”
Why the name calling? That statement just immediately brought to mind the excerpt that I read. Nothing pesonal. Just think its very fitting.
@Livepool_Fan
I was reffering to he following:
“…but you must take it into consideration that all the things he said are true”
Why the name calling? That statement just immediately brought to mind the excerpt that I read. Nothing pesonal. Just think its very fitting and funny.
What a coincidence! The article on RR is quite similar I must say.
I see an ego contest coming
people seem 2 forget that west ham thought mascherano was trash ( 2 their own damn) while tevez was a god there. that means masch deal was 2 way while tevez was purely n simply robbed…
demonrho
Yes but Benitez made these comments without planning it out all night. he didnt include the small details
but you do have a valid point
Why does it say Liverpool and Benitez???? Yet again you judge our entire team on a small fraction of its views not suprised at all
Premier League helped Liverpool all the time, like that time they win at Istanbul and still qualify for CL the next season.
Thats why Rafa freaked out when the Premier League doesnt help him this time.
Poor Rafa, he thought that those helping hands will be there forever.
Liverpool should not complain if their initial few matches are away from home. Incidentally all those matches are against lesser teams. What matters are the matches against the other Big 3 teams.
Their first such match against the other Big 3 was with Chelsea at home, second is against Arsenal on October 28,2007 again at home.
So don’t complain Rafael Benitez. For if you can not beat lesser teams regardless of the venue, then you are not good enough to win the premier league. So you have already started harping on an excuse saying you can’t win the league.
Benitez makes me sick with his whining. First it was the squad depth now that he has spent obscene amounts on transfers, it is the fixtures are loaded against Liverpool.
Get up and look around, Reading and Portsmouth have more genuine reason to complain as they started most of their matches against far bigger clubs.
And whats with this line “It’s going to be very difficult for us to win the Premier League because the other teams are so strong but I want our supporters to know that despite the disadvantages we have, we will fight all the way.”
You made all the headlines with the big name transfers this season so don’t talk of fighting instead come up with results and statements like “We will win the league”. At least exude that confidence.
“that means masch deal was 2 way while tevez was purely n simply robbed…”
I suppose some fortune-tellers at West Ham saw this coming, and evicted Tevez from his flat way before United even made a move?
Get real guys!
Nice article again Ahmed, filled with Man U bias against the Reds just like the last article about the England friendly!
To start off with the tapping up comments by Man U - I can’t see how anyone would not be annoyed at being accused of tapping up a player, fact is that Man U have no proof of this otherwise they would go public with it. If the situation was reversed then i’m sure Ferguson would act in a similar way. Personally i think the whole issue of tapping up is stupid, it seems to happen throughout the football world and no one seems to be able to stop it, i can’t see why they try to enforce a rule that to be honest is unenforceable.
Regarding the Tevez issue Rafa does actually have a point here, the fact is that the premier league took quite some time to approve the deal between Liverpool and player to ensure there was no breach of the regulations like the deal with West Ham. However, Man U’s deal get pushed through as soon as West Ham and Kia finish having handbags over the players registration, add this to the fact that Anderson gets a work premit even though he doesn’t meet the criteria for it does come across as somewhat suspicious.
In fairness i have to admit that Rafa’s comments about the fixtures are pointless, i remember having a laugh at Mourinho complaining last year on the very same subject!
Finally i can’t understand why you bothered to bring up the comments on weaker teams being played for the end of last season as everyone knew it was mathmatically impossible for Liverpool to finish higher than 3rd and they still had the champions league to play for, i can’t see any other manager acting in a different way to Rafa. In fact other managers go so far as to concentrate on the league to try and ensure survival at the start of the season for their teams and disregard the cup competitions and i don’t see any comments against this practice!
[Brian]
Tapping up comments - I agree with you. It is kinda stupid. I can understand why SAF made the statement at the time, but nevertheless, it is stupid. Regarding going public, he made a statement yesterday that they are busy investigating the whole affair.
Tevez issue - Please refer to my comment #9. In fact, the Tevez deal actually took unbelievably long).
Imho, Rafa made a mistake with these statements. He was one up on United for unsettling one of their key players and he screwed it up by ‘getting the media to focus on him’.
Karl
Ok i hadn’t seen the statement until this afternoon from SAF, though i can’t see anything happening from it, i think its more a case of SAF trying to stir things up like i thought Rafa was doing with the original bid for Heinze, admittedly he probably would have been a good addition though i always thought it was unlikely he would join.
On the Tevez issue i think its more the speed at which the deal was put through once the handbags between Kia and West Ham had ended that caught Rafa’s attention. My point was that the premier league quickly rubber stamped the deal and there was no mention of waiting whilst they checked no rules were being broken like they did with Liverpool.
[...] League ruling in favor of Manchester United and not in Liverpool’s favor, which caused Rafa Benitez to seek conspiracy theories everywhere, including cribbing about fixtures and the apparent ‘ease’ with which Manchester United [...]
Hai aadithyan cheta!
Haha hey. email me! Its ‘my first name’.'my second name’@gmail.com. no spaces or capitals.
Haha hey Anirudh. email me! Its ‘my first name’.'my second name’@gmail.com. no spaces or capitals.