Awesome: Rafa destroys Mr. Ferguson during today's Press Conference

[newterp]

It was awesome - I will go find the YouTube Video and link it.

People will pretend that he had a meltdown etc. - IGNORE them:

It was a cold calculated response to a question about mind-games and rafa was fully prepared for it. Watch his tone and demeanor. It was wonderful.

I think it deserves it's own thread.

YouTube - Rafa Benitez bitchslaps Slur Alex Feguson

[blanconi]

There you go mate:

http://www.skysports.com/video/clips/0,23791,12606_4770525,00.html

Enjoy ;)

[usscouse]

Rafa has done a number of things by speaking out.

- He has highlighted that the fixture list is not compiled with an agenda to disadvantage Man U. A few days ago, Fergie had inferred that the fixture was deliberately biased against Man U, by stating that Man U would make sure they would send a representative to oversee the generation of the next fixture list. Rafa listed the fact that Man U had an advantage during the Boxing Day double-headers. Liverpool played Bolton and then had to play at Newcastle less than 48 hours later. Man U had an extra day in between fixtures. At this time of year this is a big advantage, as it greatly reduces a drop off of intensity of play in the next game and also dramatically lessens the chances of injury that can occur then players are straining tires muscles in the cold. Also Man U have the advantage of more home matches to come. If Fergie continues to complain about the fixture list being unfair he will now be called out on it.

- Rafa has mentioned that Fergie is completely ignoring the Respect campaign. This is a fact - Rafa points out that Fergie has already been found guilty of improper conduct towards officials this season. He continously criticises the officials in Press conferences but somehow escaped any punishment last season for his scandalous verbal attacks on Hackett. He is the worst manager at respecting the officials. At half-time at OT he constantly harangues them as they walk to the dressing rooms. This is done to put pressure on the officials to be more lenient towards Man U in the second half and can also intimidate them from penalising Man U because of the abuse he will give them. This gives Man U an advantage. Fergie has been intimidating officials for ages and everyone knows it. Now that Rafa has brought this into the public spotlight everyone will be watching to see how Fergie and mob act towards the officials at half-time. Fergie cannot now pull his usual trick without everyone (including the media) noticing and callling him on it. Fergie will be unable to so easily pressurise the officials at half-time this weekend - the officials, the media and Chelsea too will be watching out for it.

- Rafa has referred to 2 incidents in which Ref Steve Bennett has given decisions that have been of benefit to Man U - the Masch sending off and not giving Wigan a penalty for handball. Steve Bennett will now be under pressure to behave in a way such that he does not look like he is favouring Man U. In other words, in the Man U - Wigan match, Bennett will be more likely to give a decision against Man U so that he can dispel the impression that he favours them.

So Rafa has now made if harder for Fergie to pubicly whinge about fixtures without looking like a fool. It is clear that the fixtures generated are different each season and do not deliberately disadvantage one team over any other. Rafa has made it more difficult for Fergie to publicy attack the Refs (as part of his intimidation of officials strategy) because everyone is now very much aware that Fergie has been treated too leniently in the past for this. Rafa has also brought public attention to the manner in which Fergie interacts with the officials at half-time. Officials will not want to be seen to be being intimidated by Fergie by his behavour towards them. Rafa has also increased the likelihood of Steve Bennett not bottling a big decision against Man U because of how this might be percieved.

Interesting to see what effect this has. Certainly the public spotlight will now be focused more closely on those aspects of Fergie's behaviour regarding his interactions with the officials, and the officials subsequent response to this. I can see Fergie having to slightly curtail the behaviour which helps gives Man U an edge with regards to officials.

Of course the numpties will just claim that Rafa has cracked under the pressure of Fergie's ingenious mindgames! They simply are unable to understand that it will be Fergie, and not Rafa, who will be more closely scrutinised because of this Press Conference.
Take it from here.

[CCSC_STRIKER20]

“All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”

-Galileo

[newterp]

best part is on all the call in shows and the comments that appear after articles - all non United fans were supporting Rafa big time.

[usa1950]

Zonal marking from the visiting team coaching staff on all the members of the United Staff while the referees walk in at halftime?

Freaking classic. YNWA Rafa!

[poopoobigelow]

i guess that i don't understand the modern athlete... all of this talk of 'bulletin board material' in american football and 'mind games' in the premier league... does anybody believe that these things make athletes and/or teams perform at a different level?...

two cases:

rafa calling out drogba for being a diving, mincing, softie before last year's CL tie at stamford bridge... everyone talked about it as rafa 'waking a sleeping giant' and 'poking a big dog with a stick' and so on... he played really well... but i don't believe he played any better/harder because of what rafa said... rafa himself answered the critics that suggested this to him by saying that if reaching a european cup final isn't motivation enough for drogba to play hard, nothing he could say could affect him...

a more recent example in the US is the comment that an OU player said that tim tebow would only be the fourth or fifth best QB in the big 12.. the press said that this was 'bulletin board material' for tebow and the the OU defense would pay the price... again, tebow played great, but no one can convince me that he would have played any different without the comment... why play sports at all when you can't get yourself up for a ncaa title time? or a premier league title race, for that matter?

when i play sports -- pickup soccer or basketball -- i want to be the best player out there, i want to win and i want to destroy the opposition... and these are pickup games... i don't need motivation from anything or anybody... why would a professional or collegiate athlete need anymore than me? especially when they've been nurturing their competitiveness from the moment they could play, and actually have titles, accolades and money to play for?

as much as i liked seeing rafa responding so strongly to fergie, i really don't think that it matters one bit to our title challenge... this isn't the day we lost the title, as the manc board is saying, nor is this the day that rafa gets one over on fergie... let's beat stoke tomorrow, let's worry about fergie and the mancs when we play them again, and let the press blow this all out of proportion...

[Matt Clark]

rafa calling out drogba for being a diving, mincing, softie before last year's CL tie at stamford bridge... everyone talked about it as rafa 'waking a sleeping giant' and 'poking a big dog with a stick' and so on... he played really well... but i don't believe he played any better/harder because of what rafa said
Drogba's goal celebrations that night suggested otherwise ...

as much as i liked seeing rafa responding so strongly to fergie, i really don't think that it matters one bit to our title challenge... this isn't the day we lost the title, as the manc board is saying, nor is this the day that rafa gets one over on fergie... let's beat stoke tomorrow, let's worry about fergie and the mancs when we play them again, and let the press blow this all out of proportion...
That's what bugs me about all this. Call me a fusty old traditionalist, but I liked it when this club was known for keeping its affairs to itself and letting other people do opinions.

I don't have a high enough dumb******** tolerance to go to any United board unless I have to, but it was obvious from the start that this would be played as some sort of Keegan-esque meltdown, rather than the forensic dismantling of Demento's latest whinges that it actually was. And the most tedious thing about that, as I've already said, is that it's more fuel for the preposterous delusions that exist about Ferguson and his "mind-games". The man's about as obvious and banal as it gets in such matters, his reputation is not so much ill-deserved as fraudulent. Mourinho regularly ran rings around him, Wenger's cool disdain was usually a match for anything he spluttered forth and I can think of no other manager, bar Keegan, who bothered to entertain his ramblings at all.

All of which means we gain nothing other than some chuckles over undeniably cool lines by Rafa from all of this. We've got one of our trickiest away games of the season this afternoon, made all the more significant by the game tomorrow between United and Chelsea.

Everything Rafa said was true. But helpful, useful, worth it?

Nope.

[Tony Dellbird]

All I can say is hook line and sinker. Rafa didn't need to do that and probably shouldn't have. The moral high ground is well and truly gone.

"I'd love it if we beat them, love it."

[revelationx]

But helpful, useful,[/B] worth it?

Nope.

That remains to be seen. Will Fergie and the officials change their behaviour now that this issue is in the public spotlight?

[blanconi]

"Rafa Benitez has articulated what referees have been thinking for years - that Sir Alex Ferguson can say what he wants about them and the FA will allow him to get away with it,"
-Graham Poll

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_4773786,00.html

[newterp]

All I can say is hook line and sinker. Rafa didn't need to do that and probably shouldn't have. The moral high ground is well and truly gone.

"I'd love it if we beat them, love it."


Of course you'd say that because you hate Rafa for calling your team a small club. Yet other Evertonians agreed with Rafa and put aside their hate.

And quoting Keegan shows that you either 1) didn't watch the video, or 2) you watched it, ignored it as expected, and then decided you'd spout off anyway.

Lastly - you might want to tell Graham Poll that he also bought it hook line and sinker for agreeing with Rafa.

[Grinners89]

Of course you'd say that because you hate Rafa for calling your team a small club. Yet other Evertonians agreed with Rafa and put aside their hate.

And quoting Keegan shows that you either 1) didn't watch the video, or 2) you watched it, ignored it as expected, and then decided you'd spout off anyway.

Lastly - you might want to tell Graham Poll that he also bought it hook line and sinker for agreeing with Rafa.

Exactly. Graham Poll's reaction is exactly what Rafa wouldve wanted to see.

[Tony Dellbird]

Of course you'd say that because you hate Rafa for calling your team a small club. Yet other Evertonians agreed with Rafa and put aside their hate.

And quoting Keegan shows that you either 1) didn't watch the video, or 2) you watched it, ignored it as expected, and then decided you'd spout off anyway.

Lastly - you might want to tell Graham Poll that he also bought it hook line and sinker for agreeing with Rafa.

I don't hate Rafa, cos I don't know Rafa. Do you?

I watched the video, all I can say is it is best not to reply to obvious mind games, look what it did to Keegan? I think Rafa would have done well to just ignore what it was that SAF said given his track record, it was pointless him speaking out about it. All he has done is set himself up for a fall if Liverpool do fade away.

There's no anti Liverpool hatred in these posts of mine, so just ignore the little bit of writing on the left and read my post yeah?

[Grinners89]

I don't hate Rafa, cos I don't know Rafa. Do you?

I watched the video, all I can say is it is best not to reply to obvious mind games, look what it did to Keegan? I think Rafa would have done well to just ignore what it was that SAF said given his track record, it was pointless him speaking out about it. All he has done is set himself up for a fall if Liverpool do fade away.

There's no anti Liverpool hatred in these posts of mine, so just ignore the little bit of writing on the left and read my post yeah?

Rafa and everyone else, surely you are included, are sick of SARN getting away with intimidating the referees. Rafa was very good during the press conference, while SARN has never been good at mind games.

[Kawklee]

grinners, Im adopting your sig as well :D

[Grinners89]

grinners, Im adopting your sig as well :D

You cant do that!

You have to be original!

[Matt Clark]

That remains to be seen. Will Fergie and the officials change their behaviour now that this issue is in the public spotlight?
How's it go?

"Something something no hope, something something and slim just left town"

[usscouse]

I don't hate Rafa, cos I don't know Rafa. Do you?
Comprehension!

I watched the video, all I can say is it is best not to reply to obvious mind games, look what it did to Keegan? I think Rafa would have done well to just ignore what it was that SAF said given his track record, it was pointless him speaking out about it. All he has done is set himself up for a fall if Liverpool do fade away.
You watched the video and you still compare Rafa's calm layout of the facts with Keegan's emotional outburst of a totally different subject. Not only that but the FA are going to have to respond, especially in light of the referee's comments.

There's no anti Liverpool hatred in these posts of mine, so just ignore the little bit of writing on the left and read my post yeah?
I read you posts and the drivel they contain. Hard to ignore them, hard as I try.
You're not the troll you were, you've learnt to be a little more subtle on how and where you stick your pins. You are very anti-Liverpool and not as clever as you think.

[Tony Dellbird]

Comprehension!You watched the video and you still compare Rafa's calm layout of the facts with Keegan's emotional outburst of a totally different subject. Not only that but the FA are going to have to respond, especially in light of the referee's comments.
I read you posts and the drivel they contain. Hard to ignore them, hard as I try.
You're not the troll you were, you've learnt to be a little more subtle on how and where you stick your pins. You are very anti-Liverpool and not as clever as you think.

I come in peace. Jamie Carragher just admitted that Man Utd are a bigger club than Liverpool though?