'They're not a Premier League winning side. They don't have the mentality to win that.'The words of Sam Allardyce. Who's he speaking about? Any team that he's ever managed? He could be, but no, Allardyce is talking about Liverpool, and goes on to say that:
'Rafa Benitez would be very lucky to be in a job if he hadn't got to two Champions League Finals, because they've had some very, very poor finishes in the Premier League.'
So basically, this manager is lucky to still be working because he's only guided his team to two finals of the biggest competition in the world in the past three years. He's lucky to have masterminded an astonishing victory in 2005 with players of the calibre of Antonio Nunez, Josemi, Igor Biscan and Anthony Le Tallec to work with. He's lucky to have won the FA Cup, qualified for the Champions League every year and started this season with a swagger and style that has the look of champions about it. Oh, and those 'very, very poor' finishes? Fifth, third and third. Not great, but better than 'Big Sam' has ever done.
In Allardyce's world, Rafa Benitez shouldn't be managing Liverpool. He probably thinks he should be.
Because that is what this latest attack is about. Jealousy. Allardyce thinks he deserves a crack at a top four club because he shouts a lot and got Bolton up the league ladder by using that revolutionary tactic of kicking people and elbowing them in the head.
He thought he should have been England manager too, and despite getting all of his mates in the media to basically try and pimp him out to the FA for the best part of six months, they still preferred a quieter bloke who won't win them anything, but will probably save them money on pies in the long run.
He is now at Newcastle, possibly the only club in the world who consider themselves great just because they have a big ground. Their fans have nothing to sing about other than themselves, every song has the word Geordie in it, and they've been getting away with their own self-satisfied smugness for a while now. The perfect job for him then.
This attack of course is in response to Liverpool's goalless draw at Portsmouth, a result that saw Rafa's boys go from title certainties to no-hopers. Benitez changed his team and didn't win, so obviously he's hopeless isn't he? The result was just another excuse for rent-a-quotes like Allardyce like stick the boot in.
Compare Allardyce and Benitez and you see just why clubs prefer foreign managers. Big Sam can go on complaining about everything and claiming he could do a better job for as long as he wants. Rafa will just stick to the trickier business of winning trophies.
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