Source: Daily_Mail
Liverpool reignite feud over Benitez's behaviour with attack on Blackburn boss Allardyce
Sammy Lee has poured scorn on Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce's claim that he was humiliated at Anfield a week last Saturday by telling him: 'Why didn't you mention anything about it when we had a drink afterwards?'
An indignant Allardyce took Rafa Benitez to task for a touchline gesture that followed Liverpool's second goal, by Fernando Torres, in a crushing 4-0 win over relegation-threatened Blackburn.
In what appeared to be a co-ordinated attack, Allardyce and Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson both marked their Friday morning press conferences by interpreting the gesture as a 'game over' signal to the Blackburn bench and branding Benitez 'arrogant' .
Though reluctant to go on the record, Benitez refuted the claims and indicated he was poking fun at himself over the way Xabi Alonso took responsibility for a free-kick, as he stood over it with Emiliano Insua, and set up Torres for a close-range header.
Benitez had sent out different instructions and, according to senior Anfield sources, waved his arms as if to say: 'What do I know?'
As he prepared for tomorrow's home game with Arsenal, assistant-manager Lee not only endorsed Benitez's account but questioned the validity of his one-time Bolton boss Allardyce's story as he revealed how they had a lengthy chat in the immediate aftermath.
'I am surprised he never mentioned anything about it when the two of us had a drink after the game,' he said. 'I'm fairly sure that if anyone felt that strongly about something, they would have brought it up at the time, but there wasn't a single word.
'That surprised me more than anything, to be honest. We all knew, there and then, what the gesture was all about. It concerned something we thought should be done out on the pitch but wasn't. It still resulted in a goal, so, naturally enough, there were a few smiles.
'Rafa is not arrogant, I can tell you, and any gesticulating by the side of the pitch from anyone connected with the Liverpool coaching staff is intended for our players,. no-one else. I find it all quite sad, really, because we just want to get on with our jobs here and not worry about what anyone else is saying.'
