Source: Daily_Mail
Ian Ridley: Luck can't last for Liverpool's arrogant Rafael Benitez
Rafael Benitez is a lucky man. He is lucky that Liverpool's nextopponents are Portsmouth at home tomorrow night and lucky that hisside's defeat in Lille last Thursday was not heavier. [LNB]Lucky, too, thatso few take any interest in the Europa League, especially afterglorious midweeks for Arsenal and Manchester United.[LNB] The Liverpool manager is also lucky that distaste among the Anfieldsupport for the owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, continues todivert attention from his dull tactics and ordinary team. And when itdoesn't, as Sam Allardyce noted (though the Blackburn manager also hashis own deflective moments, mainly based on the use of statistics),then he has a go at the opposition. [LNB] Arrogant: Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez during the Europe League match against Lille[LNB]How lucky, on top, is Benitez that noises from Spain suggest that RealMadrid might want him to replace Manuel Pellegrini as head coach fornext season? You don't know who might be putting that rumour about,mind, and how close to Benitez they are. There might be some logic,since Real need some pragmatism and expertise in Europe, which frontseems to concern Benitez more than domestic matters..[LNB] More from Ian Ridley - Mail on Sunday Sports Reporter... Ian Ridley: My Football week - We can help stop a Ramsey repeat06/03/10 IAN RIDLEY: My Football week - Glazers are facing the gold shoulder27/02/10 IAN RIDLEY: From Ashley Cole's pants to Sven Goran Eriksson's next job... my plan for football20/02/10 The lesson of Pompey: A football club is no place for any ego trip13/02/10 IAN RIDLEY: Now John Terry can focus on the real game, not the blame game06/02/10 Ian Ridley: Football is fiddling while the finances go up in smoke30/01/10 IAN RIDLEY: Forget Neville and Tevez, cocky Cook is the real villain here23/01/10 Ian Ridley: Steven Gerrard must stick or twist at Liverpool as Rafa Benitez wavers on the brink16/01/10 IAN RIDLEY: After Togo shooting, let players decide if they go to World Cup09/01/10 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE Above all, he is lucky to have such a patient and loyal set of fans as Liverpool's. [LNB]Saddo that I am, I tuned in to Liverpool's TV station after the defeat at Wigan last Monday. One caller to the phone-in said this was the final straw, he had had enough. Mind you, he added, you had to back Rafa and keep supporting the team, didn't you?[LNB] It echoed the words of the Scouse comedian John Bishop: watching the Reds at the moment, he said, reminded him of being a kid at a Catholic wedding: you weren't happy about it but you were stuck there. [LNB]Thankfully among Liverpool's knowledgeable support, there remains a dignity and fairness towards their own that is rare in these shoutybags fans' forum days. They still await 20million quid's worth of Alberto Aquilani riding to the rescue. They want to wait and see what happens for the rest of this season. [LNB] They could be in for a shock. Lille have great pace on the break and,you suspect, will enjoy Anfield on Thursday. If anyone is taking anynotice after Chelsea v Inter Milan and the return of Jose Mourinho toStamford Bridge, that is.[LNB] No easy task: Liverpools Jose Reina will need to be in good form for Liverpool's second-leg match against Lille[LNB]Defeat by the French, and slipping up further amid the challenge from Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa - even Everton - for the fourth Champions League place, will surely see Anfield turn, as it eventually did on Gerard Houllier, even if without the bile of some less reverent arenas. [LNB]With his excuses (just how was the Lille pitch to blame for the goal when no defender attacked the incoming free-kick?) and the arrogance of his words as he refuses to answer the questions put to him, Benitez often does not deserve the indulgence he receives and should be more grateful for it. [LNB]Benitez had better not bank on apathy this week. [LNB] [LNB]Dying clubs will teach the game a valuable lesson With Portsmouth's on-going financial woes and David Beckham's apparent endorsement of the green-and-gold protest at Manchester United, the sad demise of two clubs almost went unnoticed. [LNB]Actually, the closures of Chester City and Farsley Celtic may be no bad thing. Chester, under owner Stephen Vaughan, racked up frightening debt. [LNB]Farsley overstretched by forking out to reach the Conference Premier instead of growing the club organically. [LNB]Their manager Neil Parsley may well blame 'people who sit in offices with flash cars, big fat salaries and posh ties on and don't know the emotions that are involved', but you don't often hear managers complaining when they persuade chairmen to meet the wage demands of players they want. [LNB]Now two new clubs representing their communities will spring up, having learned lessons, properly run by fans and - like Aldershot, perhaps - work their way up the game's pyramid. Torres ready to quit Liverpool: Dismal season forces striker to ponder futureLIVERPOOL v Portsmouth: Yossi Benayoun a fitness doubt for Rafa BenitezLille 1 Liverpool 0: It goes from bad to worse for Rafa Benitez as Eden Hazard makes mincemeat of Reds in Europa League Pompey chief Storrie wanted preferential treatment for agent involved in his tax case defenceLIVERPOOL FC
