Source: Telegraph
Liverpool's Rafa Benitez is still Mr Angry
13.30 [LNB]Great stuff from Niklas Bendtner today, who - perhaps unsurprisingly for one who wears pink boots - is not lacking in confidence.[LNB]"I should start every game," chirped Nik. "I should be playing every minute of every match and always be in the team."[LNB]Bendtner also not scared of losing his place to new signing Andrey Arshavin, blasting "I've never seen Arshavin. I've got no idea what sort of player he is. I did not watch Euro 2008." [LNB]Well, Nik, might be able to help you out there. Because having watched Euro 2008, it's clear Arshavin is the "sort of player" who has touch, pace, vision and can score goals. So not your "sort of player" at all... [LNB]--[LNB]13.15 [LNB]The true cost of sacking so many managers has been revealed by a report which claims Roman Abramovich has lost $9 BILLION in the last year. I knew Avram Grant's pay-off was big, but crikey.... [LNB]--[LNB]13.00 THE BUNG AT ONE [LNB]Quote of the day: "I've got 12 assistants whose contracts are up in June," Rafa Benitez reveals that Liverpool's jobless numbers are about to rocket this summer. And 12 assistants? Who is he, Madonna?? [LNB]Bet of the day: Arsenal v Cardiff. Half-time result: Draw @11/8. [LNB]Must read: Alan Hansen on Chelsea's need for stability.[LNB][LNB]Must watch: Wayne Rooney gets nutmegged by a kid. Rio Ferdinand is a kid.[LNB] [LNB]--[LNB]12.20 [LNB]Clearly sick of jumping to the tune of megalomaniac oil billionaires, former Chelsea boss Felipe Scolari is set to take over as Saudi Arabia's new coach. If Scolari takes the job, he will become Saudi's 20th coach since 1994... [LNB]--[LNB]12.00 THE HEADLINES THIS HOUR[LNB]Robbie Savage + Cristiano Ronaldo + millionaire professionals spitting at each other = why people watch rugby. [LNB]Read more here….[LNB][LNB]Juande Ramos has revealed that Royston Drenthe has dropped himself from Real Madrid's squad after getting booed by the Bernabeu fans. Ramos admitted Drenthe has been allowed to stay at home because of the amount of abuse he receives, a tactic the Bung might use to get next weekend off. [LNB]And David Beckham has resorted to increasingly desperate tactics to stay in Milan – now claiming that soccer in the US will become huge even without him there. Which kind of makes you question why LA Galaxy are paying him £25 million a year… [LNB]– [LNB]Rafa is dead. Fact. [LNB]Is there a more unhappy man in football than Rafa Benitez? [LNB]From ranting at Alex Ferguson, riling and the Premier League, rumbling with his bosses, then rowing with Robbie Keane, it seems Rafa's rage knows no bounds this season. And with every passing week the perception of a thoroughly p****d off man becomes ever sharper. It can't just be the kidney stones. [LNB]Benitez has now outlasted three Chelsea managers (Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant both being ousted despite more successful records), but he still reckons he's the Premier League's must put-upon gaffer. [LNB] "Chelsea must have spent £500 million in the last five years. We have built a team but economically we are way below them and yet we have still managed to compete with them. In the five years I have been here I have spent less than £40 million on Fernando Torres and Robbie Keane. How are we supposed to compete with them?' [LNB]But it's not just Chelsea that have Rafa raging today. His contract row is looking ever more likely to run right until the end of the season, particularly with Benitez willing to throw Real Madrid's name into the mix… [LNB]'Anyone that has just a year left on his contract does not have anything at all and I have only got a year and a half left," said Benitez. "When people, either within the club or from outside it, realise that the manager only has that much time left then he is dead. [LNB] "I've got 10 or 12 assistants whose contracts are up in June. How can a manager lead a project properly if the continuity of his staff is not secure for two or three years?' [LNB] "I am not thinking about leaving and I hope to be here for a long time but of course Real Madrid would be the perfect ending to anyone's career," he said. "But my career is not at an end yet." [LNB]Then just for good measure, Benitez signs off his interview with AS by renewing his attack on his favourite foe: 'Alex Ferguson controls everything here in England. The facts are indisputable. And given that he started talking about Liverpool I had to respond.' [LNB]Can Benitez really win all of those fights? [LNB]–[LNB]
