Rafa Benitez's Real Madrid could be bad news for Raul

25 February 2009 11:54
16.00 THE HEADLINES AT THE END OF THE DAY[LNB]Jose Mourinho said: 'When we go [to Old Trafford] we will not have the same referee. If we have another referee that gives so much protection to the away team, then it will be us who go to the quarter-finals. Everything was against us, every little detail. You watch how many free-kicks they had and we had. The way we got yellow cards and they did not. I think the tendency was clear. Hopefully in the next game the referee will be on our side.'[LNB]Uefa said: 'There will be no action taken.'[LNB]--[LNB]Liverpool have warmed up for their match against Real Madrid tonight in what is now becoming their traditional style – a bit of off-field hullabaloo involving everyone's favourite Spanish curmudgeon, Rafa the Gaffa.[LNB]Rumours spread today that the big man was all set to do one and the bookies even stopped taking bets on him leaving by the start of next season. The club have dismissed it as all a bit of stuff and nonsense and claim it is business as usual. Which either means get ready for a dour, workmanlike 0-0 in the Bernabeu or more tomfoolery involving Benitez and his contract negotiations. Or both, probably.[LNB]Read more on the build up to tonight's match in Madrid here...[LNB][LNB]And actually follow the action in words and numbers here from 7.30 if you can't get to a telly[LNB][LNB]--[LNB]And if Chelsea think that Guus Hiddink has waved a wand and made everything all right again at Chelsea, Carvalho De Oliveira Amauri is coming tonight to disabuse them of that notion.[LNB]Read more on the build up to tonight's match in London here...[LNB][LNB]--[LNB]15.00 THE HEADLINES THIS HOUR [LNB]The Liverpool soap opera, becoming stilted and a little dull, has fallen back on an age old tactic. Take the same principle characters and send them on a foreign holiday – with hilarious and dramatic consequences. [LNB]The 'Reds in Madrid' special sees brooding malcontent Rafa Benitez edge towards the door marked 'This was Anfield', the bookies stop taking bets on him going and all at the home of the club that would have him next season if he was available. You couldn't make it up. [LNB]Read more on Liverpool's gubbing at the hands of in form Real Madrid here...[LNB][LNB]Les Ferdinand has backed Robbie Keane to come good again at Spurs. Which is effectively backing himself, what with Sir Les a casual striking coach at White Hart Lane these days. [LNB]Read more here...[LNB][LNB]And Cristiano Ronaldo isn't worried about a wasted opportunity in San Siro to put Manchester United's tie with Inter Milan to bed inside 30 minutes the other night. Not one bit. [LNB]He reckons more of the same at Old Trafford and United will be just fine. 'I know we didn't score but if we play like that in the second leg, I think we will win,' he said, neglecting to add that, actually, being a touch more accurate in front of goal might make things a whole lot easier. [LNB]-- [LNB]14.00 THE HEADLINES THIS HOUR[LNB]Liverpool's suits have said "nothing has changed" about Rafa Benitez's future. So he's still leaving then... [LNB]David Norris - the Ipswich player who made a "handcuffs" to his jailed friend Luke McCormick, the car-crash killer - has himself been prosecuted for a driving offence. Norris was fined £400 after admitting driving while using a mobile phone. So if Ipswich players start making "call me" gestures on Saturday, you'll know what they're up to... [LNB]And Jose Mourinho could be drinking alone at Old Trafford next month with Uefa set ban him from the touchline. At least it'll save Jose's dry cleaning bill after his knee-slide antics of yore... [LNB]--[LNB]13.20 [LNB]Bobble hats and laundry baskets could be in demand at Old Trafford in two weeks' time after the news that Jose Mourinho is facing a touchline ban. [LNB]"We are looking into Mr Mourinho's after-match statements," said a Uefa official, after Mourinho said: "Maybe in the second game we will have a referee who is on our side." Surely he means "a referee who is neutral". Okay, perhaps not... [LNB]But Mourinho is far too canny to let a touchline ban stop him. This is the man, remember, who famously hid in the kit trolley to avoid Uefa detection when banned from contacting his players during the Champions League tie with Bayern Munich in 2006. Mourinho had planned to share an expensive bottle of Red with Fergie at Old Trafford, but the thought of having to climb into a skip of sweaty socks to crack open a decent Barolo is unlikely to appeal... [LNB]--[LNB]13.00 THE HEADLINES THIS HOUR [LNB]All bets are off over Rafa Benitez's Liverpool future, with bookies expecting him out by the weekend. A series of major wagers has seen odds on Benitez leaving slashed from 20/1 last night to evens this morning. So is it "fact"? Or have clever Real Madrid fans have piled money on Benitez leaving Anfield - thereby totally screwing Liverpool's plans for tonight's game. If so, they may benefit in the short-term. But if they then get Benitez as their next manager, can that be considered a success? [LNB]Ricardo Fuller has been arrested for driving offences and will be quizzed by Staffordshire police today. [LNB]And Jose Mourinho says he left a £300 bottle of wine in Alex Ferguson's hotel room with a note suggesting they meet in private in Manchester. Make of that what you will... [LNB]--[LNB]12.50 [LNB]Raul says he wants to retire in 2011. "It's a difficult situation because in reality you always want to go when you're at the top. In this moment, I've marked the date as 2011," said Raul, who may now have to bring that date forward if Rafa Benitez is to be his new manager... [LNB]--[LNB]12.40[LNB]Rafa – is it all over? Tell us the facts! [LNB]No news from Liverpool yet, but a William Hill spokesman has said: 'We would be very rich surprised if Rafa is still the Liverpool boss by midnight on Sunday.'[LNB]The haste with which this is all happening is reflected in the rapidly assembled list of odds for Liverpool's next permanent manager - Kenny Dalglish is the 3/1 favourite. [LNB]--[LNB]12.10 [LNB]Woah there!!! [LNB]Literally seconds after the Bung spewed out more glib guff about Rafa taking over at Real in the summer, global bookmakers spun into a frenzy, suspending all markets on Benitez staying at Anfield beyond the summer. [LNB]Paddy Power have even taken a number of bets at 50/1 that Benitez will leave his post today. You read it here first!* (*actually, if you did read it here first, then went and lumped money on, then I have to tell you that this morning's Bung was not what Rafa would recognise as "fact". But, y'know, seems like it might happen)[LNB]Right, time to think up other ways to use this mischievous power... [LNB]–[LNB][LNB]12.00 THE HEADLINES THIS HOUR[LNB]Jose Mourinho has revealed the existence of a 'special dugout' which takes him straight into the Inter dressing rooms, and also navigates normal protocol like shaking hands with opposition managers. [LNB]Read more here...[LNB][LNB]Michael Dawson will miss the Carling Cup final after falling victim to the scarcely believable coincidence of Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate being fit for the same game. [LNB]And Sam Allardyce was in wistful mood after Blackburn lost to Coventry in the FA Cup. 'I'm always down when another dream drifts by,' crooned the big man. I'm welling up… [LNB]–[LNB]RAUL, YOU'RE ON THE BENCH[LNB]'Raul was in the Atletico Madrid youth team when I decided to sign him for Madrid,' said Rafa Benitez yesterday, perhaps trying to remind Liverpool's owners that there was a time – long ago – when he had an eye for a player. [LNB]In reality though, it appears Benitez has already decided that enough is enough at Anfield. And according to some, that makes the two-legged tie with Real Madrid a job interview. [LNB]Recent form may suggest Benitez has been far too successful in England to be considered for the Bernabeu job. [LNB]Juande Ramos, you'll remember, wasn't exactly a managerial God at Spurs before coaching the world's biggest club ™ and West Ham, it is fair to say, have coped without Julian Faubert. [LNB]But if Rafa did return to Real, what would that mean for Los Merengues? [LNB]Would he put up with Raul's lack of Kuyt-like application? After all, apart from 308 goals, what has Raul ever brought to the team? [LNB]How would he cope without having the local lingo as a convenient safety net every time he puts his foot in it? [LNB]If he can't stand Liverpool's owners controlling his transfer policy how would he put up with Madrid blowing his entire budget on Cristiano Ronaldo when Rafa wanted to a team of Carraghers? [LNB]And instead of being the underdog, how would Rafa react when other managers are compiling dossiers of 'facts' about Madrid getting their own way? [LNB]–[LNB]BAD LUCK AND TROUBLE[LNB]Gary O'Neil (cars keys left in Ferrari ignition) must have thought he had today's Footballing Numpty Award tucked safely in the glove compartment of the rented Vauxhall Corsa his insurance company are providing him with. But that was before the strange case of Kolo and Bill. [LNB]The days when Arsenal's central backs were stout, violent and dependable figures are clearly gone. But last night was something else, as the Gunners started the second half with neither Gallas nor Toure on the pitch. [LNB]Toure, you see, has a superstition about entering the field before the rest of his team-mates. Which is fine at kick-off, but became a major problem when Gallas needed treatment after half-time and stayed in the dressing room. [LNB]Unwilling to break his habit (which has contributed to Kolo winning, er, absolutely nothing in the last four years) Toure waited until his buddy was ready before running on himself. [LNB] "I'm always the one that comes last on the pitch and so I was waiting for William," explained Kol. "When I came on I didn't know I couldn't come on straight away. But the good news is that I've learned another ruling, so that is great." [LNB]Gary, enjoy the Corsa, and better look next time with the award thing. [LNB]

Source: Telegraph