Vote: Rafa says Liverpool are a better side than Manchester Utd – is he right?
Señor Benitez cranks up the mind games
The day before Manchester Utd and Howard Webb beat Tottenham at Old Trafford, Rafa Benitez made it clear that he wished to rise above his battle of words with Sir Alex Ferguson. To do this, he continued the battle of words:
“I’m not having a battle of words with Alex Ferguson, but I believe that he can see that we are the better side, and that we are very close to United.
“He has been accustomed to playing these types of mind games for many years.
“Nobody has ever said anything against him, or stood up to him, as he has a very good team that can win trophies.
“I did not say that he seems frightened. But I said that he looks nervous, as he can see that we are very close to his team.”
After both sides claimed a convincing three points at the weekend, Rafa was typically defiant, implying that his Manchester rivals could slip up in the next few games (“If we keep winning I think maybe they will feel the pressure”).
Liverpool have had the better of the head-to-head encounters between the sides this season, however Fergie’s men are more consistent, and arguably less inclined to crack during squeaky bum time. So, is Rafa right to say he has a better side than Mr Ferguson, or do his mind games need a little bit of work? Let us know your thoughts below…
11 responses so far
AL // April 27, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Take out Torres and Gerrard and Liverpool have a very average team. Plus they are on track to win absolutely nothing this year…i think the less Rafa says at the moment the better
xile // April 27, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Take out Rooney and Ronaldo and Man Yoo will fire blanks all day long. Liverpool have proven that they can win games/score goals without either Gerrard or Torres or both (ie. Liverpool vs Man Yoo & Chelsea vs Liverpool). Plus Utd have already been beaten by Liverpool twice this season, and conceded 6 goals in the process!
tim // April 27, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Yes he’s right. liverpool are the better side this season
Sir Alex Fergurson // April 27, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Rafa is a wanker… They are close to my boys… and it’s as close as they are going to get; daft Spanish prick.
Now I need to go, Howard Webb is here to suck my dick…..
Maik // April 27, 2009 at 3:45 pm
A season consists of 38 games, not 2. And being “very close” has never been the same as “better”. Win it and then you’re the best.
f1sh // April 27, 2009 at 4:08 pm
unless I’m mistaken, table says otherwise. And also Man Utd won the League cup and still in Champions League.
Now, I’m not Man Utd fan or anything but I find those statements amusing to say the least. It would be the same if Huande Ramos said during an interview that Real Madrid are better than Barcelona this season.
If Liverpool can only bother playing against Man utd then this doesn’t show that they are a better side. U need to win games against Stokes and West Broms as well as against top teams.
Andrew // April 27, 2009 at 5:26 pm
That depends on your definition of side. United have lots of depth (few stars to push them), and are a side that actually wins trophies. If you count Rafa as being part of the side, then no, they aren’t better.
Lose Rafa, addition by subtraction.
Redman // April 27, 2009 at 6:16 pm
The league table doesnt lie. Utd are top and that says it all. Utd are also in the champions league semi final, made the FA cup semi final, and have won the carling cup.
UTD also play much more attractive football, ask any football fan outside of these 2 clubs which team they would like to watch more, and everyone will say Man Utd.
Liverpool are a two man team, and we will see how they cope when their captain is behind bars!
abc // April 28, 2009 at 4:20 am
Might as well make this a:
Are you a fan of:
Liverpool
Manchester Untied
Vote.
Why isn’t there a neither option?
Ryan Bailey // April 28, 2009 at 7:21 am
You don’t have to be a fan of either team to have an opinion on which is the better side, abc.
Phil Down - the voice of reason // April 28, 2009 at 8:31 am
After listening to many Spaniards speaking English through work I suspect what he meant when he said “he can see that we are the better side, and that we are very close to United.”
Should have been “he can see that we are a better side, and that we are very close to United.” to a native English speaker ie not old red nose.
This makes much more sense as he’s saying the gap is closing between the two teams and now Fergie is worried. This is backed up by the 2nd part of the sentence when he says we are very close to Utd.
Please now argue about something more interesting than the language of someone still learning English.
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