Post categories:
Premier League
Phil McNulty
Sir Alex Ferguson - on the rare occasions when
Manchester United have been denied the Premier League title - has
traditionally written a letter of congratulation to the victorious
manager.
And
when Rafael Benitez led Liverpool to
Champions League success against AC Milan in Istanbul in 2005,
Ferguson was again prepared to put pen to paper.
It is hardly a major feat of deduction to guess that Benitez
will not be moved to prose in praise of Ferguson after United
equalled Liverpool's tally of 18 titles.
If he could not bring himself to utter verbal congratulations to
Ferguson when pressed at The Hawthorns on Sunday, Benitez is
unlikely to put it down in writing.
He was prepared to salute Manchester
United but made a point of not congratulating Ferguson -
putting the latest coating of acrimony on a soured relationship
between the pair.
The problem Benitez has here is two-fold. Firstly, even though
Ferguson will be supremely indifferent as to whether he receives
bouquets from Liverpool's manager or not, it makes his Anfield
counterpart look petty and a bitterly sore loser.
It also came hard on the heels of
Benitez's questionable claim that United may not actually be the
best team in the Premier League - they simply won more points than
anyone else.
Secondly, and more importantly, the man who holds the trophies
wins the arguments and Ferguson has beaten Benitez hands down by
securing a third successive title.
Benitez's lack of affection for Ferguson is painfully obvious
and placed in certain contexts understandable.
There must be a measure of sympathy
after what had every appearance of collusion between Manchester
United's manager and Sam Allardyce in the recent "gesturegate" row
that farcically suggested Benitez had shown Blackburn Rovers a lack
of respect at Anfield.
And he certainly should not be expected to be subservient
towards Ferguson. Liverpool's manager rightly feels it is more
important to fight Anfield's corner than cosy up to Old Trafford's
overlord.
But Benitez started a dangerous game when he delivered his
carefully considered - definitely not a rant - attack against
Ferguson's conduct towards referees, the FA's Respect campaign and
fixture lists.
I spoke to Benitez at Stoke 24 hours after that outspoken attack
on Ferguson, and to say he was spectacularly unrepentant is a
masterpiece of understatement.
He was even moved to suggest, with an
air of real belief in his words, that Ferguson was "a little bit
scared" that Liverpool were table-toppers at that time.
Brave - but ill-advised.
Sadly for Benitez, it also came after the sort of lifeless goalless
draw that was to eventually become a significant factor
in Benitez losing a title he simply had to win once he decided to
throw down the gauntlet to Ferguson.
It was also provoked by what was, by Ferguson's standards, a
fairly routine jab about the possibility of Liverpool getting
nervous in the closing stages of the title race.
Benitez would not have enjoyed congratulating Ferguson.
He would have hated it, but he should have swallowed hard and done
it. It would have been the gracious thing to do and would have
avoided
the headlines that greeted
him on Monday.
The latest outbreak of rancour also removed some focus from
Liverpool's own outstanding development in the last three months,
which can rightly bring huge satisfaction for Benitez and be the
source of genuine optimism for next season.
Benitez is famously single-minded tactically and applies tunnel
vision to his pursuit of success - he must now apply those same
qualities to his relationship with Ferguson.
He must put an end to what is in danger of becoming an unhealthy
sideshow, a sideshow that is currently benefiting only one man. And
that man is not Benitez.
Benitez must blank everything Ferguson says and does from his
mind and concentrate every fibre solely on Liverpool. He must
somehow ensure that Manchester United become almost meaningless to
him rather than developing an obsession with Old Trafford.
Easier said than done, but there is no mileage in taking on the
master at his own game.
Ferguson is football's streetfighter, preying on any sign of
vulnerablity and Benitez's original verbal jousting appeared to
concentrate the minds of all at Manchester United at a crucial
point in the season.
Benitez has assembled a team, if not quite a squad, that is
capable of building on their progression this season and making a
serious attempt to win the Premier League next season.
Liverpool can have no guarantees because Ferguson will have
carefully noted their development, but if they maintain the
positive attacking approach sparked by
the 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid in the Champions League
and keep Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres fit, they will be even
more dangerous opponents for United next season.
This is the best way for Benitez to fight Ferguson - and the
only way in which he can win his arguments with the all-conquering
Scot.
