Alex Ferguson showed arrogance and contempt for the FA Cup

Some men, through their deeds, are untouchable in the press. Winston Churchill achieved it after the Second World War. Bill Clinton seemed to don a Teflon skin in his near impeachment of the 1990s.

And now, it seems, Alex Ferguson has joined this elite group.

It is still early days following the Manchester United elimination from the FA Cup, but articles criticising the pugnacious Scot are few and far between. However, his conduct in the week preceding the match, and his example set during it, surely has to come under scrutiny.

Two weeks ago, Ferguson questioned Rafa Benitez's logic in bringing up Manchester United in a prematch meeting with the press before the European tie with Chelsea. He commented, "He's got a European tie (against Chelsea) and he's talking about Alex Ferguson. Fantastic! I didn't know I was that important!"

He is quick to offer opinion on the actions of others, but it seems he is not so keen on taking his own advice.

Not a week later, he returned the favour by criticising Benitez ahead of Man Utd's cup semi-final against Everton. Fergie refuted a comment made by Benitez two years ago that the Toffees weren't a big club, then called the Reds boss "beyond the pale" in his somewhat ambiguous hand gestures during Liverpool's 4-0 drubbing of Blackburn. An impressive tirade from the master of mind games and a lofty position to take, having alleged that the Liverpool gaffer is arrogant and, to quote the Scot, a man that showed contempt to a fellow manager.

Step forward to Sunday's semi-final in the FA Cup.

A competition steeped in history, but struggling to maintain its former glory. Played at the home of football, Wembley Stadium. Travelled to by thousands of Manchester United fans, each paying in the region of £100 for tickets and travel, before taking into account match day costs at the ground. Playing against a team that Ferguson himself argued was a big club.

Yet, his team selection showed the same arrogance and dismissiveness he accused his bitter rival of during the week. By only selecting two members of the first team, Ferguson showed a complete and utter lack of respect not only to Everton Football Club, but to the FA Cup, the world's oldest footballing competition and a symbol of our nation's game.

Not only that, but it was a slap in the face to his own supporters who had paid a significant sum and travelled many miles to see their best side fight for a place in the showpiece final of English football. What they got was an insipid performance from a youth team that barely warranted the 0-0 scoreline and defamed the occasion.

We all know the arguments that he has to rest players for other competitions. This, however, is not a game that one should rest players for. A semi-final in the Champions League wouldn't and won't get the same treatment, of that you can be sure.

This is not the first time he has tarnished the name of this great competition, either, having famously withdrawn Man Utd from the 1999-2000 cup to play in the World Club Championship, a move that attracted criticism at the time but has since faded into history.

So, was Allardyce really offended by Rafa's hand gestures...?

The Daily Mail has revealed that Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce had a drink with Liverpool No 2 Sammy Lee after his side’s 4-0 defeat at Anfield last weekend without mentioning that he had been offended by a gesture from Rafa Benitez.

The conversation over a couple of beers casts doubt over Allardyce’s claim that he was humiliated by Benitez after Fernando Torres scored Liverpool’s second goal.The Blackburn manager claimed on Friday he had tried to seek out Benitez for an explanation. He said: ‘I was hugely disappointed by those gestures. I think they were disrespectful and quite humiliating. The feeling was that he had written us off. It was open arms and then a crossover of the arms as if to suggest that was it.’

Kenny Dalglish set for Anfield return

Reports suggest Kenny Dalglish may be in line to make a return to Liverpool Football Club just over 18 years after leaving the club.

Anfield boss Rafael Benitez is understood to have sounded out his 58 year old predecessor about joining his staff with a roving brief between the academy, Melwood as well as the first team.

Benitez's recent contract negotiations saw him claim more responsibility over various facets of the club.

Preliminary talks are understood to have gone well. Dalglish has been a long term advocate of the manager and not only his methods but track record.

Benitez is also known to be an admirer of Dalglish as a player not to mention his achievements while in the Anfield hotseat.

If an agreement can be reached it will be the Liverpool legend's first active involvement in football since leaving Celtic where he was a Director of Football as well as interim manager until the summer of 2000.

Rafa's 'crushing machine': The proven way to win arguments and titles

"Valencia were an implacable steamroller. They were like boxers who pinned their opponents to the rope and wouldn't stop until they had annihilated them. The tremendous intensity of their play earned them the nickname 'The Crushing Machine'." Sound familiar...?

Taken from the book 'Rafa Benitez' by Paco Llloret, this quote will resonate with any Liverpool fans who remember the sense of optimism buzzing around the club when it was announced that Rafa was to leave Valencia and become Liverpool's manager.

Senor Benitez had taken on Real Madrid's Galácticos and Barcelona's free-flowing style of football, and lead Valencia to their first league title in thirty one years. Now he was about to take on the task of guiding our club’s future and the hope was that he could do the same for Liverpool.

The key difference is that Valencia had been in two Champions League finals and had a squad already filled with quality. They just needed to apply themselves better, and under Rafa's astute guidance, they did so.

I've done a great deal of homework about Rafa, none more so then when we won the Champions League. I wanted to learn about things such as his childhood and his career as a semi-professional in Spain's second tier.

Grant: Mourinho too arrogant to lead Chelsea to Liverpool victory

Avram Grant took another swipe at Jose Mourinho as he recalled how he led Chelsea to a Champions League victory over Liverpool last season.

"Tactically, Rafa Benitez is very good and that was something Mourinho did not quite appreciate," said Grant, who still hopes to return to the Barclays Premier League.

"He simply thought he was better than Benitez, and because he thought he was better he lost.

"One of Liverpool's great strengths is the way Benitez organises them as a team. They work for each other. But we applied some very simple ideas.

"You have to dominate them. That's the first thing. But we also focused on key areas and, more important, key individuals.

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Benitez rejects Kjaer speculation

Rafa Benitez has dismissed reports that Liverpool are targeting Palermo starlet Simon Kjaer as a replacement for Daniel Agger.

There has been continued speculation over Agger’s future following his apparent reluctance to sign a new deal at Anfield, and reports in Italy have suggested Kjaer, 20, has been lined up as a result. The player’s agent, Mikkel Beck, told setanta.com last month that Kjaer is available for €12 million (£10.9m) this summer, but Benitez insists there is no truth in the rumours.

“I can only say that Simon Kjaer is not on our agenda at the moment,” he told Stadionews24.

“I can say that if Daniel Agger were to leave, we are not planning to bring him in as a replacement.”

Liverpool bag Player and Manager of the Month double for March

Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard and manager Rafa Benitez have landed the Barclays Player and Manager of the Month awards for Match.

Gerrard has become the first player to win his award for the fifth time after starring in emphatic wins over title rivals Manchester United and high-flying Aston Villa.

Gerrard was at his inspirational best over the course of the month, setting up David Ngog’s opener in the 2-0 win against Sunderland, before scoring in the 4-1 victory away at Old Trafford, which gave the Reds’ Barclays Premier League title challenge fresh impetus. Gerrard rounded off the month by netting a hat-trick in the 5-0 victory over Aston Villa at Anfield.

Benitez picks up the managerial award for the fifth time in his fifth season at the club. He joins only seven other managers to have won the award on five or more occasions, and is the only manager to have picked up the honour twice this season, having also won the award in October 2008.

mirror.co.uk

Rafa's pride at World Coach honour

Rafael Benitez has spoken of his pride at being voted the best coach in the world by supporters voting in three of the continents best known newspapers. Spain's AS and Marca, plus Italian broadsheet La Gazzetta dello Sport conducted online polls asking their readers to vote for the best coach in world football. Liverpool's manager was an overwhelmingly popular figure and came out on top, winning more votes than the likes of Alex Ferguson, Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger, Fabio Capello, Marcello Lippi, Vicente Del Bosque and Josep Guardiola. "I am really pleased. You cannot say that someone is the best in the world as it's almost impossible to guarantee that, but at least you have three big newspapers and supporters saying that we as a club are not bad," the boss told Liverpoolfc.tv.