Stevie Me surprisingly good on FSW's facts meltdown

In his book, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail, Gerrard was critical of Benitez’s infamous “facts” speech directed at Alex Ferguson back in January 2009 when Liverpool were competing for the title with Manchester United.

“I went home from training that Friday lunchtime and switched on the TV,” he said.

“Rafa sat down with his usual half-smile. It looked likely to be a normal press conference, but then he reached into his pocket for a piece of paper.

“He spread it out on the table and began to read out one ‘fact’ after another. Rafa kept saying ‘fact... fact... fact...’ and I could not believe what I was hearing. I was grabbing the couch, digging my fingers into the arms, feeling embarrassed for him.

“Rafa started by saying that maybe Manchester United ‘are nervous because we are at the top of the table’. I thought: ‘Uh oh, what’s happening here?’

“It seemed so unlike Rafa to talk in such an emotional way. You could see the anger in him. ‘I want to talk about facts,’ Rafa said. ‘I want to be clear, I do not want to play mind games too early, although they seem to want to start. But I have seen some facts.’

“Rafa went off on a ramble about how Manchester United and ‘Mr Ferguson’ had not been properly punished for various misdemeanours. He listed dates and incidents and concluded that ‘Mr Ferguson is the only manager in the league that cannot be punished for these things’.

“He then railed against the fixture list and the timing of matches being skewed in United’s favour. Rafa was sounding muddled and bitter and paranoid. He was humiliating himself. It was a disaster. I couldn’t understand Rafa’s thinking in wanting to take on Ferguson, a master of mind games, when we were sitting so calmly on top of the table early into a new year.

“When I met up with England all the Manchester United players told me Fergie was just laughing at Rafa, saying: ‘I’ve got him. I’ve got him.’

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport...nitez-10044799



Seeing dippers turning on steveh for this. How £#%&!ing obsessed are they with that £#%&!ing arrogant slob benitez?

Was mentioned in the slip thread but worth it for the gif

Does he mention that the facts rant came a few days after him and his 5 mates beat up that DJ?

Rafa was wrong and lost the plot, but it always seemed to me that he was trying to deflect from his captain's behaviour. Typical scouser though, has to be somebody elses fault

I don't think Rafa Benitez liked me as a person. I'm not sure why, but that's the feeling I got from him. It probably started even before he spoke to me, when he met my mum.

'I can pick up the phone and speak to all of my previous Liverpool managers. Apart from one of them. Rafa is the exception.' Steven Gerrard on his time under Benitez

One of the most #headsgone moments in league history tbh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOaZYhTd2BU

'November first they play against Hull City.....'

Giffage

Originally Posted by saffers

ffs

Originally Posted by The Watcher

'I can pick up the phone and speak to all of my previous Liverpool managers. Apart from one of them. Rafa is the exception.' Steven Gerrard on his time under Benitez

benitez is a tit obviously, but why does it matter if he can still pick up the phone and speak to him or not? is he that desperate for the attention?

in every word i've read of this, gerrard comes across as pathologically needy and endlessly self-regarding. it's a bit weird.

"I thought, 'Uh oh, what's happening here?'"

Even though he was being replaced by Rafa, Gerard Houllier still loved Liverpool and he remained very close to me. He and my mum flew out to Portugal to watch me play for England against Croatia — and they bumped into Rafa.

Gerard introduced Rafa to my mum. Rafa shook her hand, said hello and then immediately asked her a very blunt question: 'Does Steven like money?'

Apart from a standard 'Hello... good to meet you' introduction, those were the first words Rafa said to my mum. I thought: 'What kind of question is that?'

Originally Posted by ZiggyStardust

https://youtu.be/t00D23R63ig

There had been a lot of talk about who would be captain under Pearce and, when I arrived at the hotel, I thought that might have been his moment to say, ‘Can I have a word outside?’ or, ‘Could you come to my room for a chat?’
The following morning, just before the squad left for training, Pearce pulled me into a toilet at The Grove. He said, ‘I just wanted to tell you face to face that I’m going to be picking Scott Parker to be the captain for this game.’
Scott Parker is a good player and honest; I’ve got a lot of respect for Scott as a player and a person. But to pick Scott Parker as England captain ahead of me?

I don’t know whether it was a dig at Liverpool or something more personal — but my overall perception was Pearce was doing some muscle-flexing in the toilet mirrors.
My guess is it was a decision designed to focus attention on him, his way of saying: ‘This is me. I’m in charge.’
I might have had misgivings about his tactical insights as a coach, but I respected Pearce until that moment. I felt he treated me very badly. It was insulting — and wrong. I thought it was selfish. It was a political decision to make everyone think he had balls.
It was clear in team meetings Pearce wanted to impress and get a crack at the job for Euro 2012.
But I think the decision he shared with me in a toilet was one of the reasons he never got the position he craved.

It reads like a parody

I don’t know whether it was a dig at Liverpool

They're £#%&!ing unbelievable aren't they

Originally Posted by taff

in every word i've read of this, gerrard comes across as pathologically needy and endlessly self-regarding. it's a bit weird.

HE'S. A. SCOUSER.

hth

rawk...

- lacking in class

- he never spoke much sense

- embarrassing

- he's always been a strange character

- Stevie is giving the rags a field day

Jesus, the cult of fat Rafa is as dedicated as ever on Merseyside

Originally Posted by Pop

rawk...

- lacking in class

- he never spoke much sense

- embarrassing

- he's always been a strange character

- Stevie is giving the rags a field day

Jesus, the cult of fat Rafa is as dedicated as ever on Merseyside

£#%&!ing hell ..... they'll even turn on Stevie Me in favour of FSW. What the £#%&! kind of hold does he have over them?

Originally Posted by djsst

It reads like a parody

Tend to agree on Pearce tbh, it's the same reason he left Beckham out of Team GB. He's a #@&%!.

Originally Posted by Switching Off

They're £#%&!ing unbelievable aren't they

That's astonishing even for a scouser. A 'dig at Liverpool'

he comes across well for a scouser tbh

Originally Posted by Zorg

That's astonishing even for a scouser. A 'dig at Liverpool'

Had to read it a couple of times

Should take a shellacking in the press for that.

Dont understand how the fsw has got away with it this much.

Understand he did ok with valencia but cmon ffs.