English Premier League 2012/2013

"It is quite amazing when you think that he has won the FA Cup and the Champions League," Ferguson told reporters.

"The biggest disappointment for me is that in two weeks' time they are going to the world championship [Fifa Club World Cup]. You would have thought they would have waited to give the guy a chance to win it.

"Rafa Benitez is very lucky because on his CV in two weeks' time he could have two world championships to his name - and has had nothing to do with the teams.

"Jose Mourinho won the treble with Inter Milan. He [Benitez] took over and won the world championship without having to do anything and having nothing to do with the construction of the teams."

Its a bloody stupid point as well, its not his fault if clubs appoint him after winning the CL. Even more so at Inter seeing as Mourinho left Inter and he wasn't sacked.

It's not really a stupid point though is it?

Rafa Benitez has been fairly lucky that the last two jobs he's got have given him a chance to win a competition based solely on the work of the previous manager.

Baring in mind how few managers have left or been sacked after winning the CL (I literally can only think of the two examples) it is fairly fortuitous that Rafa has been given the chance both times.

I guess you're defending him because your perceiving it as an attack on Liverpool/Rafa in some way, but I don't think there's really much to it.

If it isn't an attack on Rafa then what the hell is it?

Also it implies that Rafa hasn't had any other sort of success and hes been given this job based on his performance in a competition few people value really.

Interesting that he didn't say something simular about RDM, he took over midway through the season and won the Champions League after taking over in the Quarter Finals.

The reality of the situation that, after all the jobs Rafa hasn't been offered since being sacked by Liverpool he's been fortuitous that the two he has have both offered him a chance at winning a competition where the most difficult thing about it is qualifying for it.

Yes but no one really looks at the competitions Rafa has won and picks the one World Club Championship out as hes best achievements, would he say the same of a manager who comes in a year after a FA Cup win or Premiership win and has the chance to win the community shield? Course he wouldn't, just seems to have some sort of grudge against Rafa.

There's a world of difference between the Community Shield and the Club World Cup though. Ferguson, I know, rates it as a top tier competition but the prestige of it only comes from the fact that you have to qualify for it by winning the Champion's League. The Community Shield is nothing more than a friendly.

It doesn't change the fact that if a manager wins the Community Shield after taking over in the summer they had no involvement in the teams involvement in qualifying for said competition, regardless of the perceived importance. You cant seriously think if any other manager would have come in as caretaker manager he wouldn't have bothered saying anything, its just because its Rafa hes getting on his high horse.

And i know this is the second time Rafa's had the chance to win the CWC but again its hardly his fault what clubs decide to do, what would SAF prefer, if Rafa just turned down the job because he'd be in a competition because of a previous managers work?

I'd imagine if another manager had been given two chances out of two to win a competition based off other peoples work that Ferguson rates as important he'd describe them as lucky as well.

I don't see why you're taking it as such a personal jibe, of course Rafa should take the job but it doesn't change the fact that it's lucky that both jobs he's been offered in the past 2 years have had this nice little bonus attached to it.

Do you have some kind of perception filter set up around your computer though? Because to me 'lucky' is fairly innocuous. You're acting as if Ferguson has said that Rafa is an 'overweight waste of space who couldn't manage his way out of a paper bag and he can't wait until the day the stupid Spanish cunt drops down dead'. That would be an attack, I just think you're being overly sensitive.

According to reports Benitez has said that it's unlikely Lampard and Cole will be at Chelsea next season.

How dare Rafa take the job, bet he was involved in sacking Di Matteo too, what a nasty piece of a man. Ferguson so right, he's so lucky.

How dare Rafa take the job, bet he was involved in sacking Di Matteo too, what a nasty piece of a man. Ferguson so right, he's so lucky.

According to reports Benitez has said that it's unlikely Lampard and Cole will be at Chelsea next season.