Eurosport - Thu, 29 Jan 11:06:00 2009
Reaction from Wednesday's Premier League games with raging Rafa Benitez blaming a 'crazy' second half for Liverpool's draw against Wigan Athletic.
Wigan 1-1 Liverpool
Steve Bruce: "It has been a difficult January for us. But we've made a few changes, and a couple of them have hit the ground running. The one thing they do is stick at it and have a right good crack at it. In the last 20 to 25 minutes, they really got the bit between their teeth. Lee Cattermole got among them and tackled everything that moved. It was a decent performance from us."
Rafael Benitez: "The second half was a crazy game and when it is a crazy game you cannot control things. I am disappointed with a number of things (about) the Wigan approach - (but) I will not talk about them. It has happened in the last three games. They have something in common I don't like. I know why, but I cannot say anything. The players were okay. They were working very hard in the first half but the second half changed because it was crazy."
Everton 1-1 Arsenal
David Moyes: "In the end we should have run the ball into the corner rather than conceding possession like that. We did not need to give the ball away in that situation. We are disappointed that we ended up with one point when we were so close to three. To concede a goal in the 93rd minute is hard to take after we had played so well. Overall we deserved the points. We have conceded a late goal to Arsenal not long after we did the same thing against Aston Villa - and that game we lost."
Arsene Wenger: "It was very important not to lose. We needed to keep Everton at a distance from us, and three points would have put them very close to us. Van Persie's finish was an exceptional one. But when you see the ball dropping like that towards his left foot, you always think that he can hit the target. He will make the keeper work, he will never put the ball into the stands from a position like that."
Chelsea 2-0 Middlesbrough
Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins: "It's a very emotional game, isn't it? Passions run high. They ran high on their bench. They did on ours. That's the way the game is played. It's played with great passion on the pitch and off it, whether it is with supporters or managers. I shook hands. It was a nothing conversation. I didn't even see the incident, to be honest. If the referee felt he (Scolari) needed to be sent to the stands, he would have done that."
Gareth Southgate: "There were words between my assistant and Phil Scolari. He seemed to want to get one of my players booked. He didn't shake hands at the end. A strange reaction, but that's his prerogative. You expect a moment of real class, to be carved open a few times, but that didn't really happen. Our discipline was really good. A bit of quality from a set-piece from us might have been our best manner of scoring, so it's a big let-down to lose to two set-pieces given the quality we were up against."
Manchester City 2-1 Newcastle United
Mark Hughes: "(Robinho) was fully focused and looking ahead to the game. Mentally he was in the right place, he was concentrating on the job in hand and it was never any real doubt for me that he should play. The good thing was he played an intelligent ball to release Shaun Wright-Phillips for our first goal. The icing on the cake was (Craig) Bellamy's performance. Craig will strengthen this team because he is a quality player. A lot of people's judgment of him is clouded by past misdemeanours but there is no doubt what he can bring to us."
Joe Kinnear: "It is one thing after another at the moment. The doctor had said six to eight weeks with Michael and 10 for Joey. The guy (owner Mike Ashley) has lost £2 billion from his businesses. I do not know what this club is worth but at the moment we have to get on with it as best we can. I tried to sell Geremi yesterday because I thought it would raise £4m but that deal fell through so I had to play him tonight. We have been negotiating with someone else on the continent. We thought that deal was done but suddenly the goal posts have moved."
West Ham 2-0 Hull City
Gianfranco Zola: "(David) Di Michele was fantastic, but he has been like that in the last couple of games. He is such an important player for the team, and that is the type of atmosphere we want to build up here - with fair competition between each other with everybody looking forward to getting into this team. They are enjoying themselves, and that is what we want here. Every time they play, it is always the best game, which is the biggest compliment you can give to a team."
Phil Brown: "There were a couple of positives, but in the main the biggest negative was the form which we caught West Ham in. They were playing with a lot of confidence and their two strikers played a massive part in the downfall of our side. But Matt Duke stepped up to the plate and put in a fantastic performance, and we also played some good football when Jimmy Bullard came on. The belief and trust which is required was there when he came on, but unfortunately then we were chasing a 2-0 deficit."
Blackburn Rovers 2-2 Bolton Wanderers
Sam Allardyce: "I don't understand why (Jussi Jaaskelainen) wasn't given a red card. We made the substitutions, and Tugay has played the ball to Roque (Santa Cruz) who showed the quality he has. He is through and we're all ready to jump off our seats thinking it's a goal, and instead it's a penalty. We all thought then it would be Benni to compose himself against their reserve 'keeper, but that wasn't to be. It was the wrong decision, but at the end of the day Mike Dean has deemed it was not a goalscoring opportunity."
Gary Megson on Bolton's attempt to sign Miguel Veloso: "If we can bring him in, great, if not we need to move on sooner rather than later. We need to make sure we're not on a fool's errand. They've made it clear what kind of money they want, and we won't pay that. If that's a stalemate, then we will move on."
Comment 1 - 18 of 58
hahaha...
good job rafa
if liverpool can't score its their problem and if they can't hold onto a lead its a bogger problem. Wigan played wide attacking football so Benitez can't complain
come on rafa .. lots of excuses ... Mourinho would glad to take your seat ... go home to spain ......
Rafa gone crazy..
What is this rafa fella talking about? Whether its a crazy game, a smart game or whatever situation the game is in, when you cannot control things its either your team is not good enough or that you as the manager is not up to the mark. Period.
what the hell does he mean by ''The players were okay. They were working very hard in the first half but the second half changed because it was crazy''?? Is this how he explains the outcome of a game? Things were OK then went CRAZY? Either he is stressed because the fall of his team, or he has lost half of his brain.. The guy needs monitoring. He could be suicidal..
Liverpool needs to change three things, first rafa must go, second the american owners need to sell and third the extra baggage called(kuyt, lucas, keane, alonso, riera, yossi, etc) need to be sold and a better product needs to be put on the field at ANFIELD
rafa is suffering a post-kidney-stone-opt syndrome.... wigan's not crazy, the game wasn't crazy... but rafa himself really was...
u're right rafa, the players really were okay, but not u mentally... i think its not just the kidney stones should be removed but the brain as well...
After doing some mathematics, I discovered how the season will end. Here it goes:- Man U being at the top of the table with a match left for them to play, has the advantage of winning the season but it doesn't mean they will win. Their match between Fulham will sum up everything. If they win Fulham, their points, together with their goals will decide what the next matches will look like. They must remain constant if they are to win this league but if they substitute themselves with any other club, the club be it Arsenal, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Liverpool, or West Brom, will win the season.
benitez has lost the plot he's single handed lost pool the title Fergie sud thanks rafa come may
Rafa is suffering from sour grapes...lol...lol....lol
rafa really out of idea to comment right?
lol 2 allardyce's comments
Haha Rafa's the 'crazy' one! 3 league draws in a row... and that's a FACT!
haha...
I had no interest in watching the games at present....I found a hot place, you guys should try it ___Wealthy beauty co m_____a great place for rich people to meet their soul mates....
The common thing the three games have Benitez, is that you're a loser.
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