[quote author=Farkmaster link=topic=40931.msg1134073#msg1134073 date=1278836080]
So, if it's such a disingenuous comparison, lets take the exact same situation. When Rafa referenced Purslow and the others, after leaving the job, fairly obliquely, his account was simply taken on face value on here? Mmm-hmm.
It doesn't matter if "all those reasons involve Rafa being shit at man management" though I don't believe that is the only available interpretation. What matters, and what I've been responding to this whole time, is whether what he did was "classy".
Benayoun firstly believes that his not being used more, being used intermittently etc was in error. I'd agree, though it's doubtful that there weren't legitimate reasons at times, because Benayoun isn't a consistent performer. He goes on to attribute this to a malicious, willful attempt to "break him". That's a pretty strong allegation, combined with timing that reeks of bitterness. I VERY much doubt that Benayoun was given assurances of game time by Rafa. Does that sound like Rafa to you?
I'm not so sure why that bitterness is there. Benayoun will not play any more frequently for Chelsea, he's a useful squaddie at this level, or he could move down and be an automatic selection, as he was before. He's decided he likes his new payrate and being at higher level clubs. Rafa really destroyed Benayoun's career, didn't he?
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Okay so your first point is fair enough, people didn't take Rafa's word at face value, but then I suppose more people felt he had his own agenda and had already been stirring the pot long beforehand. This is, to my knowledge, the first Yossi's come out and said anything. Rafa was fighting media battles against anyone and everyone for ages. Was his word taken at face value? No, well by some it was, but many it wasn't. Is this fair? It depends - do you think Rafa's word could be trusted implicitly, or do you think he'd bend the truth a bit to suit his own agenda.
If some of his press conferences about "suchandsuch is a good player" or "we played well, controlled the game, but were unlucky . . ." are anything to go by then probably not!
*tongueincheeksmilieagain*
Was it classy? I refer you to my earlier statement about football not operating on the same rules as normal life. In the spectrum of footballers behaviour, this almost does class as being 'classy'. Sad but true, there's very few genuinely likeable people in the game, and most would have probably written a book or some shit about it by now. Is it actually classy behaviour? No, probably not, but relative to his peers Yossi carried himself with a modicum of dignity and didn't rock the boat. That deserves some recognition, even if it is a very small amount.
Was Rafa trying to 'break him'. It does sound a bit paranoid, and I'm sure it's a very emotive subject for any player that feels aggrieved. However, if we analyse it from an objective point of view - and I've made this point before - if you were to make a concerted effort to try and destroy somebodies confidence, dropping them right after they've just played really well and scored a goal would probably be the right way to go about it. I don't think Rafa was actually trying to do that, I think he just had such a rigidly fixed idea in his head about what he wanted to do that he was completely oblivious to the idea of letting a play find some form or how their treatment would affect their performance
Malicious? No. Robotic? Yes.
