If I’m honest, the only thing that surprised me about Rafa Benitez’s midweek tantrum was that it took him this long to have it. If I had been in his position, I would have chucked my teddy out of the pram a long time ago.
The ‘interim’ title hasn’t helped his credibility
From the moment he walked through the Stamford Bridge door, Benitez has been subject to a hate campaign from his ‘own’ supporters that has been sustained, passionate and very personal.
A large number of the club’s fans just couldn’t put Benitez’s association with Liverpool behind them nor the harsh things he said about Chelsea while in charge at Anfield. Understandable really.
Up until now, the Spaniard seemingly turned a blind eye to the abuse, rarely acknowledging the fact that large swathes of the Chelsea faithful hate him with a passion. Instead he tried to get on with the job as best he could.
But on Wednesday, following more abuse during their FA Cup victory over Middlesbrough, he snapped, not only lashing out at the fans but also the Chelsea hierarchy for burdening him with the ‘interim’ title.
“The fans are not helping us. At the end of the season I will leave. They don’t have to worry about me,” he said angrily. “They have to concentrate on supporting the team, that’s what they have to do. Every game they continue singing and preparing banners, they are wasting time.”
He went on to warn the fans that they are in danger of costing Chelsea their Champions League slot by focusing on hating him rather than supporting the team (an outcome that is, in fact, looking increasingly plausible).
Not content with further alienating himself from the supporters, Benitez then turned his attention to the club’s bosses, slamming them for giving him the ‘interim’ title when they appointed him late last year.
He said it was a “massive mistake” and was only done so the club could “wash its hands” of him if he failed.
“I have a title. Someone decided the title would be interim. Why? Just in case? Everybody is interim because after you there is another one. In this case they didn’t have anyone, so why did they put interim?” he asked.
To be honest, I think his point is perfectly valid. The ‘interim’ title hasn’t helped his credibility with either the supporters or the players, and I said as much right at the beginning of this marriage made in hell.
However, it is still surprising that he was ready to launch such a public attack on the Chelsea power-brokers. Just goes to show how much the criticism and abuse must have worn him down.
The question is now will he actually make it through till May or will Roman Abramovich take offence at his comments and give him his marching orders sooner?
You would imagine Abramovich will stick with him, considering the season is drawing to a close. But the Russian is nothing if not unpredictable, so don’t be surprised if he shows Benitez the door.
He could always appoint one of the senior players to oversee the team until the end of the season. John Terry would jump at the chance, I’m sure.
Chelsea could, in fact, end up with an ‘interim player caretaker manager’. Now that would be a special moment for English football…
Three-way battle
Two teams that will be watching Benitez’s meltdown with glee are Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, who meet today in what many had expected to be a battle for fourth place.
But with Chelsea struggling and Benitez showing the strain, it is looking increasingly like the London rivals are involved in a three-way fight for third place.
Which should make today’s derby even spicier, if this is at all possible.
Of course, all eyes will be on Gareth Bale, who many are already giving the title of Player of the Year despite there being nearly a third of the season left to go.
There is no doubting that the Welsh winger is in the form of his life at the moment, but I find the recent comparisons to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo a bit much.
Yes, he is a great player with the potential to become one of the best in the world, but Messi and Ronaldo have been performing consistently for years on the biggest stage. Bale still has some way to go before he can even think about falling into their superstar category.
Arsenal, meanwhile, know today’s game is one they must win now that a top four finish is their only realistic target for the season. Which means that despite being away from home, they will probably go straight for the jugular at White Hart Lane.
A desperate Arsenal versus an in-form Spurs means this game is either going to be an absolute thriller with goals flying in left right and centre or one of the most boring 0-0 draws in the history of football.
2.2 billion people can’t be wrong
Last week the Football League kicked off celebrations to mark its 125th anniversary.
It all started back in 1888, when Aston Villa’s William McGregor suggested it might not be a bad idea for teams to start playing each other home and away on a scheduled basis to avoid the hassles of constantly organising friendlies.
It’s fair to say his little plan took off rather spectacularly although I am pretty sure old Mr McGregor had no idea at the time just how big a can of worms he was opening.
To mark the start of their anniversary celebrations, the Football League dusted off their record books to come out with a whole bunch of interesting statistics.
Some of you may have seen them, but for those who haven’t, here are a few of the more eye-popping ones:
There have been 177,164 matches played in the Football League since it was created in 1888, with the most-played fixture between Aston Villa and Everton (154 times).
Fifty-two per cent of games have been home wins, 23 per cent away wins, and the rest draws. The most common result has been 1-0, which has happened on no fewer than 28,169 occasions.
A total of 514,333 goals have been scored, 62 per cent of them by the home side.
A total of 39,532 players have appeared in Football League matches, out of which 508 were called Smith. A rather surprising 3,316 players only ever played one league game.
Games have been played on 220 different grounds. Three of the grounds used in the first-ever season are still in use today: Preston’s Deepdale, Burnley’s Turf Moor, and Anfield which was, ironically, used by Everton.
The total number of spectators through the Football League turnstiles is just under 2.2 billion.
I’m not sure any of those statistics tell us anything really other than the fact that football, no matter what you might think about it, is one heck of a popular sport…
The final hurdle
As League Cup finals go, last Sunday’s was the most one-sided there has ever been.
Not only was 5-0 the biggest margin of victory in the history of the tournament, it didn’t even tell the full story, as Swansea overwhelmed their League Two opponents and could easily have reached double figures.
Ultimately, after their heroics on the path to Wembley, knocking out Wigan, Arsenal and Aston Villa, Bradford City came up against a team in the final that were ready for them.
The result shouldn’t take anything away from Bradford’s achievements, however. They may have got a hiding at the very end but their giant-killing antics in the previous rounds will long be the stuff of legend.
One slightly negative aspect of the final was the grief referee Kevin Friend got for sending off Bradford goalkeeper Matt Duke early in the second half.
The general feeling seemed to be that, considering the occasion and the fact that Swansea were already 3-0 up, a penalty and a yellow card would have been sufficient punishment. Bradford manager Phil Parkinson even said as much after the match.
I’m sorry, but what sort of nonsense is that? You can’t just change the rules of the game because it’s a final or because you are feeling a bit sorry for one of the teams.
Yes, it’s true that Bradford were not going to come back into the game and win, with or without Duke on the pitch. You could have given them an extra two or three players and a couple of free goals and they still wouldn’t have come back.
But you can’t go around changing the laws of the game to suit the circumstance of a particular match. That’s just absurd.
And I’m sure most sensible Bradford fans would agree with me.
sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com
Twitter: @maltablade