If anyone could ever be accused of having intelligence in inverse proportion to the size of their head it would be Big Sam Allardyce.
Today's xenophobic rant about nasty foreigner Rafa Benitez pretty much sums up a man who talks like a Daily Sport reader and looks like Bully out of Bullseye.
The day after his own team were beaten by mighty Derby County, the Newcastle manager was quoted as saying: "Being a foreigner, Rafa doesn't understand it's supposed to be Premier League first and Champions League second."
Really? Being a "foreigner" hasn't impeded Jose Mourinho or Arsene Wenger from coming to that conclusion so what exactly does country of birth have to do with this?
And how would big Sam know anyway? When exactly did he have to prioritise between the Champions League and the Premiership?
Luckily for him, he's never going to be shown up as a hypocrite on this because he manages Newcastle United, a club which isn't likely to qualify for Europe's premier competition any time soon.
He'll do what he always does - assemble a team of cloggers who will play football in his image (ie ugly) and Newcastle will remain on the outside looking in as the big four continue to enjoy the Champions League party.
As for his "Benitez is lucky to still be in a job" rant, it is apparent that Big Sam clearly doesn't employ logic.
To reach one Champions League final could be lucky (even though it wasn't, Liverpool having beaten Olympiakos, Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus and Chelsea along the way) but reaching two in just three years can only come down to a mixture of quality players performing on the biggest stage and a manager who knows how to get the most out of his charges when it matters most.
It ain't got nothing to do with luck.
And anyway his "if it wasn't for getting to those two pesky Champions League finals" bleat doesn't half make him sound like a villain from Scooby Doo.
I don't know what Allardyce's problem is with Benitez but he needs to get over it because it is making him increasingly divorced from reality.
Although I hope he carries on talking s***e because he's already done Rafa's team talk for him for when we next play the Geordies.
Can you imagine what "the foreigner's post match press conference will be like if Liverpool win that one?
Can't wait.
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rafasredmen wrote...
Excellent Tony. Love the first line, great stuff.
Posted by: rafasredmen | September 18, 2007 11:30 AM