"Someone said 'football is more important than life and death to you' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'."

An oft-repeated Bill Shankly quote, somewhat tongue in cheek, but instantly recognizable as an Anfield epigram. However, in modern terms, Liverpool’s Shankly is more aligned with Everton’s David Moyes – the two Scots share much more in common with each other than the Anfield legend does with Rafa Benitez.

It appears that Rafa, perhaps desperate to connect with Liverpool’s glorious past, is trying to live his managerial life in accordance with the above Shankly credo. Big mistake.

'The latest news, gleefully leapt on by the rabid press hounds, is that Benitez has dropped Xabi Alonso for the Inter Milan game'


The latest news, gleefully leapt on by the rabid press hounds, is that Benitez has dropped Xabi Alonso for the Inter Milan game because the young Spaniard wants to wait on Merseyside for the birth of his child before flying over to Italy. For Benitez this was unacceptable. He is, after all, the detached ice-sculpture of a manager who, in December 2005, stayed in Japan despite his father’s death during the Club World Championship tournament.

Rafa’s actual words betray a total lack of empathy for Xabi: “We were talking, but he had a clear idea; he wanted to come if everything was OK, but we can’t wait and wait and wait. The most important thing is to think about what to do with the other players.”

All this does is reinforce the image of Rafa as a lone wolf. This season he has already sacked his right hand man, Pako Ayesteran, opened up a great schism with his American paymasters, and vetoed the appointment of Paul Jewell as assistant manager, according to The Times.

In February the same paper also reported that Rafa’s relationship with Xabi Alonso was crumbling even though, like Pako Ayesteran, he was one of the few people would could claim to be close to the Liverpool manager.

That all this is coming to a head before the second installment of the Inter Milan clash at the San Siro makes it all the more delicious, and is just another example of how Rafa seems to be freezing out everything and everyone to concentrate on football.

I have already written about why I am giddy at the thought of Rafa staying at Anfield until 2012 – this is just another reason why I believe he is slowly dismantling Liverpool, and why – as an Evertonian – I love him at Liverpool for as long as possible. 2012? Yes please!