When mind games go wrong

Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez was back in hospital this week having a third operation to sort out his troublesome kidney stones.

Now obviously I wish him well and hope the procedure was a success so he can get back to work and the serious job of trying to win the club's first title in two decades.

However, I can't help wondering whether the doctors found the surgery a touch tricky considering Benitez must have turned up at hospital with his foot firmly wedged in his mouth.

Because over the past week, the normally intelligent Spaniard has been ranting and raving like a man possessed and making himself look rather daft in the process.

For reasons known only to himself, Benitez has been using his press conferences to launch astonishing attacks first on Sir Alex Ferguson and then Manchester United chief executive David Gill.

To get the ball rolling he claimed Ferguson gets away with criticising referees and complaining about fixture lists while other managers are punished for opening their mouths.

"All managers need to know is that only Mr Ferguson can talk about the fixtures, can talk about referees - and nothing happens," he said.

"We had a meeting in Manchester with managers and FA about the Respect campaign. And I was very clear: forget the campaign because Mr Ferguson was killing the referees, killing Mr Atkinson, killing Mr Hackett. But he is not punished."

A couple of days later he then turned his still smoking guns on Gill, claiming his position within the FA was giving United an unfair advantage.

"Is there a conflict of interest with David Gill at the FA? That is another fact. It is a fact that one person has a lot of power and control, and is on a lot of committees in the FA. To me that is very strange," Benitez said.

A tiny part of me believes the Liverpool boss may have a slight point on both issues. But a much bigger part of me thinks Benitez was just showing that the pressure of actually being in serious contention for the title is getting to him.

By trying to play such obvious and weak mind games he merely undermined his own reputation. And his team failing to beat Stoke a few hours later just made him look all the more foolish.

I am all for a bit of psychological warfare in the race to be crowned Premiership winners. It's part and parcel of the battle.

But if you are going to do so then make sure what you are saying doesn't just sound like the bleatings of a sulking child.

Wild accusations like the ones which Benitez spouted will have absolutely no effect at Old Trafford where they will be water off a duck's back for Sir Alex and Gill. They've heard it all before.

Essentially, Benitez has tried to play Ferguson at his own game. But Sir Alex is a pro when it comes to winding up and unsettling his opponents off the pitch. He has had decades of practice and numerous high profile bouts with the likes of Wenger and Mourinho, two other masters of the art.

And that expertise showed in the canny Scot's response to the rant.

"Benitez is disturbed about something," he said, simultaneously patronising his rival and suggesting, politely of course, that he may actually be just a little bit mad. That's the way it's done, Benitez.

By the time you read this, following their 1-0 midweek win over Wigan and yesterday's game against Bolton, there is every chance Manchester United may well have overtaken their rivals at the summit of the Premiership.

And the reality of that has nothing to do with mind games or psychological warfare. It's much simpler. If you want to be crowned champions you have to be able to beat teams like Stoke.

Beckham bounces back... again

If I ever have a son and if he ever goes on to be a professional footballer, I will make him sit down and watch a thousand hours of David Beckham DVDs.

Not because I want him to cover himself in tattoos, wear sarongs or marry a singing stick insect.

But because Beckham has got to be one of the greatest professionals the game has ever seen.

When he made his temporary move to Milan I couldn't help but think it was all about money, glamour and marketing.

And, I suppose they all played some part in the decision.

But yet again, Beckham has proved that his overriding passion in life is playing football. And playing it well.

I fully expected him to spend most of the time on the bench, making the odd guest star appearance for Milan and helping them sell a few thousand shirts during his Italian holiday.

But no. That's not the way Beckham works. Every time you write him off as a serious footballer he bounces back in style.

Last weekend he made his debut for his new club and not only lasted the full game but put in a performance that had everyone at Milan purring. There is now talk of maybe extending the loan deal once it expires in March, talk Beckham himself has not denied.

Although LA Galaxy may have a thing or two to say about that, I think it is fitting that a player of Beckham's ability and professionalism should see out his career at a place like San Siro rather than wasting away in the backwaters of America.

And playing proper football again will only help his England ambitions - something Beckham places great importance on.

The only stumbling block to any deal becoming permanent would be the fee demanded by Galaxy and Victoria Beckham's resistance to leaving star-studded California.

But I am sure Berlusconi's chequebook could take care of the former while the Milan shops should keep the latter in tow.

Scolari's mean streak

From the ashes of Chelsea's humiliating defeat to United, a new and revitalised Luiz Felipe Scolari has emerged.

And I think this may be just what the Stamford Bridge outfit needs.

Up until now, the Brazilian has been a bit too soft, a bit too eager to keep all his superstars happy and not rock the boat.

But the way his team capitulated at Old Trafford seems to have been the final straw.

The first indications of this came midweek when, while taking the blame for the spanking by United, he said he had given certain players enough opportunities to shine.

And he followed that up by dropping the eternally moaning Didier Drogba completely for the FA Cup replay with Southend which they went on to win 4-1.

The truth is, up until this week, it is almost as if the former Portugal manager has been in awe of the star-studded squad he inherited. Rather than stamp his authority on the team, he has almost let it run itself.

And a record of three wins in 11 matches showed it wasn't working.

One of the hallmarks of the Mourinho era at Chelsea was the team spirit. Even when they were not playing beautiful football - which was most of the time under Mourinho - they were grinding out results because the players on the pitch would die for each other.

The current team are more likely to kill each other.

By saying enough is enough and reasserting his authority, Scolari has sent out two important messages.

The first is to the players, telling them he means business and will no longer tolerate them not giving everything to the cause.

The second, I believe, is to Roman Abramovich and the club hierarchy, telling them not to fire him yet to give him more time to knock the lads into shape.

With every passing week I warm to Scolari more and more. He is well on his way to becoming my favourite top-flight manager. His press conferences are a joy to behold and his comments are never anything less than utterly entertaining and always totally honest.

More importantly for Chelsea though, beneath that showman exterior there is a manager who desperately wants to be a success.

And I, for one, am finding it harder and harder to begrudge him that.

sportscolumnist@timesofmalta.com