Should Rafa Benitez let Liverpool’s squad stay up to watch the Hatton vs Mayweather fight?

Ollie Irish

7th, December 2007

7 Comments

78246212.jpgThe Guardian has a story today that made me chuckle: Rafa Benitez has apparently told his Liverpool players that they can’t stay up until the small hours to watch Ricky Hatton’s boxing title fight against Floyd Mayweather – the fight is scheduled to begin at 4am this Sat/Sun morning. Spoilsport!
Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Peter Crouch are all reportedly big boxing fans and therefore desperate (like Wayne Rooney) to watch the bout. But Rafa is insisting that they get some beauty sleep (essential for Crouchinho), ahead of Tuesday’s must-win Champions League clash at Marseille.
Is he right to forbid them to watch the fight? And how can he possibly enforce it? If Stevie G and mates want to watch it, they surely will. Shouldn’t Rafa treat his players like adults? Let Pies know what you would do in Rafa’s shoes…

Posted in Liverpool, Transfers & Rumours

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7 Comments

  1. Conbo says:

    Rafa, Rafa, Rafa. They’ll be Sunday league players up and down the country staying up to watch the bout and then kicking off at 10.30 on the sunday and you’re worried about Tuesday?

  2. Mark H says:

    Kind of humourous, but he has 3 days to turn them around for an away match that will have a huge impact on the season….So I’m not sure it’s so unreasonable to ask a bunch of rich professionals to tape the fight and report to training in a condition to work.

  3. This is simple: I would take all the players to a dorm with no TV set.
    They would go to bed very early and wouldn’t be tempted to watch this stupid boxing match (how can they love watching two crazy bastards hitting each other ? it totally sucks!)
    Liverpool FC can afford a dorm with 30 beds, I guess. Rafa can make warriors out of his bunch of rich pigs, but his stingy chairmen should let him spend some big money if they want him to succeed.
    Anyway, i think it’s too late: they gonna lose tuesday’s match, regardless of how well they slept. They’ve been unable to snatch an away win in Europe this term, and they certainly will NOT achieve it in Marseille.
    It will be GAME OVER for the bloody chairmen, and I dream they will be sacked. By who ?
    Rafa of course! he’s a tough guy, he can kick them out and take all the money and power !
    RAFA ! RAFA ! RAFA !

  4. Nathan says:

    Rafa definitely has the right to enforce the rule, after all, if we lose the Marseilles game Rafa’s the one who gets sacked!

  5. MARINA GABRIEL says:

    I’m no fan of Benitez and I’d gladly see the back of him if Liverpool could find a good replacement. As for his request to his players, I find it not only reasonable, but absolutely essential that they obeyed. After all, they could tape it. Actually, professionals shouldn’t have to be told things like that; they should do it on their own! In truth, I’d love to see a boss that ran Liverpool like an army boot camp: eat, sleep, train together and given an afternoon pass when they’ve played well. Weekend pass if they’ve scored. That should teach them, if not discipline and respect for the fans, how their enormous salaries should be earned!

  6. david hook says:

    to MARK H!
    lets all watch 30 over paid rich idiots kick a ball around for 90 minutes

  7. Eric says:

    I am with Marina. We need someone like Shankly running the team again. He would not take any guff, nor would he settle for this half-arsed bollocks that is known as football these days.

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