“He’s crackin up, he’s crackin up, he’s crack, Rafa’s crackin up!” our fans sing on almost a weekly basis these days, in reference to the Liverpool manager who has seemingly started to lose the plot.

Attending a press conference with a list of inaccuracies which are falsely reeled off as “facts” is never going to be looked upon as the behaviour of a totally sane person. Benitez started his press conference by citing an occasion from just a few weeks earlier when Ferguson was fined and banished to the stands by the FA, yet later claimed Ferguson was “the only manager in the league that cannot be punished.”

Benitez then prattled on about the fixtures two years earlier, claiming United played lots of Sunday matches when Liverpool had played early on Saturday. In fact, there were just three occasions when Liverpool had early kick-offs on Saturday and United played on Sunday. On one of those occasions, Liverpool’s next game came three days later, just as United’s did, so no advantage or disadvantage given. On another of these occasions, International week followed. Suddenly the “lots” of unfair fixtures Benitez was talking about turns out to be just one match, and that’s without looking at how many times United played early on Saturday with Liverpool playing on a Sunday.

Essentially, he talked a lot of nonsense, claiming they were ‘facts’ and made a show of himself. He continued to talk about United for the next two days, whilst Ferguson dismissed Benitez as “disturbed”, “ridiculous” and “angry”.

Since Benitez’s ‘episode’ Liverpool have won two, drawn four and lost one, whilst United have won seven. That hasn’t stopped him though, he hasn’t learnt a thing. He’s at it again, no shame, laying in to United and making ridiculous, inaccurate claims.

“Manchester United make €65m a year more than we do and buy three £20m players a season,” he said. “Chelsea must have spent £500m in five years. We have built a team but economically we are way below them and yet we have still managed to compete. In the five years I have been here I have spent less than £40m on Torres and Keane. How are we supposed to compete with them?”

Since taking charge of the club in 2004, Benitez has spent £189.9 million on 51 players. The team he inherited finished 4th the season before, one position below 3rd placed United. In that same time, United have spent £170.35 million on 13 different players (Berbatov (£30.75m), Tosic (£17m), Carrick (£18.6m), Hargreaves (£17m), Anderson (£18m), Kuzczak (£2.5m), Nani (£17m), Park (£4m), Foster (£1m), Vidic (£7m), Evra (£5.5m), Rooney (£30m), Van der Sar (£2.5m)). How are you supposed to compete? How about you buy fewer players and actually buy good players, instead of players who belong at midtable clubs?

Benayoun, Pennant, Bellamy, Voronin, Kuyt and Crouch are amongst Benitez’s better known signings that wouldn’t get close to United’s squad, let alone starting XI.

Benitez has been shit in the transfer market, totally hopeless, with just a handful of decent buys, yet inaccurately hides behind the idea that United have money to burn and that is why we’re ahead of them in the title, totally ignoring the FACT that he has spent more than Ferguson in the past five years.

“Alex Ferguson controls everything in England,” Benitez added. “The facts are the facts. They are indisputable. When he started talking about Liverpool, I had to respond.”

What an embarrassment. Even Liverpool fans are starting to give up on the Rafalution!

[edit. Attention all Liverpool fans – to save yourself time chatting on about net spend, read it and weep. There has been a difference in spending of just £6 million a year, when taking in to consideration out-going and in-going transfers]