The 'Liverpool Way'? A perfect example of the difference between BENITEZ + PURSLOW

Rafa Benitez has today launched yet another (unprovoked) veiled attack on Christian Purslow, LFC's managing Director. This comes as no surprise to me given his previous penchant for public politicking, but Benitez's latest public diatribe perfectly illustrates the fundamental difference between the two men, and it's the reason Purslow is still at the club, and Benitez is not.

So: What is this difference?

First, we need to look at the comments Benitez and Purslow have made about each other since the Spaniard left the club.

Here are Benitez's comments from his interview today:

"So, what changed? The managing director is involved in all the decisions: new lawyer, new chief of press, new manager, nine new players, new medical staff, new fitness coaches - they changed everything. At the beginning, they changed the managing director who was talking with some players, and they changed everything that we were doing in the past. So, if you want to ask again what was going on, it's simple: they changed something and, at the end, they changed everything. So, white liquid in a bottle: milk. You will know who is to blame."

Benitez also said the following recently:

“I was on holidays so it was a surprise that everything was going on in this way, but at the end of the day it has to be like this because Christian Purslow now is in charge so he decided to do it in this way, and that's it”.

It seems clear that Benitez holds a grudge against Purslow. In both comments, he makes snide, flippant insinuations about his influence at the club.

Such comments were a regular feature of Benitez's reign at Liverpool; he never missed an opportunity to indirectly (and sometimes directly) criticise anyone he believed was against him. He regularly used the media to fight his battles with Tom Hicks and George Gillett (and to manipulate the fans), never caring about how public spats would reflect on the club, which has a history of fighting its battles behind closed doors.

Now, let's take a look at Purslow's comments about Benitez since he left the club:

"The Board didn't sack Rafa. Rafa's exit was about as clear cut a case of mutual consent as I have ever been involved in my life. Both sides thought it was time for a change, both sides said so at the time, if you go back and check, and I wish him all the very best in his future career. He is a key part of our history and we wish him all the best."

Respectful; magnanimous; humble; non-confrontational; professional.

In other words, a perfect example of the Liverpool Way of doing things. And if you look at every comment Purslow has made publicly about *anything* since he joined the club, you will see his comments follow the same pattern.

Benitez's incessant need to publicly criticise players, Owners, rival managers etc during his reign was the complete opposite of what the Liverpool Way is/should be all about, and since he's left the club, he's carried on in that vein, culminating in his comments today.

If Benitez has a problem with Purslow, he should respect the club he claims to love and deal with it behind closed doors, instead of creating more unwanted media pressure at such a delicate time for the team.

So: the difference between the two men is obvious: One embraces the Liverpool Way of doing things; the other does not, which is why Purslow (an integral part of the team that fought to remove Hicks and Gillett) is still at the club, and Benitez is reduced to sniping from afar.

Jaimie Kanwar