Topic: Re: Steven Gerrard's Serialised Book -A Fan's Perspective-

[wige]

Just to add praise for E2K's post.

I've been lurking/posting since 2006. Occasionally thought about who my favourite posters are; Royhendo, Juanloco, Garstonite etc. Then every once in a while E2K posts something sublime and the correct answer is presented. Bravo sir.

[RedRush]

THIS!

Never post on here these days, but I think the OP is one of the best things I've ever read and defines what RAWK is and should be about:

For me, it opens a bigger can of worms in respect of having 'living legends' and big reputations at the club and the power they weld. It's my opinion both Gerrard and Carragher undermined Rafa in those final days - Even talk of SG bigging up Hodgson to Purslow - That connection to Ayre and Purslow, and the constant leaks coming out of the dressing room in that period were classless. Conveniently airbrushed by the majority of our fanbase these days. With Carra being offered a 12 month extension on his contract shortly after - Which Benitez (by all accounts) wasn't offering. I also seem to recall during all the bollix with H&G, the Spanish lads going out on a 'media limb' to endorse Rafa (Torres, Reina etc) yet those living English legends keeping stum - and of course Danny Murphy honing his punditry career, sniping at Rafa's methods from the sides. One wonders why Danny?

Since I never post on here these days - and don't really give a fuck what anyone thinks anymore - Especially after last season and this.
I'll go out on a limb and say something probably massively unpopular. In that I wouldn't let people with such obvious agendas like Gerrard any where near the club. And for one, I'm also glad he wasn't offered a coaching role by Rodgers either. LFC shouldn't be a rest home or pre-school for anyone - Not even you Stevie.

Club legends in that respect can be massively detrimental - I look at Mourinho's current struggle managing John Terry's decline because of his 'legendary status,' and Rodgers' trying to reinvent an ageing SG for two or more seasons. I sense a fear of reputations that Rafa would never have had.

Benitez was indeed ruthless, and wasn't perfect either. That said, I loved him for it, because it was this attitude which made us one of the greatest and most feared football clubs in Europe again. For me, Gerrard's book and the sensationalised utterances from it, just confirms he's still simply a footballer with a footballer's mentality. It's about him first and foremost - his feelings, his whinges. Not that of the club or it's greater good. The polar opposite of someone like Kenny or Rafa, both of whom bleed LFC, with a genuine love of their adopted city and its people, sacrificing their own health and well-being fighting 'our' corner against all sorts of detractors and maligners!

Stevie, for all my love of him as a player, just doesn't say much in that respect - either on or off the field - So unlike most on here, I take his opinions on people and football (Rafa especially) with a pinch of salt.

Dion Fanning was proved right in 2010, when he predicted that the 'Benitez era' may turn out to be halcyon years in times to come. The club and the fanbase hasn't been the same since. All those mentioned above, and a noisey proportion of our supporters were responsible for us sacking the greatest manager we've had since Bob. Now we're truly counting the cost!

And with that I'm off into the ether for another five years,  content in the knowledge that you lot won't need your passports to wave a flag on the Kop anymore. Small mercies eh!

Well said re the unmentionable civil war! Among the ex-players I only remember Jason McAteer and John Barnes defended Rafa. It's a can of worms best left closed though. They should have learnt their mistake by now. Even Purslow said FSG surely has to consider Rafa after Kenny's sacking.

[MNAA]

Marvellous OP E2K. Absolutely spot on. A perfect rebuttal to an attempt to revise history.

And similarly a big thanks to Eddie for a fantastic and equally courageous. I've been meaning to say the same thing. I am glad that neither Jamie nor Stevie were given positions at the club on a platter. They need to earn it.

Never post on here these days, but I think the OP is one of the best things I've ever read and defines what RAWK is and should be about:

For me, it opens a bigger can of worms in respect of having 'living legends' and big reputations at the club and the power they weld. It's my opinion both Gerrard and Carragher undermined Rafa in those final days - Even talk of SG bigging up Hodgson to Purslow - That connection to Ayre and Purslow, and the constant leaks coming out of the dressing room in that period were classless. Conveniently airbrushed by the majority of our fanbase these days. With Carra being offered a 12 month extension on his contract shortly after - Which Benitez (by all accounts) wasn't offering. I also seem to recall during all the bollix with H&G, the Spanish lads going out on a 'media limb' to endorse Rafa (Torres, Reina etc) yet those living English legends keeping stum - and of course Danny Murphy honing his punditry career, sniping at Rafa's methods from the sides. One wonders why Danny?

Since I never post on here these days - and don't really give a fuck what anyone thinks anymore - Especially after last season and this.
I'll go out on a limb and say something probably massively unpopular. In that I wouldn't let people with such obvious agendas like Gerrard any where near the club. And for one, I'm also glad he wasn't offered a coaching role by Rodgers either. LFC shouldn't be a rest home or pre-school for anyone - Not even you Stevie.

Club legends in that respect can be massively detrimental - I look at Mourinho's current struggle managing John Terry's decline because of his 'legendary status,' and Rodgers' trying to reinvent an ageing SG for two or more seasons. I sense a fear of reputations that Rafa would never have had.

Benitez was indeed ruthless, and wasn't perfect either. That said, I loved him for it, because it was this attitude which made us one of the greatest and most feared football clubs in Europe again. For me, Gerrard's book and the sensationalised utterances from it, just confirms he's still simply a footballer with a footballer's mentality. It's about him first and foremost - his feelings, his whinges. Not that of the club or it's greater good. The polar opposite of someone like Kenny or Rafa, both of whom bleed LFC, with a genuine love of their adopted city and its people, sacrificing their own health and well-being fighting 'our' corner against all sorts of detractors and maligners!

Stevie, for all my love of him as a player, just doesn't say much in that respect - either on or off the field - So unlike most on here, I take his opinions on people and football (Rafa especially) with a pinch of salt.

Dion Fanning was proved right in 2010, when he predicted that the 'Benitez era' may turn out to be halcyon years in times to come. The club and the fanbase hasn't been the same since. All those mentioned above, and a noisey proportion of our supporters were responsible for us sacking the greatest manager we've had since Bob. Now we're truly counting the cost!

And with that I'm off into the ether for another five years,  content in the knowledge that you lot won't need your passports to wave a flag on the Kop anymore. Small mercies eh!

Beautiful post by the way E2K - Absolutely nailed it mate! 

[Pope Dave]

That is one of the best posts I've ever read on this site. A superb piece. Very well done.

[sideshowme]

wow.  superb writing in the OP.

this whole book thing has passed me by.  where can i read the extracts?

it sounds worryingly like gerrard's done a hodgson with his ferguson and mourinho comments.

[Fat Scouser]

Only one complaint... The Ferguson Kool-Aid is a cracking line, but I reckon it was the Toilet Duck. And seems our Steven sniffed a bit too much Jose crack, an all.

[LiverBirdKop]

 Wow. That was awesome reading.

Was very disappointed after reading those excerpts from Stevie's book. And then the Mourinho lovefest just made me f-ing sick. Needless to say I won't be buying this book.

 

[conman]

Wow. That was awesome reading.

Was very disappointed after reading those excerpts from Stevie's book. And then the Mourinho lovefest just made me f-ing sick. Needless to say I won't be buying this book.

 

It doesn't appear that many are willing to. I just wonder what the point of this book is.

[redgriffin73]

this whole book thing has passed me by.  where can i read the extracts?

The Daily Mail. Say no more.

[S]

That's a great post. I'm inclined to agree with nearly everything you say. Thankfully though, this will all blow over very quickly, thanks mostly to Rafa's dignified response.

I don't disagree with Gerrard's comments about Liverpool fans loving Mourinho though. If he came to us before Chelsea and won us a couple of league titles I think we'd be worshipping him, no matter how he acted whilst doing so. Right now is a different matter and there's no way I'd have him here, no matter how poor we are. But given the lengths fans often go to excuse questionable behaviour from players/managers, I have no doubt we'd have all taken to Mourinho had he come to us after Porto.

[Fromola]

That's a great post. I'm inclined to agree with nearly everything you say. Thankfully though, this will all blow over very quickly, thanks mostly to Rafa's dignified response.

I don't disagree with Gerrard's comments about Liverpool fans loving Mourinho though. If he came to us before Chelsea and won us a couple of league titles I think we'd be worshipping him, no matter how he acted whilst doing so. Right now is a different matter and there's no way I'd have him here, no matter how poor we are. But given the lengths fans often go to excuse questionable behaviour from players/managers, I have no doubt we'd have all taken to Mourinho had he come to us after Porto.

We would, but why give it all that guff about Rafa going against the Liverpool way? Mourinho's the biggest arsehole in football. He doesn't care who he offends and falls out with.

[S]

We would, but why give it all that guff about Rafa going against the Liverpool way? Mourinho's the biggest arsehole in football. He doesn't care who he offends and falls out with.

Yup, not disagreeing with you on that at all.

[legendkiller]

That's a great post. I'm inclined to agree with nearly everything you say. Thankfully though, this will all blow over very quickly, thanks mostly to Rafa's dignified response.

I don't disagree with Gerrard's comments about Liverpool fans loving Mourinho though. If he came to us before Chelsea and won us a couple of league titles I think we'd be worshipping him, no matter how he acted whilst doing so. Right now is a different matter and there's no way I'd have him here, no matter how poor we are. But given the lengths fans often go to excuse questionable behaviour from players/managers, I have no doubt we'd have all taken to Mourinho had he come to us after Porto.

Excellent opening post

If Mourinho did come what makes people think he would of got us even close to winning the league . He was beaten in three semi finals by the manager we had . Rafa Valencia V Jose Porto , which manager would u pick ??

[S]

Excellent opening post

If Mourinho did come what makes people think he would of got us even close to winning the league . He was beaten in three semi finals by the manager we had . Rafa Valencia V Jose Porto , which manager would u pick ??

He almost certainly wouldn't win us the league, because of our financial constraints compared to others. I was kind of being hypothetical and ignoring the exact logistics of such a situation. Just pointing out that if he came here instead and had the same success with us as he has had with Chelsea, we'd all be worshiping him and overlooking his antics.

[Floydy]

can somebody make sure stevie reads this?

fucking hate players and their books, sometimes taints a wonderful love affair.

[trimore]

There is one thought that popped in my mind when reading all this. Being a top level professional footballer in Europe isn't exactly a normal job and I know for me at least that all the money in the world wouldn't stop me from getting at least a little hurt from all the abuse you get from opposition fans both in the stadium and on the street and probably even from your own fans when you aren't performing.

Even more than most players Gerrard, always seemed to takes these things a little too personally for better and worse. It made him the competitor he was that drove the team to victories even in his later years, but unfortunately it also makes hims say shit like this.

For all we as fans hate Mourinho, I have heard before from other players a real love for Mourinho, that I rarely see spoken in the press for anyone in football. If Mourinho likes you, he will stick up for you and shield you from the abuse. For some footballers, that's a huge thing and would make them forgive other transgressions.

[_00_deathscar]

Watch fucking this part.

https://youtu.be/USZI2p285FI?t=34m42s

[JJ Red]

I think Gerrard is the perfect example of why a player should not have too much power at a club.

He is too emotional and quite honestly makes terrible decisions. He would be a bad manager imo if that is his ultimate plan.

I remember reports after gh left stating allegedly that gerrard wanted either curbishley or mclaren. Do you guys remember that? No offence to either but he wouldn't have his cl medal if he had got his way.

Couple that with his alleged endorsement of hodge and you realise that he is a man who seems completely ruled by his heart and his own ego.

The op is excellent and does call out gerrard on what he would deem acceptable behaviour for a manager and also his rather cowardly attempt to minimise his own little distraction at the time.

He was a great player and a Liverpool legend but he really should just shut up or will we get another book in three years time?

[JP!]

THIS!

Never post on here these days, but I think the OP is one of the best things I've ever read and defines what RAWK is and should be about:

For me, it opens a bigger can of worms in respect of having 'living legends' and big reputations at the club and the power they weld. It's my opinion both Gerrard and Carragher undermined Rafa in those final days - Even talk of SG bigging up Hodgson to Purslow - That connection to Ayre and Purslow, and the constant leaks coming out of the dressing room in that period were classless. Conveniently airbrushed by the majority of our fanbase these days. With Carra being offered a 12 month extension on his contract shortly after - Which Benitez (by all accounts) wasn't offering. I also seem to recall during all the bollix with H&G, the Spanish lads going out on a 'media limb' to endorse Rafa (Torres, Reina etc) yet those living English legends keeping stum - and of course Danny Murphy honing his punditry career, sniping at Rafa's methods from the sides. One wonders why Danny?

Since I never post on here these days - and don't really give a fuck what anyone thinks anymore - Especially after last season and this.
I'll go out on a limb and say something probably massively unpopular. In that I wouldn't let people with such obvious agendas like Gerrard any where near the club. And for one, I'm also glad he wasn't offered a coaching role by Rodgers either. LFC shouldn't be a rest home or pre-school for anyone - Not even you Stevie.

Club legends in that respect can be massively detrimental - I look at Mourinho's current struggle managing John Terry's decline because of his 'legendary status,' and Rodgers' trying to reinvent an ageing SG for two or more seasons. I sense a fear of reputations that Rafa would never have had.

Benitez was indeed ruthless, and wasn't perfect either. That said, I loved him for it, because it was this attitude which made us one of the greatest and most feared football clubs in Europe again. For me, Gerrard's book and the sensationalised utterances from it, just confirms he's still simply a footballer with a footballer's mentality. It's about him first and foremost - his feelings, his whinges. Not that of the club or it's greater good. The polar opposite of someone like Kenny or Rafa, both of whom bleed LFC, with a genuine love of their adopted city and its people, sacrificing their own health and well-being fighting 'our' corner against all sorts of detractors and maligners!

Stevie, for all my love of him as a player, just doesn't say much in that respect - either on or off the field - So unlike most on here, I take his opinions on people and football (Rafa especially) with a pinch of salt.

Dion Fanning was proved right in 2010, when he predicted that the 'Benitez era' may turn out to be halcyon years in times to come. The club and the fanbase hasn't been the same since. All those mentioned above, and a noisey proportion of our supporters were responsible for us sacking the greatest manager we've had since Bob. Now we're truly counting the cost!

And with that I'm off into the ether for another five years,  content in the knowledge that you lot won't need your passports to wave a flag on the Kop anymore. Small mercies eh!

Beautiful post by the way E2K - Absolutely nailed it mate! 

Superbly well said.  Fucking sick of the pandering to 'club legends' - we aren't Newcastle.

Also an excellent job by the OP.

The more Gerrard talks, the more he seems like he never grew past the mental age of 16.

[conman]

Superbly well said.  Fucking sick of the pandering to 'club legends' - we aren't Newcastle.

Also an excellent job by the OP.

The more Gerrard talks, the more he seems like he never grew past the mental age of 16.

That may well be the case with many footballers, who are lavished with gifts and praise from about that age.

[Met]

Watch fucking this part.

https://youtu.be/USZI2p285FI?t=34m42s

I've completely misšed this. Thank you!

[JP!]

That may well be the case with many footballers, who are lavished with gifts and praise from about that age.

Agree. Seems more common in English footballers too, if I'm honest.

[_00_deathscar]

I've completely misšed this. Thank you!

I was specificaly highlighting the part where H+G took over and Rafa's comments on that, leading to Torres' comments on our ability to compete financially, but the fact that we had an incredible team (mentions THAT midfield) but lacked the squad to compete - but it's worth watching the whole thing.

Wenger is very complimentary throughout (good words from Wenger or abuse from Ferguson and Mourinho? I know whose opinion I'd rather respect) - look at him grinning when he mentions our midfield triumvirate of Gerrard, Xabi and Masch - he's more than a little jealous there!

This is going back a bit, but it almost struck me - 08/09. We went for ALL the competitions there (or at least all 3 of League, Europe and FA Cup). We quite clearly did not have the squad to compete in going far in two, nevermind three. I do often wonder if trying to progress in Europe, specifically that season, hurt us in the League - I'm thinking the effort required to try to peg Chelsea back from 3-1 down, at Stamford Bridge of all places (that incredible 4-4), followed by the 4-4 against Arsenal. If we had a fresh set of players for Arsenal and took a victory there (think we'd have hammered them - Gerrard was out of that game as I recall), we'd have put more pressure on Man Utd.

Alternatively, pushing for the league meant we were hurt a bit in Europe. We simply couldn't compete with the squad we had - but if we could have kept a strong core of 13 fit throughout, and Nando and Gerrard not having to play only 14 games together....

Who knows? I might be biased, but I reckon we'd have take on "the greatest Barcelona team of all time" and beaten them. Quite comfortably in fact.

But you know what? We failed at the final hurdles that season when it really mattered - but I wouldn't have it any other way. I would NOT want LFC to 'give up' a competition to focus on another. That is NOT Liverpool Football Club. We go all in. That was an incredible season - and we came away trophyless, but I often wonder about that team and what it really could have achieved had the manager stayed and the core stayed too.

That spine was incredible - it's the stuff of Galactico legends, the kind other teams spending hundreds of millions assembling, and ours cost close to fuck all.

[_00_deathscar]

It might be in my head, but I recall Guardiola when the second round (or quarter final?) draws were coming up, and he was asked whom he would like to draw. He said something like 'anyone but Liverpool'

[benitezthered]

Wow. A truly breathtaking piece of writing. Thanks.

But you know what? We failed at the final hurdles that season when it really mattered - but I wouldn't have it any other way. I would NOT want LFC to 'give up' a competition to focus on another. That is NOT Liverpool Football Club. We go all in.

What about 2005 mate? Rafa acknowledged that playing a much weakened side in the FA Cup defeat at Burnley allowed the players to be fresher for those storied, spine-tingling European nights.

[Derry-Red]

One of the best posts I've read on here for quite a while. Really dont get Gerrard's hatred of the best manager he's ever worked under?

[_00_deathscar]

Wow. A truly breathtaking piece of writing. Thanks.

What about 2005 mate? Rafa acknowledged that playing a much weakened side in the FA Cup defeat at Burnley allowed the players to be fresher for those storied, spine-tingling European nights.

I thought about that. You could argue I am being biased, but I don't think we put out a team that wouldn't beat Burnely. What happened was unfortunate. Contrast that with the Real Madrid game, where we looked to not even not lose, but minimise the scoreline.

Where we DID give up (a couple of times, in fact) was when we went far enough in Europe that our league form suffered badly for it - 04/05 season and again in 06/07 season. Off the top of my head, we did okay in 07/08 season even though we went to the semis.

[the good half]

I love Rafa.

[007.lankyguy]

One of the best posts I've read on here for quite a while. Really dont get Gerrard's hatred of the best manager he's ever worked under?

Let's not overstate it; Gerrard does not hate Rafa Benitez. He's very complimentary about his coaching ability and how it pushed him to reach higher and higher heights.

[DangerScouse]

It might be in my head, but I recall Guardiola when the second round (or quarter final?) draws were coming up, and he was asked whom he would like to draw. He said something like 'anyone but Liverpool'

Pretty sure it was Messi who said that although we were that much of a force they both possibly did.

[_00_deathscar]

Pretty sure it was Messi who said that although we were that much of a force they both possibly did.
[/quote

You're possibly right, it might have been. He was a young(er) pup back then, but he'd already gotten a taste of Rafa's tactical masterclass via Arbeloa in 2006-2007 and the shutting down of Ronaldinho.

The first leg was great, the second leg was even greater. Barca hadn't a fucking clue what hit them in that first half. It's disappointing we didn't score - would have been interesting to see what would have happened if we did score. I recall Sissoko hitting the post from about 40 yards out. Masch had a couple saved. Think we had 10 shots on target in that first half alone before we eased out. Would it have opened the floodgates ala like vs Real Madrid 08-09?

[Alf]

That's a great piece. Personally I think Gerrard has tunnel vision in relation to Rafael Benitez. His remark about the current manager 10 years earlier for instance. Rafa knew how to play in Europe & that's why we were the number 1 ranked side in 2009. Rick Parry alluded in his recent interview on TAW that it was a miracle that we came so close to the title that season with what was going on behind the scenes at the club. Look at what Man Utd had up front that season, we had Fernando Torres who went 9 months without scoring at Anfield & Robbie Keane for half a season.

[jambutty]

THIS!

Never post on here these days, but I think the OP is one of the best things I've ever read and defines what RAWK is and should be about:

One great post followed by another.

Shows to go yer that some of our best match going mates were so wrong for us.

Imagine us if Rafa had managed to fight through the slime until FSG came along.

[HarryLabrador]

The thing that irks me is Gerrard bigging up Rodgers' man-management and then criticizing Rafa's. Gerrard basically wants someone who'll kiss his arse and keep saying how wonderful he is (Brendan Rodgers was wonderful at doing this) and put the arm around his shoulder when in truth Gerrard needed to grow up a bit. Not to mention Rodgers falling out with more players than Rafa ever did.

Rafa's job was to get the best out of Gerrard as a player and nobody else got more out of Gerrard than Rafa did. If what Gerrard needed was a social worker then that's not Rafa's problem.

Bob Paisley was cold. A cold blooded winner. The club's gone soft.

Not quite. Just take a look at this:

Steven Gerrard: Brendan Rodgers’ overconfidence hindered Liverpool
 
• Gerrard ‘sensed an overconfidence in Brendan’s team talks’ in 2013-14
• 35-year-old also tried to help sign Alexis Sánchez and Toni Kroos for Liverpool
 
Steven Gerrard says of Liverpool’s defeat by Chelsea in April 2014: ‘I was seriously concerned that we thought we could blow Chelsea away. I sensed an over-confidence in Brendan’s team talks. We played into Chelsea’s hands.’   

 Friday 25 September 2015 10.22 BST 

Steven Gerrard has criticised manager Brendan Rodgers’ “overconfident” approach to Liverpool’s fateful game against Chelsea that derailed the Merseyside club’s 2013-14 Premier League title bid.

Rodgers has had to deal with uncomfortable headlines linking former Borussia Dortmund manager Jürgen Klopp with his job, with scrutiny building after Liverpool needed penalties to scrape past Carlisle in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday. And quotes from Gerrard’s new autobiography published in the Independent will do little to improve matters.
 
Liverpool led the table by five points with three games to go until they were beaten 2-0 by José Mourinho’s side in April 2014, and would go on to finish two points behind champions Manchester City.

The match was decided in part by Gerrard’s slip which presented the ball to Demba Ba for a breakaway goal in first-half injury time.

But in ‘Steven Gerrard: My Story’, the influential midfielder – now with the LA Galaxy – points the finger at Rodgers as well.

Gerrard said: “I’ve never been able to say this in public before but I was seriously concerned that we thought we could blow Chelsea away. I sensed an over-confidence in Brendan’s team talks. We played into Chelsea’s hands. I feared it then and I know it now.”

Gerrard also recalls the moment he was told he would not be in the starting line-up against Manchester United last season. Gerrard was used as a half-time substitute in the game but was sent off just 38 seconds after his introduction for stamping on United midfielder Ander Herrera – and he reveals in the book that he came close to venting his displeasure at Rodgers himself.

“A sudden lump formed in my throat,” he said of the conversation in the manager’s office earlier in the week. “I had a split-second decision to make. Do I have a go at him?”

Elsewhere in the book, Gerrard discusses his role in keeping Luis Suárez at the club in the summer of 2013. The Uruguay striker appeared set to join Arsenal, only for Liverpool to turn down the London club’s bid and keep Suárez at Anfield to spearhead that title near-miss.

Gerrard recalls texting Suárez to ask: “Luis, what’s going on here? We need to straighten this out.” The pair talked at training the next day and then met with Rodgers, with Suárez eventually persuaded to stay on Merseyside. He scored 31 league goals that season before leaving for Barcelona last summer.

Gerrard also describes being deployed to attract transfer targets to Anfield and claims he was asked by the club to “take a crack” by text at both Chile forward Alexis Sánchez, before his move from Barcelona to Arsenal, and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos who ultimately left Bayern Munich for Real Madrid.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/sep/25/steven-gerrard-liverpool-brendan-rodgers-overconfidence

[DangerScouse]

Shut up bellend.

[thegoodfella]

If someone ever gets around reading this, let me know if there's any profound, life affirming lessons in the book. So far, everything I'm reading or hearing about it has me thinking that I've read better posts on this forum.

[Chakan]

So why didn't he have a go at Rodgers, a lump formed in his throat, and he thought about it and oooohh'd and aaaahhh'd and uuuum'd about. Surely if you think you're the man and think you have valuable input they why not speak up?

Not saying he's right or anything, follow your gut then.

Not painting him in the brightest light is it?

[mattD]

Fantastic article. Thanks very much for this.

[conman]

I wonder if he's regretted (ghost)writing this book yet or does this merely confirm how detached he is from the rest of us, and thus won't bat an eyelid?

[surfer. Fuck you generator.]

Regret? I doubt it, he was making jokes the other night on BT Sport about not wanting to talk about Rafa in case he's accused of trying to sell his book again.

Before that, there was a part of me that was still thinking his ghost-writer has fucked him there, a bit like with Zlatan, but after that....nah. His words seem to reflect his genuine beliefs, are his to bear,  as is the case for everyone.