The relentless bullying of Rafa Benitez paints English football in a bad light We only have Benitez's word for this, so Ferguson must be given the benefit of the doubt until he chooses to respond to the accusation that he rejected his opponents" hand, yet it would be no surprise if it were true considering the bad blood between the pair. Ferguson is never slow to defend a fellow manager when owners or supporters undermine the man in the dug-out, but after Benitez had railed against the abuse he has been subjected to by the Chelsea fans following the recent FA Cup victory at Middlesbrough, the United manager shrugged his shoulders and uttered a dismissive, "I'm not getting into that," when asked for his views on the matter. Three years ago, unguarded comments by Wigan manager Roberto Martinez to the Spanish media gave a glimpse into Benitez's isolation among Premier League managers, largely as a result of his readiness to take Ferguson on. "He (Ferguson) has his group of loyalists among other coaches - Steve Bruce, a former player of his, and Sam Allardyce, who thinks he will be his successor at Old Trafford, among others," Martinez said. On the other hand, there is only Benítez and they get at him from all sides. Martinez had a point, even if he has since attempted to distance himself from those comments by building a healthy relationship with Ferguson. Benitez has few allies in the managerial world, the Chelsea supporters appear to loath him with a passion and even his players give off the impression that, as the chant goes, he doesn't know what he is doing. The wry grin on Frank Lampard's face as he was substituted early in the second haldf at Old Trafford hinted at the midfielder believing that the substitution was a mistake. Trailing 2-0 at the time, surely it was a backward step to withdraw Chelsea's prolific midfielder, yet the substitution changed the game as the cup holders went on to claim a 2-2 draw. Not that Benitez was given any credit for it. The Chelsea fans still want him out and that will not change, but Benitez's CV deserves respect if nothing else. He took Liverpool to two Champions League finals, winning one and losing the other, guided Valencia to the Uefa Cup and two Spanish titles and could end the season at Stamford Bridge with the FA Cup and Europa League trophy in the Stamford Bridge cabinet. He has successfully got under the skin of both Ferguson and Jose Mourinho and shown the courage to drop John Terry at Chelsea. But English football only seems to want to drive him away. The game will be a quieter place when that happens. Pity.