Manchester United delight at denying Liverpool indicates grim times ahead at Old Trafford
- You know Manchester United are in a slump when a result against Klopp’s Reds marks a season highlight
- Liverpool host the Red Devils at Anfield on Sunday on a seemingly unstoppable march towards the Premier League title
The Red Devils are firmly in the shadow of their despised rivals from Merseyside. It is an uncomfortable feeling but both sets of supporters know this sensation well. Since Bill Shankly arrived at Anfield in 1959 with the dream of challenging United, north-west England’s giants have rarely been strong at the same time. The only exception is a four-season spell in the mid-1960s when the teams alternated title wins. Other than that, a pattern has emerged where one club are strong when the other is weak.
At the moment United are very weak. There is little sign of them regaining their strength any time soon. The hierarchy at Old Trafford are groping to find a coherent way forward. Should they bite the bullet, sack Solskjaer and appoint Mauricio Pochettino? Or should they stick with the Norwegian and hope things get better? The suspicion is that a draw at Anfield will keep the United manager in place until at least the end of the campaign. A victory that ends Liverpool’s 38-game unbeaten Premier League run could well earn Solskjaer a statue outside the Stretford End.
It is grim to be on the receiving end of domination in this football blood feud. United fared well in individual matches against Liverpool in the 1980s – the Merseyside club won only two league meetings between the pair during the entire decade – but Anfield was home to six title trophies as well as assorted cups. United fans celebrated rapturously whenever they beat the old enemy but Ron Atkinson, the manager for the first half of the decade, summed up the feelings at Old Trafford after the 1983-84 season: “We finished fourth in a two-horse race,” he said.
By then the weight of history was piling on United. The last previous time they had been champions was 1967. As the years ticked by without winning the league, the pain of Liverpool’s ascendancy grew deeper.
Ferguson’s mission statement when he took over from Atkinson in 1986 was to “knock Liverpool off their ******* perch.” It took the Scot seven seasons to break United’s 26-year title drought and by then decline was already underway on Merseyside. Arsenal and Leeds United have a greater claim to ending Anfield’s supremacy.
The three decades since Liverpool were the leading English side have been painful. Ferguson’s control for much of the period was almost complete. Nearly as much joy was taken in United’s setbacks as Liverpool’s victory
The three decades since Liverpool were the leading English side have been painful. Ferguson’s control for much of the period was almost complete. Nearly as much joy was taken in United’s setbacks as Liverpool’s victory. One of the last great days of the standing Kop came in 1992 when Graeme Souness’s team effectively handed the title to Leeds with a 2-0 win over United. The elated crowd bayed, “you’ll never win the league” at Ferguson’s men. It was one of Anfield’s high points in the ’90s.
United fans are in a similar position now. The best they can hope for is a cup run, a top-four place and taking something from a rampant Liverpool. Their fear is that the next 10 years will be like the ’90s in reverse. It is a dismal prospect for the Stretford End.
Still, United diehards will take their pleasure where they can get it. They are desperate to see whether Solskjaer can come up with a plan to slow down Klopp’s flyers again.
In the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in October, the 46-year-old had Marcus Rashford and Daniel James play wide and run into the space behind Liverpool’s raiding full backs. When the away side’s attacks broke down and United gained possession, they knocked the ball long to try and use the pace of the two forwards against Klopp’s centre backs. It is unlikely the German will fall for the same tactics twice.
Even if United find a way to beat Liverpool, there will be little solace for their supporters. It is almost impossible to imagine a series of events that could stop the Premier League trophy taking up residence at Anfield for the first time. When it does and the 30-year clock stops ticking, then attention turns back to Old Trafford. It is seven years since United last won the title. The seasons slip away quickly and, given the lack of direction on the pitch and the boardroom, it is hard to imagine them challenging Liverpool and Manchester City in the foreseeable future. Both those clubs have had significant, expensive and sometimes painful overhauls in the last decade while United have been stuck in the past and in a loop of repeated mistakes.
There are some teams that could take pride in denying Liverpool points – Aston Villa came close in November and it would have been a coup for them – but United should have bigger ambitions. Their fans should be boasting about trophies and glory. It shows how far they have fallen. If the coming years are anything like Liverpool’s 1990s, there are some ugly times ahead at Old Trafford.
