There have been moments in the rich history of clashes between Manchester United and Liverpool when grace under pressure from a promising young talent was enough to prevail.
It was 52 years ago this week that a teenage Phil Thompson made his debut for Bill Shankly’s Liverpool at Old Trafford and almost immediately found George Best running towards him. “I showed him how to nutmeg me and he tried it, but I managed to close my skinny legs in time, he bounced off my shins and I ran away with the ball,” Thompson said. The great George Best! And I had the ball!’
Not bad for a substitute who had replaced John Toshack in an unusual ‘number ten’ role behind Kevin Keegan, that day. It was the kind of confidence Shankly imbued in his players. United, who struggled under Frank O’Farrell in their difficult times after Sir Matt Busby retired, also fielded Bobby Charlton and Denis Law but still lost 3-0 in that game.
It doesn’t look like a completely different dynamic this weekend when United, still deeply flawed and utterly unpredictable, 11 years after the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s dynasty, face a Liverpool plane powered by the spirit of Jurgen Klopp, during a few more months at least.
The teams meet two months after Sir Jim Ratcliffe declared his desire to knock Liverpool – “our other neighbour”, as he described them – “off their perch”, along with Manchester City. Given United’s extremely fortunate draw at Brentford and desperate defeat to Chelsea last week, this will take considerable time.
Manchester United and Liverpool will renew their historic rivalry on Sunday afternoon
Sir Jim Ratcliffe declared his desire to knock Liverpool “off their perch” along with Man City
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Ratcliffe’s immediate recruitment of Dan Ashworth as sporting director underlines the fact that he considered poor player recruitment to be at the heart of United’s problems, with Jason Wilcox now identified as technical director.
But finding the coach to lead the team will not be easy, given the competitive market this summer, with Liverpool and Bayern Munich among those seeking to fill the same position.
Gareth Southgate’s appeal to Ratcliffe is evident. The English coach is well known to Ineos sporting director Sir Dave Brailsford. He recently attended Brailsford’s 60th birthday party, which included Ashworth, Ferguson, Roy Hodgson and Arsene Wenger.
The feeling among many United fans is that Southgate is too cautious for them, although Ratcliffe is believed to be determined not to let the court of public opinion affect his strategy. Either way, it seems United are simply on the cusp of a rebuild that could allow them to compete with the best again.
Thompson, Liverpool’s former captain and assistant manager, believes United are at least two years away from making any kind of title challenge.
“As a manager at Liverpool, I’ve been where United are now, trying to get back to being a team that wins trophies regularly,” he tells Mail Sport.
‘It’s not nice to look for those answers. You are used to winning trophies and suddenly you lose that culture of good habits, you no longer pull everything in one direction and things get out of control.
“It has been like this for a long time at United. They’ve hired too many maverick types. Players like Paul Pogba, Cristiano Ronaldo and maybe even Jadon Sancho have not been good for team morale. You can’t have that. It’s as if United haven’t done their due diligence on transfers. You can’t advance if you don’t have the right characters.’
The Reds began to prepare for life after Jürgen Klopp, who leaves at the end of the season
Erik ten Hag’s position looks threatened with United on the verge of missing out on the Champions League
Bryan Robson, United legend and ambassador, feels the distance from the top should not be exaggerated, with chronic injuries, especially to defenders, part of the explanation for this topsy-turvy season and United as a top striker far from face a challenge.
“All the forwards are young, except Marcus Rashford,” Robson tells Mailsport.
‘Can we buy a center forward to accompany Rasmus Hojlund? Because you can’t trust just one center forward and we need more goals in the team. We have top players at the back and it is up to them to stay fit, stay in the team and develop understanding. “So, add a few more players and you might be closer than some people suggest.”
Klopp’s departure brings some relief to United as they look to make up the gap on Liverpool. FSG’s decision to bring back Michael Edwards as chief football executive and Bournemouth’s Richard Hughes as sporting director underlines how they too view the organization as a whole.
“It won’t be perfect when Jurgen Klopp leaves, but they know that if they keep that team together, there will be a disciplined group for whoever takes over,” Thompson says. “Then they have men at the top who know the profile of the player they should add to that team if necessary.”
Robson believes the transition to Anfield cannot be entirely smooth, regardless of who takes Klopp’s place. “The players will be thinking, ‘Who’s in?'” he says.
‘And when Liverpool make the decision, does the manager who comes into play have a slightly different style? Does he have some slightly different principles? You never really know what the change will be like.
The 18-year-old Thompson, who would lift the European Cup in Paris in 1981, came close to scoring in his debut match at Old Trafford, cutting inside Martin Buchan and launching a ball with his left foot.
United legend Bryan Robson believes injuries partly explain his former club’s mixed campaign
“Alex Stepney reached out completely to save him,” he says. “It was the first time I heard Liverpool fans shouting my name. It was an incredibly humiliating experience.”
You never know when the next talent could be just around the corner and now it is United who are hoping that an 18-year-old local youngster, Kobbie Mainoo, can help them on their path to regain supremacy over Liverpool and the rest.
“He seems like a great guy around the place,” Robson says of the teen. “He looks like he could be a top player as long as he keeps his feet on the ground and works hard at his game.”