Manchester United and Liverpool: A lesson in Tradition

David Moyes and Brendan Rodgers

With Ferguson gone, the class of ’92 retired and David Moyes overseeing an awful run, 20 years of dominance seem to be on the verge of a downfall. Manchester United is a club which rose again after losing its first team in an air crash, then became European champions and branded their home as the Theatre of Dreams.

It is a club where six lads who played together in the youth team and in the reserves were then promoted to the first team, won the treble; a club where the smoke of Matt Busby’s pipes inspired the youth to become legends but the present scenario does not reflect what the real Manchester United is.

Moyes’s early intentions indicate that he is willing to spend big as European monster clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester City, Chelsea and PSG. Success in these clubs is fed through the works of clubs like United, Ajax, Liverpool, Arsenal etc.

Manchester United was never a club like that, but now, the aura is changing and it seems like old schools of thought are being replaced by money. Dreams are being built on money, not on traditional values. What David Moyes is trying, it does not represent United, rather it is indicative of a panicking club looking for a short term solution, almost as if every United defeat presses a panic button in his mind.

United had their own way of playing under Ferguson. They played with wide players who had good crossing abilities and would track the opposition full backs. Their full backs always tried to overlap to help the wide players. They played with high energy and tempo under Ferguson.

Moyes has his own philosophy of playing football. He doesn’t need to go through the Ferguson way but it seems that he is afraid to follow his own methods. He should first impart his way of playing to the players. If that doesn’t work, then he should look to sign players accordingly.

His players don’t look to be motivated enough to win matches. The most annoying part to me is that he wants to get that motivation by spending big. Mata, although a good panic buy, seems more like a signing which aims to show the other clubs that United are still capable of signing big players; instead of what they actually need. He is scouting players as if he wants to replace the whole team. Only signing players and giving new contracts to an already overpaid footballer don’t suggest healthy business to me.

One club that has displayed genuine signs of development this year is Liverpool. Brendon Rodgers’s team is promising to bring early goals and late dramas at Anfield. The way Arsenal was demolished at Anfield indicates that the glory days of Liverpool are not far away. Time has come when people and fans of Liverpool should start dreaming of midweek European games enjoyed with a pint of beer in hands.

English football has always been about one of these two fighting for honours. Liverpool and Manchester United are clubs based on a similar philosophy. They are very much similar in tradition, culture and heritage. Both represent an industrial city – Manchester and Liverpool. Both cities have fought for years to show the supremacy of one over the other.

Manchester United was started by the workers of Lancashire and Yorkshire Company. United represents not only football, but also their citizens’ pride and honor. Instead of developing a sense of attachment to the club in his players, David Moyes is trying to buy that loyalty and respect and it is for sure that honesty and loyalty cannot be brought with money. United is failing today not because they lack talent or resources, but because they lack that honesty and loyalty towards the club and people. David Moyes has to realize that it’s not the players like Mata, Van Persie, Fellaini who represent the club, it is players like Welbeck, Cleverley, Januzaj, Giggs, Neville, Scholes (the whole class of 92), Charlton et all who do.

Liverpool also lost this feeling when Rafa Benitez was sacked and they paid a hefty price for that. Although Benitez was never a visionary, he still managed to build a sense of pride and honour in his players for representing the people of Liverpool. After he was sacked, Liverpool lost that desire and motivation to succeed. When Kenny Dalglish was manager, they spent around £120 million to achieve 8th position. That was a poor performance for a club like Liverpool. David Moyes has to ensure that such things don’t happen to Manchester United.

Under Brendan Rodgers it’s that same old feeling which is rising through the likes of Sterling, Flanagan, Ibe and Gerrard. Liverpool is reverting to their old ways where the team is a blend of home grown and foreign players. Brendan Rodgers brought that belief back, that here we don’t buy legends but we make them. It’s same with Manchester United also.

People say that this is one of the best seasons of the Premier League. But for me, the season in which both these clubs fight for the title will be the best season of the Premier League. It’s hard to see the two richest English football clubs in terms of culture, tradition and history fighting to live up to their status in the Premier League.

It is easy to be a Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, PSG or Monaco fan but it is very difficult to be a fan of Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Manchester United, Dortmund or Ajax, Atletico Madrid. These clubs test the emotions of a football fan and their loyalty to the club and a real fan is the one who supports them in whatever condition they may be.