A rivalry like no other: Manchester United vs Liverpool

The North West Derby – one of the most vitriolic rivalries seen on a football pitch in modern times - will be played out this weekend at Old Trafford. When two of the biggest clubs in English football meet, there is a lot more than a mere three points at stake. League positions and recent form become irrelevant. A Tale of Two Cities – the rivalry is not only restricted to football but it also extends to the industrial and the cultural domains as well. The balance of power might have shifted from the Merseyside along the M62 to Manchester, but the two fan-bases still reserve a deep loathing for one another, hatred that spills out every time the two clubs take to a football pitch.

In stark contrast are the alarming similarities that exist between the two areas. Both of them were predominantly industrial cities with large working-class populations who were proud of their traditions. Both of them were considered the finest cities in the country in terms of their culture. Both sets of fans have a lot in common – for every Bill Shankly, there is a Matt Busby; for every King Kenny, there is a Sir Alex; for every Paul Scholes, there is a Steven Gerrard; for every Beatles, there is an Oasis; for every GGMU, there is a YNWA. The fan-bases have suffered and celebrated – for they have witnessed incredible highs of Istanbul’05 and Camp Nou’99 and been shocked by tragic lows of Hillsborough and Munich disasters.

The seeds of this iconic rivalry were sown during the industrial times. Liverpool and Manchester were two big cities which depended on a symbiotic relationship. Manchester was famous as a manufacturing city, especially cotton industries while Liverpool had the port by which goods were transferred to the outside world. The construction of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 led to ships bypassing the Liverpool port directly to Manchester and led to widespread job losses and discontent among the merchants of Liverpool. However, this does not account for the fact as to why Manchester City and Everton are not in the picture.

But it was not until the appointment of Bill Shankly to the helm of Liverpool FC that the rivalry reached a whole new dimension. In 1959, Liverpool was struggling in the second division when the Liverpool chairman Tom Williams approached Shankly to take over the reins and asked him: “How would you like to manage the best team in the country?” To which Shankly cheekily replied: “Why? Is Matt Busby packing it in at Manchester United?”, which only goes on to show how much United were ahead of Liverpool in terms of perception.

Shankly made a radical overhaul in the state of affairs of the Anfield side. The playing surface at Anfield, the club training facilities in Melwood were improved and the squad was given a shakeup. And the side did make a mark on the English and the European arena. The reins of the club were seamlessly passed on to the capable hands of Bob Paisley who ensured that the good work of Shankly was not undone. Liverpool went from strength to strength. The 1970’s and 80’s belonged to Liverpool as the club won 7 league titles, 4 FA Cups and 6 European Cups. In the corresponding period, there was little to cheer for the Old Trafford faithful as managers like Wolf McGuinness, Frank O’Farrell, Tommy Docherty, Dave Sexton and Ron Atkinson failed to ensure success on a consistent basis. After staving off the fall in 1972-73, the club was relegated at the end of the 1973-74 season, although promotion to the First Division was gained immediately a year after. Even though Docherty’s United beat Liverpool in the final of the FA Cup in 1977, it was just a blip on the radar as the Red Devils could not build further on their success.

The tables were turned when Alex Ferguson arrived on the Manchester United horizon in November 1986 and vowed to “knock Liverpool off their f**** perch.” The fiery Scotsman made sure that the next two decades in English football belonged to the Manchester powerhouse. When Sir Alex took over the Old Trafford hot seat, United had only 7 league titles compared to Liverpool’s 16.

A quarter of a century elapsed and Liverpool were knocked off their lofty pedestal as Manchester United overtook Liverpool’s haul of 18 titles after winning the league in 2010-11. Liverpool last won the league in 1989-90 and have been stuck there ever since. Managers have come and they have gone. Liverpool’s fortune hasn’t really changed drastically. There is really no doubt that there has only been only one winner in recent times on a football pitch.

But even now when the two clubs meet, bad blood boils over. When United visited Anfield in 1988, the two sides dished out an impressive display and the match ended in a 3-3 draw. Sir Alex was overheard speaking to radio reporters, complaining about refeering decisions, saying that it was no surprise managers ‘have to leave here choking on their own vomit, biting their tongue, afraid to tell the truth’. To which Kenny Dalglish, carrying his baby Lauren past Ferguson, remarked “You’ll get more sense out of her.” The last direct transfer to the opposite faction is as old as 1964 when Phil Chisnall crossed the forbidden divide to join Liverpool. The banter sometimes goes overboard with the two sets of fans making sick, unsavoury chants and singing scandalous, cruel songs, shamelessly reminding each other of the Hillsborough and Munich disasters – tragedies which marred the history of the two great footballing institutions. The degradation, from sporting endeavour to nasty, barbaric gesturing to let each other know how much they despise one another, is certainly uncalled for and is what makes the relationship exceedingly tempestuous.

The rivalry reached another level in 2011 when, during a game at Anfield, Patrice Evra accused Luis Suarez of passing racist remarks. Suarez was subsequently handed an eight-match ban. In the return fixture at Old Trafford, Suarez refused the customary pre-match handshake with Evra and the racism issue once again reared its ugly head. The two sets of fans vehemently defended their players and the resentment grew.

But the history in the relationship between the two clubs is not merely of hate stories. When eight Manchester United players died in the Munich crash, Liverpool offered five players on loan so that they could complete their season. In the immediate aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster, Alex Ferguson was one of the first to phone Kenny Dalglish and ask what he could do to help. The two legendary managers the two clubs had – Matt Busby and Bill Shankly – had enormous respect for each other. Shankly had lauded Busby as “the greatest manager that ever lived”. Busby was so upset with Shankly’s death in 1981 that he refused to take calls from eager journalists looking for a reaction. The longest serving player of the current Liverpool line-up, Jamie Carragher, mentioned the high mutual esteem which the two sides had for each other when he said, “I’ve always had respect for them. They’re a proper club, like us, and they should have respect for us too.” Ryan Giggs, one of the Old Trafford legends, retorted “I think I’ve always shown the right respect to Liverpool and the history they have and great team they are. But I also know that it’s the team I get the most pleasure out of beating.”

Former United midfielder Lee Sharpe succinctly summed up the emotions involved in the rivalry when he remarked “It’s not just about two clubs – it’s about two cities, two unbelievable histories, two clubs that both think they are the biggest in the world — so there is a lot of ego at stake.” It is a fact that all rivalries thrive on an element of spite and hatred. So this weekend, when the two sets of 11 men walk down to the Old Trafford pitch, expect noise levels to reach a crescendo; expect the accepted norms to be abandoned for the 90 minutes; expect flying studs and malicious bone-crunching challenges; expect the referee to be reaching for his pocket to brandish cards of different colors. As Jonjo Shelvey tweeted after getting sent off in the last encounter against United at Anfield last September, “I apologise to the fans for getting sent off but no way was I pulling out of that tackle in a game of that importance.”

Liverpool hate Manchester United. Manchester United hate Liverpool. Let us maintain the status quo. A bit of banter between two warring factions never hurts. Just leave the dead to rest peacefully in their graves.

(The author would like to thank his good friend and office colleague Arnab Dasgupta, a Gooner, for providing him with a ‘neutral’ perspective while writing this article.)