Re: UNITED TEAM IS BETTER THAN THE LIVERPOOL SIDES OF THE 70s AND 80s

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: : Saw this article in MEN today, most of you have probably read it, but feel free to pass it on to any scousers you may know. It was written by Stuart : : Brennan in his ongoing war with Liverpool Echo and Liverpool hardman(??) Tommy Smith. Don't see many flaws in Brennan's arguments, and I would add : : that Liverpool's demise coincided with the introduction of the back pass rule - it kind of hinders 0-1 away wins in Europe and League when you : : can't waste more than half the game by giving the ball to your goalies hands. : : Nice one Stuart!! : : UNITED TEAM IS BETTER THAN THE LIVERPOOL SIDES OF THE 70s AND 80s : : I've been completely underwhelmed by the lovely fan mail I received from our Scouse cousins since claiming that United's class of 2000 are better than the great Liverpool sides. : : Some of it funny, some of it well-argued, but most of it downright bitter and abusive. But I stand by what I wrote and I will write more of it again in block capitals - THIS UNITED TEAM IS BETTER THAN THE LIVERPOOL SIDES OF THE 70s AND 80s. : : I argued that the European Cup was easier to win in that era, when the Continent was weak, the knockout format meant fewer games, and the luck of the draw was a big factor. Back came the Scousers, saying that to win it in those days was harder because ONLY the Champions of their respective leagues were allowed to enter -"only the cream" is a phrase I have heard a lot in the last fortnight. : : I'm flabbergasted. The Liverpudlian reasoning seems to be that a competition involving, say, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Bayern Munich would be harder to win than one which involved Manchester : : United, Arsenal, Leeds, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund, for example. : : It shouldn't take a rocket scientist, even a Scouse rocket scientist, to work out which would be tougher of the two tournaments. Not only that, European sides these days are overflowing with money and talent-can anyone name a continental side in Liverpool's era which could boast a squad which could compete with star-studded modern sides like Real, Barcelona, AC : : Milan and Lazio? That kind of strength is echoed throughout Europe these days. The "cream" of Liverpool's era - sides like Akranes, Dundalk, : : Omonia Nicosia and Glentoran - has been skimmed off and replaced with REAL teams. : : The Liverpool lot also claim that these days you can go through in the Champions League after loosing a game. They are looking at it cock-eyed - You also have to win more games than ever to take the trophy. Organising the competition on a league basis does allow you to lose a game or two and still progress, but it also ensures, as near as dammit that the quarter-finals consist of the eight best teams. : : Some people say the Premiership is a weak league. But that is in comparison to United. The truth is that the influx of money and foreign stars means that the English top flight is stronger than ever. In Liverpool's day, you won the league title by beating clubs made up from the four home nations and the Republic. Don't get me wrong those Liverpool teams were great sides. : : But the truth hurts - and even if United NEVER overtake the 18 league titles and 4 European Cups, they are a better team. : : Indeed, I would go so far as to say that a full-strength 2001 United side would beat a select XI from Liverpool 1973-89. (Dons tin helmet and waits for incoming....) : I agree overwhelmingly with the above sentiments. However, I would like to add that I believe the United double winning team of 93/94 was the best of the lot. : I know they never won the European Cup (I cannot call it anything else), but if you remember, this was in the era of the 3 foreigners rule, and those cheeky chappies in Switzerland considered England, Scotland, Wales , Northern Ireland and Eire as separate countries. I will always maintain that the power and the beauty of the football played by that Cantona/Hughes/Giggs/Kanchelskis/Schmeikal team was absolutely sublime, and if they had all benn allowed to play in Europe we would have waited a mere 26 years to win the big one. : Nevertheless, I'm checking Easyjet flights to Nice in May, then on by road to Milan. : Eggs, chicken, ... What? What?.

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