Your favorite rivalry...

[Smoking_Owl]

For me, it has to be the Arsenal rivalry in the late 90's/early 00's.

The hate between the two sides (managers, players, fans) was just glorious.

The excitement in the build up to those matches and the euphoric feeling when ever we fukcing done them was something else.

 

[Yagami]

Probably Arsenal. The 4-2 game in '05 was just one of the most entertaining games I've ever watched.

 

[Paxi]

Man Utd vs Liverpool.

As a whole, there is nothing more satisfying than being better, more successful than Liverpool.

 

[Pass and Move]

Got to agree with the OP, that was a proper rivalry with Arsenal around the turn of the millennium. Proper football rivalry rather than some nonsense about being poor because, canal.

 

[Random Task]

Liverpool & City - always has been always will be.

 

[Jaybomb]

Arsenal in the mid 2000s. Keane/Vieira was just gold.

 

[girish]

Definitely Arsenal. We had lots of personalities on both sides.

 

[Sky1981]

Liverpool.

Arsenal are 2 season wonder, they're non entity now.

Chelsea strangely there's not much animosity between us and them.

City ditto relatively speaking.

But scouse... They'll always be our rival even if they're in the championship

 

[Truedevil]

United - Stoke

 

[Jetrooooo]

Will Gerrard slipping on his arse stop being funny when Liverpool win the league again?

 

[SirScholes]

Will Gerrard slipping on his arse stop being funny when Liverpool win the league again?

I can't see them winning it unless there is another freak season like Leicester where all the top sides go missing

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

Overall, Liverpool is the biggest. Overtaking their league titles was a great feat, as was overtaking their total trophy haul this season. Despite the animosity, both clubs have more in common than what divides us.

Early/mid 90s with Leeds United was a genuinely nasty rivalry. I spent part of my pre-adult years in a few areas in West Yorkshire, so saw a lot of the rivalry from behind enemy lines. They fecking hated us.

Arsenal late 90s to mid 00s was also a heated one. I don't think it was quite as nasty as Leeds - among fans anyway, but there was the added edge of Arsenal being a genuinely great and threatening team who were battling us for trophies and sometimes coming out on top.


Despite City being local, it doesn't feel like a particularly fierce rivalry. It's only intensified in recent years because they've become a threatening team. I don't think there is any real hatred there. Not from our side anyway.

 

[DannyDee]

Peak Arsenal in the late 90's/early 2000's was probably the best, but overall it is the Scousers. Even if we are rarely great at the same time, it's the biggest must win for me every year. Keane vs Vieira and RVN vs Henry. It was just amazing.

While not my favorite, Leeds was always a good one. Sort of wish they made it back up so we could battle them. Would have been more interesting if they got some of that Oil money over City.

 

[Eyepopper]

Always be Liverpool for me.

 

[el3mel]

Vs Arsenal, undoubtedly.

 

[alanjohnson]

Liverpool. all those moments growing up. I had a friend who got me to support United with him. Then a year later, before the FA cup final 96, he was wearing that ugly green liverpool shirt. Basically his older brother got him to follow Liverpool because they were more successful. When I asked him, he reacted with 'so what liverpool are way better and have a bigger trophy collection, watch what happens in the final'
and from that point onwards the rivalry with liverpool fans has been huge.

 

[alanjohnson]

Overall, Liverpool is the biggest. Overtaking their league titles was a great feat, as was overtaking their total trophy haul this season. Despite the animosity, both clubs have more in common than what divides us.

Early/mid 90s with Leeds United was a genuinely nasty rivalry. I spent part of my pre-adult years in a few areas in West Yorkshire, so saw a lot of the rivalry from behind enemy lines. They fecking hated us.

Arsenal late 90s to mid 00s was also a heated one. I don't think it was quite as nasty as Leeds - among fans anyway, but there was the added edge of Arsenal being a genuinely great and threatening team who were battling us for trophies and sometimes coming out on top.


Despite City being local, it doesn't feel like a particularly fierce rivalry. It's only intensified in recent years because they've become a threatening team. I don't think there is any real hatred there. Not from our side anyway.

Leeds fans hate us probably more than liverpool fans, seriously. I don't know why.

 

[Red_Aaron]

I do kind of miss Leeds being in the top flight, obviously I don't ever want them to return and in fact I hope they continue to drop down the leagues and further into obscurity but yeah I do sort of miss them still

 

[Harry190]

 

[Jippy]

Liverpool.

Arsenal are 2 season wonder, they're non entity now.

Chelsea strangely there's not much animosity between us and them.

City ditto relatively speaking.

But scouse... They'll always be our rival even if they're in the championship

It's obviously Liverpool overall, but you could easily argue that the Arsenal rivalry was 1998-2003, not just two seasons (1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, if you really want to strip out 200-01, when we pissed the league).
It clearly doesn't have the history of the Liverpool rivalry, but it was immense. As others have said, from the managers down to Keane/Viera, the tunnel fracas, pizza-gate, Neville on Reyes, RVN winding them up etc...those games we immense and they meant so much more, cos we were both genuinely going head to head for the title.

 

[robinamicrowave]

I remember thinking the other day that I missed the rivalry between United and Arsenal between 1998 and 2005. It sort of ended after Arsenal won the FA Cup in the year that you ended their unbeaten streak. After that, Vieira and Keane both left, Arsenal fell away from being a regular top 2 team and Chelsea arrived.

 

[bobglory]

i just think that leeds turns my stomach more than anything else .

i hate city and i hate liverpool with a passion but i have respect for both kinda but leeds i cant stand and you can feel it in the ground when ever we play them at ot .and if you have ever had the displeasure of visiting there shit hole on a leeds vs mufc match day your probably in my corner on this thread. cant stand the filth.

 

[Chip]

Liverpool with City a close second. Especially in the last few years.

 

[norm87cro]

Nothing top's my book like Liverpool. I always feel a little anxious on game day with them. I said it before but Cantona's winner sticks in my memory just as strong as the two CL triumphs in my lifetime

 

[Solver]

Liverpool and leeds- if the noisy neighbours keep winning stuff they may overtake Leeds at some point

 

[marukomu]

Liverpool. The only one for me. City are just an annoyance and Arsenal a memory.

 

[Lyricist]

Speaking on a more international scale, how funny is it that for many foregin Real/Barca fans their rivalry basically comes down to the Ronaldo v Messi debate?

 

[Dante]

Favourite? That's totally the wrong word for it.

It has to be City. The cnuts. Purely because of the number of fans I meet on a day-to-day basis.

Liverpool are second because of the historical rivalry in terms of overall trophy tallies. Every season is a two-way competition with them, revolving around total league title and cup wins.

Everyone else it a situational enemy. Arsenal and Chelsea are cute to think that they even matter to Mancunian United fans. They matter as much to me as Blackburn or Newcastle did in the nineties.

 

[Needham]

In today's global game, "favorite" -and wishful thinking- would make it Real Madrid. The scale and landscape of competition has changed since Fergie reestablished the club.

 

[Invictus]

Probably Arsenal. The 4-2 game in '05 was just one of the most entertaining games I've ever watched.

Yep, there was a palpable feeling of claustrophobic restlessness in the Highbury air, and to this day, that was one of the most rollicking 90 odd minutes of football I've seen from a United team - especially with all the great performances by Giggs and Keane and Cristiano and Scholes, and O'Shea with the delightful chip (infact, all the players had a good game, apart from Silvestre), as well as the pre-game theatrics and the overarching United vs. Arsenal narrative from the late '90s to early 2000s. For supporters of a certain age, tension-charged matches versus Arsenal were the plat principal of the domestic season purely because you're more impressionable from the middle childhood to early adolescent stage, and they were THE bete noire team in terms of competitiveness, more so than Liverpool - who've been quite meh in my years of watching United.

 

[Sky1981]

It's obviously Liverpool overall, but you could easily argue that the Arsenal rivalry was 1998-2003, not just two seasons (1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, if you really want to strip out 200-01, when we pissed the league).
It clearly doesn't have the history of the Liverpool rivalry, but it was immense. As others have said, from the managers down to Keane/Viera, the tunnel fracas, pizza-gate, Neville on Reyes, RVN winding them up etc...those games we immense and they meant so much more, cos we were both genuinely going head to head for the title.

It was at that time, but im looking back from today so i can say it's a 2 season wonder

 

[VanHaal'sRedArmy]

Celtics/Lakers then Giants/Dodgers.

 

[Bojan11]

Nadal vs Federer.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Sunderland vs Inter Milan.

 

[Web of Bissaka]

Jokes aside, can't pick either from these two .

Liverpool, our eternal rival. Our enemy in History class (Leeds who?) and Trophies Collection competition.

Arsenal, short lived, but the best contemporary ones. Ended after Wenger decided 3rd EPL spot and FA Cups are gold.

 

[Mr Smith]

City since the money. I know we haven't always had it our own way, but I've been more pumped for those games than any other, and felt more vindication when we've won.

 

[Robertd0803]

Man Utd vs Liverpool.

As a whole, there is nothing more satisfying than being better, more successful than Liverpool.

Exactly. Has to be Liverpool.

 

[Siorac]

United v Arsenal produced a lot more memorable games. Let's face it, United v Liverpool games are generally shite.

That said, beating Liverpool feels better than beating Arsenal.

 

[Mr. MUJAC]

'Favourite rivals' is a bit of an oxymoron.

I would only really regard Liverpool and City as rivals...and neither are my favourites as I hate the days leading up to the game and if we lose the days after.

My ideal is that both would be in the lower divisions.

Other clubs come and go as they get successful and then become relatively mediocre again...

 

[VeevaVee]

I'm too on edge about Liverpool to enjoy it, but it's definitely the sweetest win.

Arsenal, even though there was obvious animosity, always seemed like a more wholesome rivalry.

City is just meh. Obviously enjoy the win, but not as passionate because I just see them as so fake.