Has the standard really improved across the board in the premier league from years gone by? Defending certainly hasn't in my opinion. The old United teams of 99 and 08 would be making mince meat of this league with all the talent. Giggs, Scholes, Cole, Yorke, Beckham, Tevez, Rooney, Ronaldo. I think even some of the teams we had between that would do damage.
The argument is daft anyway. You can only measure it by previous success and on that level the current Liverpool side has a long way to go. Same for City.