How Cringe Is The Liverpool/City Love In

[RedChisel]

I've had a good laugh at the attempts to paint this as the greatest rivalry in Premier League history. The Scouse loving media are desperate to diminish any of United's achievements in favour of Liverpool.

No rivalry in the Premier League that doesn't involve United can ever be as heated or passionate as one that does as the hate isn't there.

Everyone hated United and would up their game 200% when we came to town. Nobody gives a shit about Abu Dhabi and teams regularly roll over for the Scouse especially their City rivals Everton.

Our rivalry with Arsenal was on another level. The teams and managers genuinely hated each other and had real battles on the pitch. Far more entertaining than Pep and Klopp wanking each other off.

 

[B20]

I've had a good laugh at the attempts to paint this as the greatest rivalry in Premier League history. The Scouse loving media are desperate to diminish any of United's achievements in favour of Liverpool.

No rivalry in the Premier League that doesn't involve United can ever be as heated or passionate as one that does as the hate isn't there.

Everyone hated United and would up their game 200% when we came to town. Nobody gives a shit about Abu Dhabi and teams regularly roll over for the Scouse especially their City rivals Everton.

Our rivalry with Arsenal was on another level. The teams and managers genuinely hated each other and had real battles on the pitch. Far more entertaining than Pep and Klopp wanking each other off.

Cool story bro

 

[Real Name]

I've had a good laugh at the attempts to paint this as the greatest rivalry in Premier League history. The Scouse loving media are desperate to diminish any of United's achievements in favour of Liverpool.

It's all over the media and frankly its laughable. Dont get me wrong, both teams are great and far from the rest of the league and dare I say whole of Europe at the moment. Their fight for the title again is going to be neck and neck and a great watch for neutrals but greatest rivalry in history? Whatever new happens nowadays or some player or team emerges its being called the greatest ever just so United cant claim to have some of it anymore. Arsenal United rivalry had everything. I dont think Pep and Klopp and City and Liverpool players should fight each other and hate one another but its not a proper rivalry as far as I'm concerned but an artificial one.

 

[cyberman]

I’ve never seen 2 teams grouped together so they can share in one’s success like this. It’s 4 title in 5 years for City if they win the league, it’s not two teams above the rest. Only one.
Klopp should be under more pressure to win the league than he is, his trophy count is far too low for the team he has.

 

[I’m loving my life]

Maybe not the greatest ever rivalry but any United fan getting upset about this should take a look at our own club and vent frustrations firmly in the direction of the owners. These clubs are doing well because their owners want them to, and we are not challenging them. The reason why they have got to being where they are is because our owners see us as an ATM.

City and Liverpool, at least on the pitch (Abu Dhabi sports washing project aside) deserve praise.

 

[RedChisel]

Cool story bro

Cheers bro!

 

[RedDevilQuebecois]

A rivalry without the edginess, the drama, the mind games, the conundrum, the boiling point is not a rivalry. Posters who are saying they only prefer football and only football either don’t understand rivalry or haven’t truly experienced it. Football is tribal. That what makes it unique and that what makes it so engaging. I remember completely shitting myself the whole week prior to our games against Arsenal. And people won’t prefer that. Bloody hell. Bear hugging, Adrenaline lacking pussios. Go watch Golf.

Pretty much all of this.

When people talk of any proper sporting rivalry, they want to see a war with everything you would expect from a war. They want to see the drama. They want to see mind games. They want to see the contrast of identities between the 2 sides. Damn, they want to feel that extra something that makes one side hate the other's guts. Why? It's because people want to see something unpredictable. Every single time United played Arsenal, I swear that I was already anticipating the battle with all of the implications to our aspirations. The fact that the rivalry lasted for nearly a decade with such intensity from the very start until one team began to disintegrat itself is everything one could have wished for, especially when natural elements of rivalry between both clubs don't exist between United and Arsenal (proximity, politics, social classes, etc.).

Coming from an ice hockey background before I became a football fan, I've only seen one rivalry that compared with United vs. Arsenal - Montreal Canadiens vs. Quebec Nordiques. That rivalry had everything: head coaches who were not shy in using mind games against the other, players who hated the guy wearing the opposite color, heroes and villains on both sides, cities that have centuries-long animosity towards each other, club owners who are also owners of rivalling beer companies, media (paper and broadcasters) from one city going at the throat of the other city's media, etc. In the context of the time when separatism was at its peak in the Province of Quebec, pro-independence people supported the Nordiques because they wore the colors that make them feel "more Québécois" while people supporting the Canadiens were deemed more "pro-establishment" and more accomodating to Anglophones. People could talk about the upcoming match between Montreal and Quebec a week before and even though both teams had other matches to think about.

 

[Drainy]

Reminds me a bit of the Bill Hicks bit about how there are no great rock stars anymore.

Man United vs Arsenal was a Hendrix of a rivalry. Man City are the Pepsi generation

 

[Ace of Spades]

Meh, I think players getting along is not that weird. The coaches I think is a bit weird.

 

[LARulz]

I’ve never seen 2 teams grouped together so they can share in one’s success like this. It’s 4 title in 5 years for City if they win the league, it’s not two teams above the rest. Only one.
Klopp should be under more pressure to win the league than he is, his trophy count is far too low for the team he has.

I am in semi agreement that it is City dominance mostly but Klopp having won their first PL in 30 years and then also winning the CL. The other reason he gets a pass by many is because of the squad he built with other than maybe a three off the top of my head (VVD, Allison and Thiago), they aren't exactly world superstars when signed - he made the players become even better than anybody thought. City on the other hand generally sign world class talent out the box with the odd exception. Also, his style of football is sadly great and would kill for at United - he can counter attack and dominate

I hate the general love in because like others have said, this isn't what people consider a rivalry. They are seconds away at any point to start braiding each other's hair on a pitch. The football may be great but there is no real passion or emotion I feel, even the fans don't seem to bothered

 

[Spaghetti]

And you think Bernardo Silva, Cancelo and Jota don't? Or Walker, Sterling, Henderson, Stones, Foden and TAA? Or Fabinho, Allisson, Jesus and Fernandinho? They are literally teammates at international level, if anything they are likely closer than individual athletes. Weird take to be honest the idea that Federer and Nadal would be closer and friendlier than Sterling and TAA or Foden and Greenwood etc..

It can happen, yes. And I think this is part of the idea of the thread, that their closeness takes away part of the rivalry. In the past there was tension in the international camps due to (real) club rivalry.

Opinions that don’t match yours don’t have to be “weird”, that’s a very scouse outlook.

 

[Spaghetti]

I am in semi agreement that it is City dominance mostly but Klopp having won their first PL in 30 years and then also winning the CL. The other reason he gets a pass by many is because of the squad he built with other than maybe a three off the top of my head (VVD, Allison and Thiago), they aren't exactly world superstars when signed - he made the players become even better than anybody thought. City on the other hand generally sign world class talent out the box with the odd exception. Also, his style of football is sadly great and would kill for at United - he can counter attack and dominate

I hate the general love in because like others have said, this isn't what people consider a rivalry. They are seconds away at any point to start braiding each other's hair on a pitch. The football may be great but there is no real passion or emotion I feel, even the fans don't seem to bothered

I think Klopp has obviously done a very good job for Liverpool, but a lot of the great signings weren’t actually his choice. Even Salah was chosen by the DOF (or whatever he is) and was a club record signing at the time. Only TAA is from the youth team, the rest were expensive signings. Robertson was cheap, but probably not scouted by Klopp (I don’t know).

Furthermore, whenever there are “combined teams”, there are always more Liverpool players than City, which means the defining factor in keeping City in the title race must be the manager.

 

[Beans]

Makes me proud to be English

It's coming home, justice 4 Diana

You really wanna see the Queen die in prison?

 

[Hughes35]

It's two very very good teams that have a rivalry in terms of competing for trophies.

All the best rivalries have a genuine edge of bitterness towards them though. Everton V Liverpool, Utd V Liverpool, Utd V Arsenal, Utd V Leeds, Arsenal V Tottenham. The best PL rivalry was Utd V Arsenal and it's not even close. Two great teams that actually hated each other, fights in the tunnel, Keown against Van Nistelrooy, Fergie V Wenger, Pizza gate. It will never be beaten I don't think.

 

[DickDastardly]

Zero hatred and zero banter between them.

Great football however.
On top of the curve at the moment.

If you say they are the best two teams in the world in the last 3 years you wouldn't be wrong.

 

[Zen86]

It's the continued hipsterisation of football in the media. Everything's so much better now than it used to be and the current thing is always the greatest ever.

 

[FrankDrebin]

It's the continued hipsterisation of football in the media. Everything's so much better now than it used to be and the current thing is always the greatest ever.

Pretty much.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

Zero hatred and zero banter between them.

Great football however.
On top of the curve at the moment.

If you say they are the best two teams in the world in the last 3 years you wouldn't be wrong.

Bayern and Chelsea have won the last two CLs so I'm not sure this is true. This season they do appear to be the 2 most impressive teams.

 

[Random Task]

I was appalled at the frankly pornographic display by the players at the end of the game. Footballers engaging in what is best described as a public orgy had the Karen in me ready to explode.

As a City fan, it makes it incredibly difficult to will the club I love on to glory this season. Liverpool are our biggest rivals right now, our most dangerous threat. I hate them with every bone in my aching body.

 

[Schmiznurf]

Their rivalry is akin to a group of 7 year olds being split into two teams, and forced to play each other. They're all best friends, will hug on and off the pitch, and not care who wins as long as they have fun.

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

They are two very good teams, annoyingly amongst the best in Europe right now, but it certainly doesn't feel like a rivalry. I would say both teams hate us more than they hate each other. Not that I am trying to artificially insert us into the conversation, we don't deserve to be in it, but I don't think they even see each other as rivals, fans or players. I'm sure if you asked a City fan if they'd rather see us or Liverpool win the league, they'd say Liverpool. And a Liverpool fan would say the same about us and City.

The hugging and general friendliness just seems to be how it is now. We did the same with City fairly recently, and Roy Keane blew his top about it. Not really a big deal IMO as we are toothless and unthreatening right now, but two teams at the top being called rivals, there needs to be more to it than just good football. As has been mentioned, it pales in comparison to United vs Arsenal. Then again, maybe that was an outlier.

 

[horsechoker]

You really wanna see the Queen die in prison?

I want to see Megan Markle in prison

 

[Smithy89]

The most non-rivalry rivalry ever, United vs Burnley has more bite to it. The friendliness between players is baffling and even more so if they're friends, when i'm going against mates in any sort of way i want to absolutely muller them.

 

[horsechoker]

The most non rivalry rivalry ever, United vs Burnley has more bite to it.

Chelsea v Liverpool had a lot of bite to it!

 

[saivet]

There's a lack of bitterness between the two sides both on and off the pitch which doesn't help but in terms of the quality of football produced, I think it's up there. Without the added bit it does take something away from it but purely on the pitch, it's a pretty good one to be honest.

Both of their matches in the league this season were of a very high quality and were very entertaining.

Given the lack of history between the two sides the rivalry isn't even that intense amongst the fans. I think it's the way football is moving as I don't get that same sense of intense rivalry on the pitch between us and City, Liverpool or Arsenal that we did when SAF was around.

 

[The Corinthian]

It’s pretty nauseating.

I think what makes it worse is the constant nasal screeching from Neville and Carragher acting as if they’re watching something unprecedented & Carragher trying to crowbar Liverpool as the bestest of all time or some nonsense. Who can remember when he compared Liverpool to our treble team. The idiot.

There’s loads of better rivalries than these two sucking each other off every two mins.

Us vs Arsenal (98-04)
Us vs Chelsea (04-10)
Chelsea vs Arsenal (04-10)
Spurs vs Arsenal - all the time
Al Ahly vs Zamalek - all the time
Barca vs Madrid - all the time but peaked around 08-16
Boca Juniors vs River Plate - all the time
Old Firm


These are proper rivalries. Clubs that use the hate for the other to drive them on.

 

[Chairman Steve]

These kind of rivalries (I.e. the Arsenal vs United rivalry) will diminish over the years, with increased numbers of foreign players and the combative personalities being phased out due to the lower tolerance for such behaviour on the pitch, and cameras everywhere and now VAR.

Managers and coaches are not as attached to teams as the old days either. Ferguson was United and Wenger was Arsenal back then essentially, so that also diminishes a manager’s desire to feud. Average lifespan of a manager these days is like 2-3 seasons and done.

 

[youmeletsfly]

It's good for both of them clubs as everyone is boarding this social media train of rivalry between the two.

It's cringe as feck but funny as well. Basically you have a fake-ish rivalry between two clubs with the most weired fans out there.

 

[cyberman]

I am in semi agreement that it is City dominance mostly but Klopp having won their first PL in 30 years and then also winning the CL. The other reason he gets a pass by many is because of the squad he built with other than maybe a three off the top of my head (VVD, Allison and Thiago), they aren't exactly world superstars when signed - he made the players become even better than anybody thought. City on the other hand generally sign world class talent out the box with the odd exception. Also, his style of football is sadly great and would kill for at United - he can counter attack and dominate

I hate the general love in because like others have said, this isn't what people consider a rivalry. They are seconds away at any point to start braiding each other's hair on a pitch. The football may be great but there is no real passion or emotion I feel, even the fans don't seem to bothered

I dunno, Liverpools squad has cost a fortune to assemble. They brought on a 50m midfielder last Sunday and that was 50m when it was 50m.
I just can’t wrap my head around it being a rivalry when one side just wins all the trophies and Liverpool… don’t. Even head to head, when’s the last time Liverpool even beat City to make up the difference? Off the top of my head is it the match with Peps twice GIF? Even that was lucky since City were robbed imo.
Instead of the proper question of why can’t Klopp get Liverpool over the line and does Pep have his number? We have this second route of limping them together. This isn’t a rivalry, this is City domination

 

[Chairman Steve]

If I could use an analogy from my perspective, the old United vs Arsenal rivalry is like watching Mike Tyson vs Evander Holyfield, where you feel that these two entities, who are top of their field, despise eachother and you want to see what happens next, verbally and physically, inside the ring and outside of it.

The current City vs Liverpool rivalry is like watching a good WWF feud back in the 1990s, where it looks choreographed much better than the above example but it doesn’t feel quite real and you never really believe that these two guys hate eachother. It feels more manufactured and forced than the above.

 

[Xanther]

OP just sounds bitter and jealous to be honest. Like watching his 2 older brothers play with all the cool toys or something.

This is a real rivalry. Between them they've entered 3 CL finals and hit 97, 98, 99 and 100 points the PL, at the PL peak might I add. The pettiness/drama that Jose brought is equally matched by these tactical showdowns by Pep Vs Klopp. Sunday's game was awesome

Pep admires Klopp because he's never had an adversary like him before, someone who can go toe-to-toe with him tactically and stylistically. Klopp admires Pep because he's his only serious obstacle to all the glory.

Another thing; people don't like seeing the players being chummy with each other after the game. Huh? Federer, Djokovic and Nadal have an awesome rivalry and you won't find any drama there. Also, this connection they have certainly contributed to England's new levels, something that the classic Utd/Chelsea/Arsenal/Liverpool rivalries prevented

 

[Relevant]

From a United fan's perspective, the most salient point about this rivalry is that we're not in it

 

[Mmm-Qatarian]

In terms of pure quality of the teams involved, it's probably right up there as one of the best rivalries. That's where it starts and ends though.

I'm not saying that a great rivalry needs to involve Mourinho being an asshole or players hacking each other's legs every five seconds but some palpable feeling of animosity between the sides is, in my view, required in order to distinguish a heartfelt rivalry from simply a contest between two fantastic and well-matched opponents.

People are welcome to call me bitter for saying this, and to a large extent they would be right, but I still get the impression that both City and Liverpool fans consider us to be bigger rivals than they do each other.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Its a horrible thing to treat you opponents with respect for sure. What a world we live in.

Federer and Nadal obviously wasn't a real rivalry, nor Davis and White or Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicholaus.

As for the bolded part, how many European titles do you think the Arsenal team your rivalry was against had?

Fantastic sentence structure.

 

[RobinLFC]

It doesn't bother me that some of our players are friendly with theirs, it would be even weirder to fake animosity if there isn't any. It does take the edge a bit off and feels like less of a rivalry than some others, but in terms of quality, effort and intensity on the pitch, you can't say anything about it and it's right up there as the best we've seen - think that was Carragher was alluding to as well, not necessarily that it's better than say Utd vs Arsenal (I even consider our mini rivalry with Chelsea in the 00s as better, I think).

 

[WeePat]

It’s pretty nauseating.

I think what makes it worse is the constant nasal screeching from Neville and Carragher acting as if they’re watching something unprecedented & Carragher trying to crowbar Liverpool as the bestest of all time or some nonsense. Who can remember when he compared Liverpool to our treble team. The idiot.

There’s loads of better rivalries than these two sucking each other off every two mins.

Us vs Arsenal (98-04)
Us vs Chelsea (04-10)
Chelsea vs Arsenal (04-10)
Spurs vs Arsenal - all the time
Al Ahly vs Zamalek - all the time
Barca vs Madrid - all the time but peaked around 08-16
Boca Juniors vs River Plate - all the time
Old Firm


These are proper rivalries. Clubs that use the hate for the other to drive them on.

I didn't think Chelsea v United was a fierce rivalry or even a mildly heated one. It was a competitive rivalry. Both teams had a couple of fiery characters on the pitch (JT, Drogba, Rooney, Vidic etc) that made things spicy at times, but outside competing for domestic and European trophies, there was no real beef between the teams or the fans. Our rivalry with Liverpool 05-10 on the other hand, that was heated and extremely intense.

 

[JohnnyKills]

If he means in terms of football, he might be right.

It's definitely the highest-quality rivalry, purely because this City team are the best PL team ever (even better than United 08 in my opinion).

But there's no way it's the most exciting or compelling rivalry for the spectator, purely because City is a meaningless project that goes against the spirit (and probably the rules) of the game.

 

[JohnnyKills]

Nope. I'm not saying he's right, I'm just saying I think he can make an argument for it. They are both amazing teams at the moment.

They're the two best teams in Europe, although you could make that same argument for United and Chelsea in the late-noughties.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

.

These kind of rivalries (I.e. the Arsenal vs United rivalry) will diminish over the years, with increased numbers of foreign players and the combative personalities being phased out due to the lower tolerance for such behaviour on the pitch, and cameras everywhere and now VAR.

Managers and coaches are not as attached to teams as the old days either. Ferguson was United and Wenger was Arsenal back then essentially, so that also diminishes a manager’s desire to feud. Average lifespan of a manager these days is like 2-3 seasons and done.

They will come around again. Madrid and Barclona had the same intensity. Yes some antics get unsavory but that combination of quality and passion (United Arsenal and the Classico) is something else. The difference in how I felt vs Chelsea/City in the late 00s/early 10s and vs Arsenal was huge.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

They're the two best teams in Europe, although you could make that same argument for United and Chelsea in the late-noughties.

This season - yes I'd agree. And one of them will sweep up the CL too.

But it's not like it's been like that always. Liverpool were crap last year and Bayern were the best team on the planet the year before.