Liverpool v Man Utd as Sir Alex mission ‘undone’ by Arne Slot

Arne Slot has basically done Sir Alex Ferguson in just one season, as Marcus Rashford is ‘open’ to fulfilling his actual Man Utd contract.

The real quiz

Liverpool v Manchester United is already a sexy fixture; there really is no need for this kind of nonsense from Dave Kidd in The Sun:

SIR ALEX FERGUSON famously claimed his biggest challenge as Manchester United manager was “knocking Liverpool off their f****** perch”.

When the great Scot left Old ­Trafford after clinching one last Premier League title in 2013, it was mission f****** accomplished.

But what Fergie achieved during the course of a glorious 27-year reign, new Kop manager Arne Slot is threatening to undo in his debut season.

There is nobody quite so obsessed with Sir Alex Ferguson as a late-middle-aged football columnist, but this really is a phenomenal stretch.

Manchester United have not competed for the Premier League title in 12 years; we’re pretty sure there’s not a United fan alive who is still crowing about Liverpool being knocked off their f****** perch. They’re a little too preoccupied with being 14th in the Premier League table.

And if anybody outside of Old Trafford’s crumbling walls can claim to have ‘undone’ United’s era of superiority over Liverpool, it is surely Jurgen Klopp. Unless, of course, you have decided to micro-obsess about league titles just so you can have a sweary headline…

The crown United won 12 years ago was their 20th, putting them two clear of Liverpool at the top of the list of English champions.

Jurgen Klopp brought the Merseysiders back to within one of United by clinching the crown in 2019-20.

So if Slot can convert his team’s current lead at the top of the table into a trophy lift in May, he will put them level with their North-West rivals.

So that leaves them on top of the same f****** perch? It would come as something of a shock to the club that has won six of the last seven Premier League titles.

Even if you buy into the idea that the ‘perch’ is somehow determined by how many league titles have been won in the whole of history, Slot has not ‘undone’ Fergie’s 27 years in one season; Liverpool have ‘undone’ it in 12.

And given Liverpool’s superior European Cup and Champions League record – with six wins to United’s three – the Anfield faithful would once more have the numbers to back their claim to be England’s greatest club.

And if any Liverpool fan greets their likely title triumph in May with the words “well, that’s put us level on league titles with Man Utd and as we have the superior record in Europe, that’s us knocking Man Utd off their perch again” then they really should give their red head a wobble.

As should Dave Kidd.

In Sane in the membrane

In some ways Mediawatch admires the click-monkeys at Reach; we could never even dream of seeing this tweet….

🟡🔴 Galatasaray, Bayern Münih ile sözleşmesi sezonunda bitecek olan Leroy Sane’nin durumunu yakından takip ediyor.

⏳ Sarı kırmızılılar, yıldız futbolcunun menajerinden randevu istedi. pic.twitter.com/mGts6D5ZrT

— Fotomaç (@fotomac) January 2, 2025

…and immediately thinking: ‘Ruben Amorim forced into Man Utd transfer decision as rival plot ambitious move.’

The singular ‘rival’ is a tad jarring, but otherwise that is excellent work…if we entirely ignore the fact that there is zero chance of Sane joining Galatasaray and only marginally more than zero chance of Sane joining Manchester United.

But we do like the idea that Amorim woke up on Friday morning, checked Turkish outlet Fotomac (as usual) and then hit some kind of red button that signals his rushed but entirely necessary ‘Man Utd transfer decision’.

Ruling class

But the real Man Utd transfer gift handed to transfer blogs on Friday morning is The Sun‘s back-page exclusive that ‘MARCUS RASHFORD is at the centre of a stunning swap deal involving Napoli striker Victor Osimhen’. Because Man Utd swap deals in January have never gone badly before.

We could quibble with the ‘exclusive’ tag as TBR Football were ploughing this particular furrow before Christmas, but it’s this line that amused Mediawatch: ‘Despite saying in December he is ready for “a new challenge”, it is understood he has not ruled out staying at Old Trafford where he is under contract until 2028.’

And then we switched to MailOnline and read this almost identical sentence: ‘Despite saying last month that he is ‘ready for a new challenge and the next steps’ in his career, Rashford is open to staying at United where he is under contract until June 2028.’

Yep. A man contracted to a football club has ‘not ruled out’ fulfilling that contract if no club agrees a transfer fee with Manchester United. Indeed, he is ‘open’ to staying with his current employers. Pesky fact: He might have no sodding choice.

Book it!

Over at the Manchester Evening News, they are lapping up the ‘news’ for their transfer blog:

‘Man United transfer news LIVE – Medical ‘booked’, Nuno Mendes interest, Osimhen ‘swap deal”

Compelling stuff. But if you are going to lead with medical ‘booked’, maybe mention that ‘booked’ medical in the blog at any point at all. Otherwise, it’s moved from a Reach into the realms of a Lie.

Pump up the volume

Back to Marcus Rashford and the Mirror tell us: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo has made feelings perfectly clear as Marcus Rashford rejects £35m offers.’

You already know that Ronaldo has not spoken one single, solitary word about Rashford reportedly turning down a move to Saudi Arabia.

What he has done is say that the Saudi league – where he earns over £3m a week and is the world’s highest-paid footballer – is actually really bloody brilliant. Didn’t see that one coming, did you?

What you absolutely did see coming was the proclamation that these comments ‘speak volumes’. They really do. Volumes and volumes of cash.