Ferguson failures at Manchester United exposed in comparison with forward-thinking Klopp
Jurgen Klopp set Liverpool up for success in a way Sir Alex Ferguson failed to do at Manchester United, even if he did bestow Wilfried Zaha upon David Moyes.
After Manchester United co-owners INEOS laid some of the blame for the club’s miserable past decade at the feet of former manager Ferguson, Gary Lineker made the unwelcome comparison to Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool handover.
“If you look at Liverpool now, they’ve got a new manager in Arne Slot, and it’s testament to how Jurgen Klopp left the club in a really good state. So the structure is really good,” he said.
“That probably wasn’t the case at the end of Sir Alex Ferguson’s [time at Old Trafford]. I know they won the league that season, but it wasn’t their best side, and a lot of their great players were coming to the end of their careers. I think from there they had problems. The academy wasn’t delivering the players that they were before.”
It is an argument supported by a brief glance at the respective ages of the squads the managers built before leaving – Liverpool’s was 25.6 in 2023/24 while Manchester United’s was 27.1 in 2012/13 – but also a direct comparison between the composition of the teams.
Goalkeepers – Manchester United
David de Gea, Anders Lindegaard, Ben Amos and Sam Johnstone
Alisson, Caiomhin Kelleher, Vitezslav Jaros and Harvey Davies
Neither manager can be said to have particularly neglected the goalkeeping department they left behind. De Gea and Alisson were not at the peak of their powers at the time of the respective handovers – the former’s best was still to come while the latter’s was behind him – and separating them might even come down to a matter of personal opinion.
In 2012/13, De Gea inspired Manchester United to the Premier League title with 11 clean sheets in 28 games, conceding 26 goals. Alisson kindly made as many appearances for Liverpool in 2023/24, keeping eight clean sheets and conceding 30 goals. De Gea also had a slightly better save percentage (77.2% to 73.4%) so probably edges a comparison even before factoring in that he was 22 when Ferguson retired; Alisson was 31 when Klopp left.
The presence of Kelleher as comfortably the best option of those back-ups does claw back some points for Liverpool but De Gea was one of precious few positives – and often the only one – at Manchester United for the first decade of post-Ferguson incompetence, even if he did fail to fulfil the Scot’s title promise.
Full-backs – Liverpool
Rafael and Patrice Evra
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson
There had been some indication that Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young would be repurposed from exciting wingers into battle-hardened full-backs but those transformations would not be completed under Ferguson, who didn’t need the hassle and preferred a more traditional approach.
Rafael was given Gary Neville’s shirt number and a four-year contract at the start of the manager’s final season, but he was one of many players never of the requisite consistent elite standard who were exposed without the security of Ferguson. And Evra was not only a shadow of his former self – as indicated by the public and painful summer-long pursuit of Leighton Baines – but one of the many agents of chaos Moyes could not control.
While Alexander-Arnold’s entire head has been situated in Madrid and Robertson is in the noticeable twilight of his career, their pairing is comfortably stronger.
And no, Fabio and Steven Gerrard-goading Alexander Buttner do little to weigh the balance in Manchester United’s favour, particularly up against the might of Conor Bradley (and Kostas Tsimikas also exists).
Centre-halves – Liverpool
Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Michael Keane
Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Joe Gomez and Jarell Quansah
On squad depth alone, it is no contest. It seems ludicrous to even suggest and woke lefties might pretend otherwise but six is a bigger number than four.
Liverpool, fully aware of this, have prioritised the addition of a centre-half in the summer. Their last signing in that position was Konate in July 2021, since which they have released Joel Matip and made £25m or so selling Sepp van den Berg, Ben Davies and Billy Koumetio.
The question is whether such an obviously shallow collection of centre-halves is offset by their combined excellence. If Van Dijk and Konate in particular represent the ‘quality’ side of the argument, that Manchester United sextet fills the ‘quantity’ role well.
Ferdinand and Vidic, a Morgan Amalfitano-fearing 34 and injury-prone 31 respectively, were preparing to be shown daily videos of Phil Jagielka. Jones and Evans spent a frustrating amount of time in the treatment room too and Smalling struggled to establish trust with anyone other than Louis van Gaal.
Keane, returning from one of his many career loans, was inevitably unable to disturb that pecking order but fresh blood really was needed in this position perhaps more than any other once Ferguson left.
Their depth was little more than superficial in reality. Liverpool are remarkably susceptible to one Van Dijk injury bringing everything crumbling down, but his durability outside of Jordan Pickford-inflicted knee knackings forms part of his undeniable aura.
Central midfielders – Liverpool
Michael Carrick, Tom Cleverley, Shinji Kagawa, Anderson, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher
Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, Wataru Endo and Harvey Elliott
Ferguson and Klopp’s final summer transfer windows really do emphasise the point that one focused on forward-planning while the other was steadfast only in leaving as a champion.
Klopp managed that painstaking rebuild of his entire midfield structure in a matter of months, swapping Naby Keita (28), Fabinho (29), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (29), Jordan Henderson (33) and James Milner (37) for Gravenberch (21), Szoboszlai (22) and Mac Allister (24), as well as the more experienced Endo (30).
It was not immediately apparent in 2023/24 but that set up Liverpool wonderfully when each player settled in. With Jones and Elliott providing ample support, it is the club’s strongest area.
Compare that to Ferguson, who went all out to dethrone Manchester City by bringing in the phenomenal but ageing Van Persie alongside players who were either not good enough or never properly acclimatised in Kagawa, Buttner, Nick Powell and Wilfried Zaha.
That Manchester United midfield felt it most: Scholes retired with Ferguson, Cleverley and Anderson were poor and Fletcher had barely featured. It was a burden Carrick understandably failed to shoulder alone.
Right-wingers – Mo Salah
Antonio Valencia and Adnan Januzaj
Mo Salah
Left-wingers – Liverpool
Ashley Young, Nani, Ryan Giggs and Wilfried Zaha
Cody Gakpo and Luis Diaz
It is difficult to overstate just how reliant on a couple of players the last title-winning Manchester United team was in terms of attacking output. Van Persie scored more than twice as many goals as anyone and him and Wayne Rooney were the only players with more than five Premier League assists.
Evra and Kagawa ranked joint-fourth for combined goals and assists with just nine, ahead of Giggs (five, level with Carrick) and Young and Nani (both three, equal with Buttner).
Zaha being the last signing Ferguson ever made, his arrival arranged for the summer he left, perfectly sums up the state of the club he handed down to Moyes.
Klopp again bestowed upon his predecessor fewer but far better players. Diaz has scored more goals against Manchester United this season (two) than Young and Nani managed in 30 appearances between them in 2012/13 (one).
Forwards – Manchester United
Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernandez, Danny Welbeck and James Wilson
Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez
The Van Persie tail-off to 12 goals and three assists in 21 injury-addled games was stark but that alone beats the combined efforts of Jota and Nunez in 2024/25.
Many a critic has slammed Manchester United for the sales of Hernandez and Welbeck but Moyes inherited and used both and while Rooney had the club over a barrel yet again before signing another contract extension, he still had plenty to offer for years to come – albeit never in central midfield.
The entire argument is rendered null and void, however, with the introduction of Wilson to the equation. Player-manager Giggs trying to secure his legacy by using his four-game caretaker reign to give the teenager his debut was hilariously small-time. Klopp wishes he could have given academy players such a meaningful chance.
