They are the best of enemies here in the Football Transfer Tavern and it’s fair to say that the sniping between both Manchester United and Liverpool fans never stops by the bar.
After Liverpool fans taunted their United counterparts during the ill-fated reign of David Moyes, calling him a football genius and what have you, the boot is certainly on the other foot with Brendan Rodgers now receiving the genius treatment.
Signing the likes of Mario Balotelli hasn’t helped the Reds boss’ cause and he will hope that with his flurry of new arrivals, he can help the Merseyside giants back into the Champions League after a forgettable campaign in the competition in 2014/15.
For United, they will be back in Europe’s elite club competition subject to negotiating a two-legged qualifier and Red Devils fans were hoping that their side would’ve had more arrivals through the Old Trafford entry doors by this point this summer.
Yes, Memphis Depay has already been captured but our resident United fans are eagerly waiting for the conclusion of the Morgan Schneiderlin transfer, not to mention their much publicised swoop for Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos.
While they don’t often see eye to eye, our landlord has tried to keep the peace by getting our Reds and Red Devils fans to sit down while devising a combined eleven of the club’s respective best players.
Do you agree with what they’ve come up with?
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Click on the image below to reveal the best Manchester United and Liverpool combined XI.
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David De Gea
In a toss up between David De Gea and Simon Mignolet, there was only going to be one winner wasn’t there?
For as long as he remains a Manchester United player, we’ll continue to include him in our galleries but it is fully expected that he’ll be trading Old Trafford for his home city of Madrid and the Bernabeu to be precise this summer.
Fully expected to take the number one gloves from Iker Casillas’s grasp, this shows you how highly De Gea is rated in the modern game but it wasn’t always this way.
In his earlier years as a Red Devil, De Gea looked a bag of nerves between the sticks but fast forward to 2015 and the Spaniard has since won Sir Matt Busby’s Player of the Year crown for the last two seasons in a row.
Considering the outfield riches United have been able to call upon in recent seasons, this is impressive stuff.
Nathaniel Clyne
Liverpool fans in the tavern were absolutely delighted to wrap up the signing of yet another Southampton player this past week.
Liverpool really needed England international Nathaniel Clyne who will now fill what has been a problem position for the Reds.
Former first choice Jon Flanagan’s remains an injury crock while Javi Manquillo has been disappointing so far in his loan spell from Atletico Madrid with reports recently claiming that his stay may be given up upon.
This is not to mention Glen Johnson having been released while Emre Can struggled in the role against better opposition.
To now have an established first choice option in Clyne joining is fantastic news for Liverpool whose fans will hope he can keep up his consistent performances in more expectant surroundings.
Martin Skrtel
He is definitely Liverpool’s most consistent centre back in terms of performances and what a relief it was for Reds fans when he signed his new deal at Anfield earlier this summer.
The thing about Skrtel is that he’s always up for a battle, notably with Chelsea’s Diego Costa and this is something both Kolo Toure and Dejan Lovren have failed to master in their time spent at Anfield so far.
Make no mistake, Skrtel is also prone to the odd mistake on occasions; he just makes them far more rarely than the aforementioned calamity duo!
Marcos Rojo
Much was expected of Marcos Rojo last season after signing from Sporting Lisbon but in truth, United fans didn’t get to see a great deal of him due to a number of injury setbacks.
A finalist for Argentina in the Copa America, Rojo’s form in the tournament has been good and this is exactly the form that will endear him further to the Old Trafford faithful next term.
Usually performing at left back for his country, Rojo might yet get his chance at centre back at Old Trafford given the fact that Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans haven’t always covered themselves in glory in the position.
Daley Blind
Usually deployed in defensive midfield by Louis van Gaal, we’re selecting Daley Blind at left back given the fact he can also do a job here, not to mention Alberto Moreno and Luke Shaw enjoyed mediocre first seasons at Liverpool and Manchester United.
Slotting in rather seamlessly to English football, Blind’s versatility is key and with United battling on four fronts next season, perhaps we’ll see him deployed here if Luke Shaw succumbs to the treatment table again.
Trusted massively by Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal who managed him in his time in charge of the Netherlands, Blind will continue with his unsung status in the Manchester United team next season.
Ander Herrera
Another of Manchester United’s better arrivals of last summer was Ander Herrera who grew in stature and performances as last season wore on.
A pass master of sorts, Herrera is categorised as a box-to-box player in respect of defending and attacking in equal measure.
The former Athletic Bilbao man is yet to win a full senior international cap for his country and he’ll have to go some to be a fixture in the Spanish squad for Euro 2016 with Vicente del Bosque being able to select from an embarassment of riches in the midfield positions.
Nevertheless, Herrera is a tricky customer who gets on with his job with minimum fuss and noteworthy performances.
Jordan Henderson
Replacing Steven Gerrard’s shoes at Anfield will be no easy task but perhaps most eyes will be on Jordan Henderson to fulfil that role after he was instilled as Reds captain.
After slowly adjusting to life in the expectant surroundings of Anfield, Henderson is now starting to produce decent performances on a consistent basis.
Adding more goals to his game as well as assisting the attacking players in front of him, Henderson needs to continue his form at club level to pin down one of the midfield positions in Roy Hodgson’s England team ahead of Euro 2016.
Juan Mata
If he had enjoyed a better 2014/15 campaign, you would’ve imagined to see Angel Di Maria in our combined eleven but he has been usurped by Juan Mata who is starting to resemble his old self at Old Trafford.
Ironically saving his best performance in a United shirt for the game against Liverpool at Anfield in which he bagged a brace on a crucial day in the race for fourth, Mata has steadily improved and started to become the player we all thought he would be in Manchester.
For a little while, it looked as if it wouldn’t work out for Mata at Old Trafford but he has gone about turning it around in spectacular goalscoring fashion.
Philippe Coutinho
Since Luis Suarez departed Anfield last summer, there has been more of an onus on Philippe Coutinho to spark Liverpool attacks but you feel the Brazilian is relishing in the prospect of being the Reds’ go-to man.
Enjoying a fine 2014/15 season on a personal note, Coutinho was at his assisting best while scoring some cracking goals in the process.
When you consider his talents were brought to Merseyside for just £8.5 million to boot, Coutinho is a bargain buy in every sense and is only likely to get better, playing in tandem with international team-mate and new arrival Roberto Firmino next season.
Memphis Depay
The only new arrival at Old Trafford so far this summer, it’s a good thing that Memphis Depay is one of the most raved about prospects in European football.
Brought in for a huge £31 million fee, expect United fans’ bums to be off their seats next season, that’s for sure.
Boasting a decent goalscoring record for someone who is only 21-year-old, Depay has also built up a reputation as being something of a free-kick specialist.
Taking up a left attacking midfield role in our dream XI, it remains to be seen where Louis van Gaal will deploy Depay given he can play in a number of positions.
Nevertheless, wherever he is deployed, expect fireworks and not of the Mario Balotelli variety!
Wayne Rooney
You’d imagine the player himself would admit that he needs to be scoring more goals in the Premier League but that said, Wayne Rooney still boasts the same determination as he did when he was breaking through as a youngster with Everton.
The England international’s game is far more mature nowadays with Rooney providing assists and cross-field passes as well as goals alone.
There is no doubting that Rooney’s best position is definitely as a centre forward and this is where he is deployed in our combined eleven.
Also able to be dropped deeper of course, Rooney still has it all as a modern-day forward and lets face it, he always has a knack of scoring against Liverpool!
