Liverpool were often beginning games as second favourites during Rio Ferdinand’s Manchester United career.
The Reds would often be able to spring a surprise – and did still regularly beat their arch rivals – but with Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm, United were relentless.
Ever since Ferguson left in 2013 though, the tables have turned. As the recent FA Cup tie showed, United are still more than capable of beating Liverpool. But the Merseysiders have had by far the better of the last decade.
What happened after Ferguson’s departure can serve as a big warning to Liverpool as they look to replace Jurgen Klopp. Whoever follows the German is going to have a huge job, but the Reds can’t make the same mistake United did.
Having done brilliantly with Everton, David Moyes was the man chosen to succeed Ferguson. It couldn’t have gone much worse for Moyes, and Ferdinand has recounted a tale involving Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho early into the Scotsman’s reign that left him unimpressed.
Rio Ferdinand shares Philippe Coutinho tale
Ferdinand was speaking about his early memories of Moyes taking over from Ferguson on the Stick to Football podcast today.
Having described being shocked at how the new manager reacted to the furore surrounding Man United’s new kit launch out in Asia, the former centre-back said he didn’t like the way Moyes planned training sessions around opposition players.
“We played against Liverpool and Chelsea and I remember in the training sessions we were setting up to stop Hazard and Coutinho,” Ferdinand explains.
“He put a box in the middle of the pitch or in the area they play in, and the players were looking at each other like we don’t set up to stop individuals, we have never done that at United.
“Even Messi, we didn’t really have a massive plan for him. It was that mindset of you worry about us, not us worry about you.
“Those two games made me think we were setting up with a defeatist mentality rather than a title winning team last season. It was a very big shift and that was one of the things where the players were not against him, but it gave the players a question mark about him in their head.”
Liverpool should heed Ferdinand warning
As Liverpool debate the best candidate to replace Klopp next season, they should look and learn from lessons of the past.
Moyes’ time after Ferguson and Unai Emery following Arsene Wenger at Arsenal have often been cited as reasons why Liverpool’s next manager can’t help but fail. But that doesn’t have to be true.
In the cases of both Moyes and Emery, enough time was not given. The former didn’t even last a year, while the latter was at the Emirates for just 18 months. Both have shown themselves to be capable coaches, with Emery in particular bouncing back.
So, the lesson here is that whoever comes in is going to need time. Not just from the fans, but from the players. It’s arguable that from this early moment on, United’s players were never behind Moyes. Liverpool can’t let that happen once Jurgen is out the door. We need everyone pulling in the same direction. As a side note, what a player Coutinho was.