{"id":97430,"date":"2023-12-15T21:14:47","date_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/?p=97430"},"modified":"2023-12-15T21:14:47","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T21:14:47","slug":"graeme-souness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/soccer\/graeme-souness\/","title":{"rendered":"GRAEME SOUNESS:"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1> There is only one Manchester United player who would get in the Liverpool team &#8211; AND he could be a star too (can you guess who that is?)<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Manchester United face a seriously daunting trip to Anfield on Sunday<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Another 7-0 is unlikely but Liverpool&#8217;s squad is better in every single position<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Do Man United have what it takes to exploit Liverpool&#8217;s defensive vulnerability? It&#8217;s All Kicking Off<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It might not be 7-0 on Sunday, but I\u2019m convinced once again that Liverpool will beat Manchester United. Why? Because they have the better players in every position.<\/p>\n<p>Tell me, who would Liverpool take from Man United? Bruno Fernandes, perhaps. I think he would be a star in Liverpool\u2019s team, because he has all the qualities you need to be a top player. Right now, however, there is something missing from his game.<\/p>\n<p>That is why, from the 22 who line up at kick-off, I\u2019d say the best 11 players will all be in the red of the home team. That was the reason for my confidence in March when, before the game and live on Sky, one or two maybe smiled when I said Liverpool would win by two or three goals. In the end, I was wrong &#8211; it was seven! And according to Gary Neville afterwards, Liverpool didn\u2019t play well.<\/p>\n<p>As a pundit, I enjoyed that day very much. It was one of those games where you came away thinking, \u201cWow, I was there\u201d. It was such a special day and confirmed what I thought at the time &#8211; and still believe now &#8211; about the respective quality of the two squads.<\/p>\n<p>I played against Man United many times, but we never had it that easy. Not once. They had fabulous players, even though they could never really get close enough to us in the league. Still, it was always a fiercely competitive fixture.\u00a0 They had Bryan Robson, don\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/18\/79015809-12869563-image-a-63_1702666622506.jpg\" height=\"426\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Bruno Fernandes is the only Manchester United player that would get into Liverpool&#8217;s team<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/18\/79014591-12869563-Liverpool_s_squad_is_packed_with_goalscorers_such_as_Mohamed_Sal-a-8_1702665483614.jpg\" height=\"424\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Liverpool&#8217;s squad is packed with goalscorers such as Mohamed Salah whereas United&#8217;s isn&#8217;t<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/18\/79014595-12869563-Graeme_Souness_believes_Jurgen_Klopp_s_Liverpool_are_joint_favou-a-9_1702665483615.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Graeme Souness believes Jurgen Klopp&#8217;s Liverpool are joint-favourites with Man City for the Premier League title this season<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/18\/79014831-12869563-It_might_not_be_7_0_on_Sunday_but_Souness_is_convinced_once_agai-a-11_1702665483616.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>It might not be 7-0 on Sunday, but Souness is convinced once again that Liverpool will beat Manchester United<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>But, in March, some of their players threw the towel in. After a few goals, they just said, \u201cNah, this isn\u2019t for me\u201d. And this was supposed to be their biggest game of the season, at Anfield. What does that tell you? That would be the concern, if I was a Man United supporter, because they\u2019re going to Liverpool now with their season falling apart.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Liverpool, meanwhile, have even more confidence than they did then, and they\u2019re top of the Premier League. Look at the goals scored &#8211; Liverpool have 36, Man United 18. That is double and tells you everything about the difference between them.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Liverpool have so many players competing to get on the scoresheet. Man United are relying on Scott McTominay more than anyone else, and he\u2019s a holding midfielder by trade!<\/p>\n<p>Goals change the whole atmosphere in a football club. They can camouflage shortcomings. You don\u2019t have to play well every week to win matches if you have goalscorers, and that\u2019s where Liverpool are at right now.<\/p>\n<p>I would make them joint favourites with Manchester City to win the Premier League. They\u2019ve got players who have done it before, and that helps enormously. They know how it\u2019s won. Add that experience to those goals and they will be right there. They are a very, very dangerous team, for any opponent.<\/p>\n<p>Contrast that with Man United. They have only beaten opposition currently in the bottom half \u2013 other than Fulham, who have jumped to 10th in recent weeks. They\u2019re in the top six but without looking capable of beating anyone up there with them, and it\u2019s only sides in the bottom six who have scored less than them.<\/p>\n<p>This brings me onto Rasmus Hojlund. He cost \u00a372million in the summer and still hasn\u2019t scored in the league. I go back to when his fellow Dane, Christian Eriksen, was asked about him and all he said was that he\u2019s quick and very aggressive. I thought that was a tell-tale sign, because someone who knows him should have been kinder and far more complimentary.<\/p>\n<p>I have written a lot about Erik ten Hag and, having been a manager, I would never call for another to lose their job. But everyone at that club has to look over their shoulder with a new co-owner coming in. It needs a total revamp.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/18\/79014631-12869563-Erik_ten_Hag_is_under_pressure_at_Man_United_following_a_disastr-a-10_1702665483615.jpg\" height=\"426\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Erik ten Hag is under pressure at Man United following a disastrous campaign so far this season and a trip to Liverpool on Sunday is unlikely to change that<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/18\/79014629-12869563-United_midfielder_Scott_McTominay_is_his_side_s_main_source_of_g-a-7_1702665483614.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>United midfielder Scott McTominay is his side&#8217;s main source of goals this season and he&#8217;s a holding midfielder<\/p>\n<p>The football decisions have left them \u00a31billion worse off and with this group of players, who simply aren\u2019t good enough for where the club should be.<\/p>\n<p>Manager wise, they have tried everything &#8211; the serial winners in Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, the club legend in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and now Ten Hag.<\/p>\n<p>But it doesn\u2019t matter who they have if they continue to sign average players. That is why, for me, Liverpool will beat them again this weekend.<\/p>\n<p>Saying all of that, if ever there was a game to resurrect your season and gain confidence, this would be it, winning at Anfield. I just can\u2019t see it happening.<\/p>\n<p><span>Newcastle&#8217;s new stadium plans is something we have to accept\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When I was manager of Newcastle, I suggested to their hierarchy that they should light up St\u00a0James\u2019 Park every night. It is such an iconic stadium and dominates the skyline. Imagine it illuminated all the time? Anyway, that was one of the many things they did not listen to me about!<\/p>\n<p>So I read with interest this week about the possibility of Newcastle moving to a new stadium under their new owners. Ideally, you would never leave St James\u2019. But progress is progress, and fans there would still support their team no matter where they played.<\/p>\n<p>The whole idea of moving is to increase revenue, and you do that by ramming as much corporate hospitality in there as possible. Instead of charging \u00a350 for a seat, you can charge double and beyond. There is no real scope to develop that corporate side at St James\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/18\/79014733-12869563-Newcastle_fans_would_still_support_their_team_no_matter_where_th-a-13_1702665483617.jpg\" height=\"425\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Newcastle\u00a0fans would still support their team no matter where they played if they leave St James&#8217; Park<\/p>\n<p>So, while I would be sad to see St James\u2019 go, I do see the business need to explore the possibility. They want to be a Champions League club and, having watched their defeat against Milan in midweek, it is clear some of their players have found that experience a challenge, and that is fair.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It was always going to happen. It\u2019s new to them and they\u2019ll be richer for the experience. They gave it a good go and, but for some fine margins across the six games, they might have made the last 16.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/15\/18\/79014753-12869563-image-a-42_1702664836550.jpg\" height=\"435\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Newcastle want to be a regular Champions League club and\u00a0having watched their defeat against Milan in midweek, it is clear some of their players have found that experience a challenge<\/p>\n<p>They\u2019re well ahead of where they thought they would be and, in just two years, Eddie Howe has done a fabulous job. Now, he has to prioritise getting back into the top four this season, not winning the FA Cup or League Cup. The club\u2019s owners want the Champions League and they need it for the journey they\u2019re on.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They might also need a new stadium, and that will be something we all have to accept.<\/p>\n<p><span><span>Good luck to Michael Beale\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Michael Beale looks set to\u00a0take over as the new head coach at Sunderland, and I suspect that job will be just as difficult as he found it at Rangers.<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off\u00a0is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football, launching with a preview show today and every week this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube , Apple Music and Spotify<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>It was a gamble going to Rangers and it did not work for him. Sunderland will be something similar in that it is a huge club with big expectation.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They are a Premier League club, in reality. One of his early games will also be against Newcastle in the FA Cup &#8211; I wish him all the best!<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12869563\/Manchester-United-player-Liverpool-team-anfield.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is only one Manchester United player who would get in the Liverpool team &#8211; AND he could be a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>GRAEME SOUNESS: - stopsmokingway<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/stopsmokingway.com\/soccer\/graeme-souness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"GRAEME SOUNESS: - stopsmokingway\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There is only one Manchester United player who would get in the Liverpool team &#8211; 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