Former Liverpool central defender Jamie Carragher feels that Manchester United have a ‘way to go’ before they will be a team capable of taking on the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City to challenge for the Premier League title. He might be right but some suggest the club is closer that the ABUs might think – everyone has an opinion and they do differ.
The arrival of Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Clube de Portugal during the January transfer window seems to have set United in the right direction in search of glory once again with the player scoring eight goals and seven assists in 15 appearances since he arrived at the club, sparking the life out of his teammates too.
Despote United’s upturn in form since Fernandes arrived, United are still 34 points behind champions Liverpool but only 11 points short of Manchester City so it shows that there is still a gap for United to close down, a not so big on with their cross-city rivals but a much bigger one with Liverpool. It does not mean that gap cannot be closed though.
During Carragher’s time as a player at Liverpool, the current roles were reversed and he saw United prosper and Liverpool falter on many occasions. This has led him to recognise some things at his former club that are very similar to what is going on at United right now. In his column in The Telegraph, Carragher said:
“United hope Fernandes is the man inspiring them to that first significant target of a Champions League place.
“They look stronger with him because top-class players bring out more from those around.
“I often experienced similar reawakenings at Liverpool, especially when Fernando Torres and Luis Suarez joined the club.
“Within a few training sessions and games you realised you had a matchwinner so the belief soared and all the talk about managers ‘needing a clearout’ subsided.
“That is why I would offer a note of caution to United fans.
“Just as the club is never as far away from a revival as it might seem after nightmare defeats, they are not always as near to being title contenders as it appears after a promising run.
Personally, I don’t think Carragher is being bitter. I find some kind of sincerity in what he is saying and it is merely a warning to suggest that Fernandes’ arrival may have been something to stir United up but more will need to happen. He also clarified his comparison of Liverpool and United should be seen as a positive more than anything else. He said:
“However the observation is received, comparing the United of now to Liverpool in the 2000s is a compliment, not an insult
“We were in a constant state of being close, but not close enough. United have the resources to bridge the gap to ensure their wait to return to the top is not so long.”
