No Cantona or Gerrard. No Law, Rooney, Liddell or Salah. It’s fair to say that difficult decisions had to be made.
GK - Peter Schmeichel
It hardly surprises that two such feted and historical clubs have been blessed with some truly exceptional goalkeepers in their time. What does surprise is the scant number of them, counted on one hand.
Ray Clemence comes to the fore for Liverpool. Always assured and a class apart, he would have gained a record number of England caps had he not been alternated with Peter Shilton.
The Great Dane though edges it here, largely for the manner in which he reinvented his craft in the modern era.
Between them, these colossuses won ten league titles, five apiece.
RB - Gary Neville
With no obvious candidates jumping out pre-1970 – though Roger Byrne absolutely warrants a mention at the very least – it comes down to a shoot-out between Liverpool’s ever-present across most of their era of dominance, and a mainstay for United for almost the entirety of theirs.
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Phil Neal versus Gary Neville, the clash you never realised you needed.
With barely anything between them in appearances and trophies won let’s split a tight call by going with the United man, purely by virtue of him being the superior going forward.
This team of legends won’t need to do much defending.
LB - Alan Kennedy
A contentious choice given the lofty regard in which Denis Irwin is held.
Many Liverpool fans meanwhile would opt for Andy Robertson as their greatest ever left-back, and maybe by the time he retires the Scot will duly be included here.
How can we possibly overlook though that Kennedy scored the winning goal in two European Cup finals, his first downing Real Madrid in ’81, his second a decisive spot-kick following a drawn-out affair with Roma.
There is also a not-insubstantial five league titles to be factored in.
CB - Bill Foulkes
In the aftermath of the Munich air disaster, Sir Matt Busby turned to two surviving players as he sought to rebuild Manchester United.
In midfield, Bobby Charlton would go on to fulfil his destiny and legacy as one of England’s finest ever talents.
At the back, forged from granite and St Helens grit, Foulkes took on the captaincy, inspiring a young, broken team to get back on its feet and in due course lead them to European Cup success.
When people claim ‘they don’t make them like they used to’ they are referring to men of Foulkes’ ilk.
CB - Alan Hansen
A ball-playing centre-back decades ahead of his time, the Scot defied the football betting odds by making it to the very top. He was tall, thin and gangly. He tackled cleanly before looking to start attacks with intelligent passing.
He was entirely incongruous to a typical defender of his day.
Always composed and a terrific reader of danger, Hansen won eight league titles with the Reds, along with three European Cups and so many other trophies it presumably requires a whole tin of Pledge to clean up his medal drawer.
Mid - Graeme Souness
It’s no coincidence that Liverpool were at their most prolifically successful when Souness bossed their engine room, the no-nonsense midfielder striking fear into opponents when hunting for the ball, then striking fear anew when he had it.
Over-simplified as a hard man, the Scot could float a cross-field pass with the best of them.
A beast of a player, the multiple league winner stamped his authority on each and every game. And yes, sometimes he just stamped.
Mid - Sir Bobby Charlton
Charlton’s recent sad passing acted as a reminder of what a phenomenally gifted footballer he was, in addition to being one of the game’s true gentlemen.
Across 17 years at a club that has a stand in his honour, Ashington’s famed son enjoyed remarkable success and endured unspeakable tragedy, emerging from both as a World Cup winner and a record breaker.
A Ballon d’Or in 1966 is testament to his rare genius.
Mid - Bryan Robson
All-action and extremely high profile, Roy Keane’s achievements at Old Trafford have unfairly put his predecessor’s in the shade.
We’re here to put that right, by shining a big, bold light on a sublime box-to-box midfielder, one of the greatest that England has ever produced.
If the Eighties was by and large a problematic decade for United, their Captain Marvel ensured that standards were always met, that they remained in the reckoning.
And quite frankly, he often did this single-handedly, offering his defence robust protection while also bombing on and scoring a high volume of goals.
For - George Best
There is nothing new to say about Georgie Best.
It’s all there in print and on film, this charismatic, peerless and utterly brilliant performer celebrated to such a degree that he has become a cultural icon.
Save to say that the slight Northern Irishman, barely ten stone in a wet jersey, could do things with a football that few others have ever been able to, and he did it on muddy fields. He was not just the best in name.
For - Kenny Dalglish
King Kenny had some enormous boots to fill when he arrived at Anfield as a direct replacement for Kevin Keegan.
Scoring in each of his first four games helped establish the Scot as a very decent player in his own right. Bagging the winner in a European Cup final at the end of his first season took that up a notch.
The following season he won the Footballer of the Year merit and by now it was obvious Dalglish was a bit special.
Moreover, he was a talent difficult to pin down. Was he a second striker? Certainly he loved to drop deep, his link-up play nuanced and incisive. But he also fired tons of goals.
Let’s just say he was – and will always be – the king and leave it at that.
For - Ian Rush
If Liverpool’s all-time record goal-scorer was playing today he would undoubtedly keep the live betting markets on their toes. This was a forward who lived and breathed for goals.
His astonishing final tally of 336 from 649 outings will very likely never be topped, though Mo Salah could end up within shouting distance of it, assuming the Egyptian remains at Anfield for the rest of his career and continues his prolific strike-rate until he retires.
For all of the magnificent talent running through this side we still need someone to put the ball in the net. There has not been a Liverpool or United player before or since who could do that quite as clinically as Rushie.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
