Paul Ince: If Manchester United vs Liverpool is a glorified pub game, The Guv'nor can sort them out!

Paul Ince isn’t standing outside The Red Lion to endorse the view held by Gary Neville that Sunday's ‘M62 Clasico’ between Manchester United and Liverpool is a glorified pub game.

It is more a reminder that Ince is a unique Red Lion himself, the only player to captain both of England’s most successful clubs — and deadliest of rivals — in the past 50 years.

In six seasons under Alex Ferguson at United between 1989 and 1995, Ince won six major trophies, including the club’s first League and FA Cup Double. Even surrounded by luminaries such as Roy Keane, Eric Cantona and a young Ryan Giggs, he was known as The Guv’nor.
At Liverpool, he spent two seasons at the end of the Nineties helping to guide a new generation of stars dubbed The Spice Boys, including Jamie Redknapp, Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and a little known teenager called Steven Gerrard.

While not demeaning the current United and Liverpool teams to the extent of former team-mate Neville — who controversially claimed Sunday’s lunchtime contest could be like ‘the Dog and Duck versus The Red Lion’ — Ince, who has retained his independence by turning down television and ambassadorial work at both clubs, agrees these are not vintage times for his former sides.

Taking United first, the former England captain says: ‘They’ve won their last five games but I watched them against Southampton and they were poor. I couldn’t work out how they were trying to play.
‘I think Louis van Gaal is trying to do what he did with Holland but hasn’t got the players suited for it.

‘With Holland he had Nigel de Jong to sit in front of the back four so he could play 3-5-2. But I’ve seen United a few times this season and I don’t think they have any power in that midfield area. I’m not saying Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Daley Blind are bad players, but they’re not powerhouses. They haven’t got the legs.

‘Manchester City and Chelsea are better teams because they have power all over the pitch. Think about this Chelsea team; John Terry, Gary Cahill, Nemanja Matic, Diego Costa. There was a phase three or four years ago of looking at Spain and trying to get technical like them, because they had won the World Cup. That phase has gone. Power is more essential than these nice, technical players passing the ball.

‘United keep the ball but don’t seem to go anywhere with it. Just making 600 passes doesn’t make you a great team these days.’
The way Ince describes today’s Premier League, it sounds ideal for the 1994 Double-winning side he played in. Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce, Gary Pallister, Mark Hughes, Keane, Cantona and Ince himself provided physicality and leadership in abundance, Giggs and Andrei Kanchelskis speed on the flanks.

‘That United team would have beaten this current side without a doubt — it’s a no-brainer,’ said Ince. ‘The 1994 side was the best ever, I honestly believe that. Look at who we had; Cantona and Hughes, Keane, Robson, Bruce, Pallister, we were also good players. We would steamroller them.
‘Obviously the game is different now and you can’t tackle as much — you have to factor that in — but when you compare that team to the team now, we’d annihilate them.’

To be even-handed, Ince is happy to assess Liverpool, too, following their disappointing Champions League exit on top of some indifferent Premier League form.

‘Quite apart from Luis Suarez, I can’t understand why Daniel Agger left in the summer,’ says Ince. ‘I thought he was fantastic and left-sided centre-halves are priceless. Instead of spending £20million on Dejan Lovren, they could have saved the money. I’d have spent whatever it took on a great striker like Edinson Cavani or Radamel Falcao, make a statement to replace Suarez and the 35 goals he scored. Instead they tried to buy five or six new players to share the goals around and it hasn’t materialised.

‘You need top strikers. City have Sergio Aguero, Chelsea have Costa, even at the bottom of the table QPR have Charlie Austin and Burnley have Danny Ings. Top clubs need more than one. When City lose Aguero, they bring in Edin Dzeko. Liverpool lose Daniel Sturridge and nobody is scoring.’
Listening to Ince speak — fittingly the interview takes place in Warrington equidistant between Manchester and Liverpool — you can hear the passion still burns bright.

He still wants to succeed as a manager, despite his last job at Blackpool ending in the sack last January, and recalls with fervour the atmosphere in the dressing-room before big United-Liverpool games.

‘With United at Anfield, there was always a lot of noise — “Let’s get into them”. I was vocal, Brucey was vocal, Keano was vocal. Even Denis Irwin would be shouting and he was the quietest one there. It was different at Old Trafford. We’d be focused, almost silent in concentration. Sometimes the manager [Ferguson] would get worried it was so quiet and gee us up — “Come on lads, are we up for this?” But we knew what we needed to do.

‘When I was at Liverpool, United were top dogs. We’d go to Old Trafford a bit apprehensive, wondering what would happen. One reason I am looking forward to this game is that neither team will be frightened of the other one.

‘I think Van Gaal might go four at the back and have a real go at Liverpool. But Brendan Rodgers will fancy getting at United’s defence.’

Ince, 47, has good friends in both camps. He was in the Liverpool team when Gerrard made his debut against Blackburn 16 years ago.

‘For me, Stevie G should be the first name on the Liverpool teamsheet,’ he stresses. ‘It is sad his contract situation has been allowed to fester. You shouldn’t give anyone a contract out of sentiment but look at what he’s still doing for the club. He’s only 34 and the team struggled against Sunderland without him.

‘I remember strolling around in a training game when this little rascal steamed into me. I was angry and asked what he was doing, and he told me to “f***ng shut up!” I asked Jamie Redknapp who this upstart was. “That’s Stevie G”, he replied. You could tell he wanted it so much and what he’s done for Liverpool will never be repeated. Now he has to make a decision about his future. If he doesn’t want to stay, to be in and out of the team, there will be no shame in him going to another club, but hopefully abroad! I think he’s got lots to offer. When you’ve got his experience, even when you don’t play well, you help your team-mates play better.’

For United today, Ince’s pal Giggs will be in the home dug-out next to Van Gaal.

‘I’ve seen a change in Giggsy. When I started my coaching badges, he said he wouldn’t bother with all that. Yet there he was last summer with Gary Neville and myself finishing our pro licenses together!
‘I’m sure Giggsy will tell the new United players about what this game means to the fans.’

Giggs had four matches in charge of the first team last season after David Moyes was sacked but Ince doesn’t think it was necessarily a dress rehearsal.

‘He told me he loved every minute but I don’t think United can be his first permanent management job, and he won’t think it can be,’ said Ince, who began as a boss at League Two Macclesfield. ‘People will say if things don’t go well for Van Gaal, Giggs will get the hot-seat, but that is miles away for me. You have to learn your trade outside the Premier League. Giggsy’s not fussed, he knows that. If they turn around and offer him the job, he can’t say no, but he is prepared to go down the levels to learn his trade.’