Liverpool-Manchester United rivalry returns to the past

Kenny Dalglish enjoyed a battle of wits with his compatriot Alex Ferguson in the 1980s that surprisingly will resume again.

It has been almost 20 years since Kenny Dalglish took charge of a Liverpool game, but he will do so today as his side faces Manchester United in the FA Cup third round. Simon Bruty / Allsport

Welcome to the late 1980s. The Berlin Wall is still up, mullet haircuts are still considered stylish and football fans are pariahs in government circles. These were different days indeed but, some 30 miles apart, two intensely competitive Scotsmen were engaged in their own private battle for supremacy in England's North-West.

One was the acknowledged master, the most successful manager of his generation. The other was trying to revive a great club which had fallen on hard times. It was barely credible, but they had gone two decades without a league title.

And now comes the unlikely sequel. Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish are in opposition once again.

Now there is a role reversal. Ferguson reigns supreme, while Liverpool's inability to capture English football's greatest prize grows more agonising by the year.

But Dalglish, the caretaker manager, is pitched back into the sport's greatest rivalry on these shores: Manchester United versus Liverpool.

He has made a rapid return from the Middle East to take over as Liverpool's caretaker manager after Roy Hodgson's sacking.

It is proof that owner John Henry has received a crash course in Liverpool's history since his takeover.

"Kenny was not just a legendary footballer, he was the third of our three most successful managers, three giants," he said.

A triple European Cup winner as a player, Dalglish captured three league titles and two FA Cups as a manager. He belongs in the pantheon with Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley.

Nearly 40 when he last managed the club he graced as a player, he is two months short of 60 now.

He must show he is not yesterday's man. But he is still almost a decade Ferguson's junior. The man who came south from Scotland with an avowed determination to "knock Liverpool off their perch" has almost accomplished his aim.

He is 19 points ahead of Liverpool, chasing a 19th league title to overhaul the Merseysiders' total of 18.

He had already promised to name his strongest side for today's third round game. Dalglish's arrival is likely to intensify his already huge will to win. This is a blast from his lengthy past.

Dalglish's first job is to rouse a demoralised club. There is a cruelty in an FA Cup draw that sends Liverpool to Old Trafford when they have rarely been lower. Yet it is appropriate, too.

This is where it has gone wrong; while Liverpool came close to overhauling United in 2009, now the gulf has never been bigger.

A visit in September turned the gap between Hodgson and the supporters into a chasm. When Ferguson suggested Fernando Torres dived for both the free kick and the penalty Gerrard scored in Liverpool's 3-2 defeat, he may have been misguided, mischievous or malicious in his comments.

Hodgson's refusal to defend his striker formed one of the central charges against the manager in the petition to the owners demanding his dismissal.

It was two weeks later that the first chants of "Dalglish" emerged from Liverpool fans.

Like Rafa Benitez, he would have stood up for his players against Ferguson's provocation.

Famously, Dalglish once told reporters to talk to his baby daughter on the grounds that she would make more sense than Ferguson.

But that was a time when Liverpool were the dominant force in the game, winning the league championship six times in the 1980s.

Now they have lost their last five away games against English opposition and the Mancunians have much the best home record in the Premier League. They are unbeaten in nine months at Old Trafford.

Manchester United and Liverpool see themselves as polar opposites. One of the few who has crossed the divide is likely to be on the bench.

"We know it's going to be hard," said United's Michael Owen. "That said, I'm sure it's going to be a lot harder for Liverpool."

The scorer of Liverpool's two goals in their 2001 final win against Arsenal, Owen is a rare common denominator between the two clubs.

But the Liverpool fans who deemed him a traitor and Hodgson a mediocrity know they have a genuine legend at the helm today.