If John Aldridge thinks the utilisation of Marouane Fellaini is indicative of a lack of class in the Manchester United ranks, then God only knows what the Liverpool legend makes of the likes of the battle-tested tactics of Tony Pulis and Big Sam.
The dust is still settling on the 1-1 draw played out between United and Liverpool on Sunday and every aspect of the game is understandably going to be scrutinised because of the sides involved and the significance of the fixture.
Former Liverpool players are almost always going to have a bias towards the Reds and former United players are almost always going to have a bias towards the Red Devils. That’s just how things work.
So we’re not even slightly surprised to see a Liverpool legend like Aldridge go in two-footed on Jose Mourinho’s late tactics that earned the hosts a draw.
It makes sense, if anything.
As has happened in the past, Mourinho looked in the direction of lanky midfielder Marouane Fellaini in the final fifteen minutes as his side chased the game.
In a bid to adopt a more direct strategy, Fellaini was told to hover around the box in order to nod long balls into the path of supporting teammates.
And Aldridge is not what you would call a fan of tactics like those.
“I tell you what made me laugh at Old Trafford,” Aldridge writes in his Liverpool Echo column. “A side like United, having spent so much money, throwing on Wayne Rooney and Marouane Fellaini and turning into Wimbledon, trying to win flick ons.
“It just shows you the lack of class, it really does.
“Okay, people will say you use your forwards to get goals, and that’s fine. Look, even at Liverpool, you’ve seen the manager throw on a centre back up front with five minutes to go, it’s something you have to do.
“But when you’re paying £90million on this player, £30million on that player, and you end up lashing on a throwback up front to get you a point – it says it all, really.
“Jose Mourinho reckons his side dominated the second half. What’s all that about? It’s all about him, isn’t it? He left his dugout before the half time whistle because he wants the attention. What’s he trying to prove?
“Just look at the statistics. I know they can lie sometimes, but we were the better side. I just couldn’t see them scoring.
“At Old Trafford in the past, you just hold on tight and take a deep breath, because they’re hitting you from all sides.
“None of that on Sunday, for me. They have good players and they went on their winning run, but from what I saw, we are better than them, and much better in terms of technical ability.”
