19 Dec Could Man Utd be set for Liverpool-like struggles?

Manchester United could be set for a Liverpool-like generational struggle, according to British journalist and sports broadcaster Jonny Gould.

The recent underperformance of the Red Devils has been compounded by the sacking of Jose Mourinho, which has the club on the hunt for a new manager.

Since the glory days of Sir Alex Ferguson, United have been a shell of their former selves and Gould feels the club is experiencing a similar deterioration to that of arch rivals Liverpool who are now only returning to the top following their dominance throughout the 1980s.

“I think largely they are happy about Mourinho leaving but maybe perhaps in a moment of reflection, they should come to terms with the idea that this United is still chasing the Sir Alex Ferguson legacy,” said Gould on SEN Breakfast.

“Despite David Moyes and now Jose Mourinho, the next guy will not be replacing the Portuguese, he’ll be replacing the Great Scot.

“It is (similar to) the Liverpool era where it came to a crashing end with Kenny Dalglish’s emotional resignation post-Hillsborough.

“They went with Graeme Souness who tried to manage it in the way he had been so successful at Rangers, and basically Liverpool crumbled.

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“It’s taken them a generation to get back to being one of the premier clubs in Europe and the same might be said for Manchester United.

“Since Fergie left, they’ve struggled.

“They’re have been a couple of seasons where they didn’t even qualify for the Champions League. Unheard of in the Sir Alex period.”

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Gould also touched on the possibility of former midfielder and current coach Michael Carrick and Ferguson’s old assistant Mike Phelan acting as interim managers.

“One of the criticisms of the David Gill/Sir Alex period was that they didn’t bring on a legacy and the irony is, that now in caretaker mode, Michael Carrick and Michael Phelan might be taking over,” he added.

“The irony of one of his great players and his greatest number two being manager now all these years later is not lost on this neutral.”

United currently sit sixth on the Premier League table, some 19 points in arrears of league leaders Liverpool.

Listen to Jonny Gould's chat on SEN Breakfast in the player below