Source: Daily_Mail
Liverpool versus Manchester City is like 'King Kong versus Mickey Mouse'
They both like to wind up Manchester United, from installing giant Carlos Tevez posters to quoting 'facts' about Sir Alex Ferguson. [LNB]But the reality for Manchester City and Liverpool as they lock horns tomorrow in a match of huge significance is that their biggest rivals are each other. [LNB]Barring any sudden and unforeseen demise of Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal, there is only one place available in English football's elite top four, and both the 'kamikaze' spenders and penniless aristocrats want it. [LNB] Dream on: Despite Manchester City's advances Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard remain at Anfield[LNB]City represent 'new money', and lots of it, with £1billion already invested by Abu Dhabi trying to make the club a major force. [LNB]Liverpool, despite a seemingly never-ending takeover saga, retain a worldwide cachet and loyalty that City can only dream about: 209 international fan clubs, more than two million Facebook friends and an estimated 150million who would call themselves Liverpool fans. [LNB]To their glee, those fans' favourite players, Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, will be in the away dressing room tomorrow night - two global names City wanted to buy to add glamour to their brand, but failed.[LNB] 'It makes you wonder why the Abu Dhabi owners bought Manchester City rather than wait to buy Liverpool,' said one senior figure at Anfield. [LNB]'If they had spent the £1bn on Liverpool, they would be sitting back now with the best team in the world. 'When you look at the two clubs, it's King Kong versus Mickey Mouse.' [LNB] Upstarts: Liverpool versus Manchester City is more like King Kong v Mickey mouse[LNB]Given Liverpool's failure so far to sell the club and a deadline looming in October to pay back the £237m owed to the Royal Bank of Scotland - Chinese tycoon Kenny Huang withdrew his £350m offer for the club on Friday - City would be outraged at being mocked, particularly as their spending has saved the game during a recession. [LNB]They have spent in a way never seen before in the English game, not even by Chelsea's Roman Abramovich. [LNB]Having broken the British transfer record in 2008, on their first day as owners, to buy Robinho (£32.5m), and given Mark Hughes millions to spend on players like Craig Bellamy, Shay Given, Joleon Lescott and Wayne Bridge, they are now ready to offload them to accommodate an influx of mainly foreign stars. [LNB]New boss Roberto Mancini has spent £130m in this window alone on Mario Balotelli, James Milner, Yaya Toure and a couple of now injured full-backs. [LNB]Stephen Ireland, sold to Aston Villa last week as part of the Milner deal, did not pull any punches when he spoke about City on his arrival at Villa Park. [LNB] Take it or leave it: Adebayor knows he faces a tough challenge at City[LNB]'There are lots of faces there who don't feel that much for the club. I guess he (Milner) must think the grass is greener on the other side. He is going to get a shock soon.' [LNB]Last season, City's unprecedented investment meant they finished above Liverpool for only the second time since 1968, only to find Tottenham nip in and take fourth spot. [LNB]Yet Emmanuel Adebayor's quandary typifies the problems the City project has hit so far. A £25m fanfare signing from Arsenal just a year ago, the Togo striker - now linked with Real Madrid - found himself on the bench at Tottenham on the opening day and is likely to serve as Balotelli's stand-in this season. [LNB]'Being sat on the bench for the first game of the season was tough for me,' said Adebayor. 'But I'm not going anywhere at the moment. I love the challenge of making it at City. [LNB]'I had a chat with the manager after the Spurs game, which was good. There is no pressure for me to leave. What I am going to do is keep enjoying my football. [LNB]'I don't want to look too far intothe future. Who knows, by January maybe the manager will tell me toleave, or maybe I will ask to leave. This is football. What we aretrying to establish takes time. It makes everything easier when youkeep the same manager and the players know how to play together. [LNB]'Chelseahave had the same group for seven or eight years. The Manchester Unitedplayers know each other, look at the way Patrice Evra and Nani havelearned to play together.'[LNB]Massive club: Kuyt was stunned by the level of support Liverpool had in South Africa[LNB]The City owners, however, have not invested so heavily merely to be on the fringes of Champions League qualification. They bought the club mainly as a vehicle to promote Abu Dhabi, a Gulf state increasingly relying on tourism and the hosting of major events. [LNB]So far, City have not been able to dent Liverpool's status as a global brand, let alone United's. And that is despite their two rivals both being burdened by a huge debt placed upon their clubs by American owners. [LNB]Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt said: 'I went to the World Cup in South Africa with Holland this summer and the support for Liverpool there was unbelievable.It doesn't matter where you are in the world, everyone knows Liverpool. You can't say the same at the moment about Manchester City. [LNB]'The players feel they are at a historic club, but for us to be part of that history, we need to win trophies.' [LNB]Despite the £300m spent by City in transfer fees alone, Kuyt would not swap their squad for Liverpool's. [LNB]'When I look around and see Stevie, Fernando, Pepe (Reina), there is no reason to fear anyone. This team have been together many years. We have played in the Champions League final (2007) and been runners-up in the League.[LNB] 'We have been through good times and bad times together, and this helps. You saw last week against Arsenal, when we deserved to win with 10 men, that our team spirit is very good. [LNB]'We have to forget last season's disappointment and go for a topfour spot. A win at Manchester City would be a massive statement.' [LNB]Manager Roy Hodgson's newest recruit, holding midfield player Christian Poulsen, was wanted by City before his move to Juventus in 2008, but he raises eyebrows when asked if City could be mentioned in the same breath as Liverpool. [LNB]'You can't compare their history with Liverpool or Manchester United. In Denmark, Liverpool is number one and I am sure it is the same in other places.' [LNB]If the penniless aristocrats win tomorrow, Sheik Mansour may regret not biding his time and choosing Anfield over Eastlands. [LNB]But if his 'kamikaze' spenders come out on top, Tom Hicks, George Gillett or whoever is Liverpool's next owner will know there may be a new irresistible force coming to blow them out. [LNB] Hong Kong tycoon Kenny Huang pulls out of Liverpool takeoverAquilani follows Hodgson's advice and agrees loan move to JuventusManchester City's £20m misfit Robinho set to be offloaded to TurkeyLIVERPOOL FC
