‘People saw us as prey’ – Joe Cole likens Manchester United to struggling Liverpool team of old from 2010

Joe Cole has likened Manchester United’s plight to the Liverpool team he joined from Chelsea in the summer of 2010.

Cole arrived at Anfield as a Premier League and FA Cup double winner with the Blues, but signed for a Reds side that had gone 20 years without a title and finished seventh the previous season.

He believes this current under-performing Red Devils team is in a similar position, after falling well below the heights reached by the club’s great squads of the past.

“The Liverpool team I signed for in 2010 were not a good team at all,” Cole told TNT Sports.

“I came from Chelsea after just winning the double, and the marked difference in quality was there to see.

“But it was still Liverpool, and everywhere we went, people were licking their lips and saw us as prey or a big scalp.

“I think that's where this Manchester United team is at the moment.

“They're just not quite at the level they were, but there are still some good players in that squad. The Fulham players will be on the phone back to their family and friends if they’ve won, saying they've beaten Manchester United.

“You're licking your lips because you know you're more than good enough to compete with Manchester United and beat them.”

Those thoughts were echoed by former United defender Rio Ferdinand, who believes the club’s success in previous years can hold an aura over certain teams.

“If you're a team playing against Manchester United, you've got to take away their history,” he explained.

“That's a big burden for some teams when they play Man United. They think about the history and what's gone on before.

“But if we put that to one side teams will be thinking: ‘there's nothing for us to worry about, they're not posing us any problems from a defensive point of view and we're getting through this team as easily you can imagine.’”

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