GISTS
Liverpool or Manchester: Which City is England's Biggest Breeding Ground for Top Talent?
Liverpool and Manchester are two of the most decorated footballing cities in the world.
Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United have won England's top division on 50 occasions between them. The four sides have also collected an accumulative total of 18 continental titles, including eight European Cups.
The mutual dislike between inhabitants of the two cities pre-dates the formation of all four clubs, but, through football, the fierce rivalry has continued to grow.
After nine rounds of Premier League fixtures this season, Merseyside is arguably on top in the bragging stakes at this precise moment, with sides placed third and sixth in the table, while Manchester's duo sit seventh and eighth.
Although the regional rivalries between supporters of these clubs are intense as ever, such traditions are most probably wasted on many players on the pitch.
The percentage of local lads getting first-team action is steadily reducing as the global popularity of the Premier League continues to grow, attracting a wealth of talent from overseas.
However, Liverpool and Manchester have still produced some cracking players over the past few decades.
With that in mind, I asked myself: 'Which of these two cities has given birth to the better set of footballers that are still playing today?'
In order to reach a conclusion, I decided to compile two fantasy starting XIs - one full of Merseyside-born talent, and one made in Manchester (and Greater Manchester). Below is what I came up with...
Merseyside: Tony Warner; Tony Hibbert, Scott Dann, Jack Rodwell, Leighton Baines; Ross Barkley, Steven Gerrard, Kevin Nolan; Wayne Rooney, Rickie Lambert, David Nugent.
Greater Manchester: Carlo Nash; Danny Simpson, Wes Brown, Phil Jagielka, Ezekiel Fryers; Tom Ince, Ravel Morrison, Michael Tonge, Danny Pugh; Danny Welbeck, Ishmael Miller.
Based on these XIs, I would say Merseyside is streaks ahead. Please comment what you think, as well as who you believe should have been picked instead.
Everton, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United have won England's top division on 50 occasions between them. The four sides have also collected an accumulative total of 18 continental titles, including eight European Cups.
The mutual dislike between inhabitants of the two cities pre-dates the formation of all four clubs, but, through football, the fierce rivalry has continued to grow.
After nine rounds of Premier League fixtures this season, Merseyside is arguably on top in the bragging stakes at this precise moment, with sides placed third and sixth in the table, while Manchester's duo sit seventh and eighth.
Although the regional rivalries between supporters of these clubs are intense as ever, such traditions are most probably wasted on many players on the pitch.
The percentage of local lads getting first-team action is steadily reducing as the global popularity of the Premier League continues to grow, attracting a wealth of talent from overseas.
However, Liverpool and Manchester have still produced some cracking players over the past few decades.
Steven Gerrard: Liverpool's finest
With that in mind, I asked myself: 'Which of these two cities has given birth to the better set of footballers that are still playing today?'
In order to reach a conclusion, I decided to compile two fantasy starting XIs - one full of Merseyside-born talent, and one made in Manchester (and Greater Manchester). Below is what I came up with...
Merseyside: Tony Warner; Tony Hibbert, Scott Dann, Jack Rodwell, Leighton Baines; Ross Barkley, Steven Gerrard, Kevin Nolan; Wayne Rooney, Rickie Lambert, David Nugent.
Greater Manchester: Carlo Nash; Danny Simpson, Wes Brown, Phil Jagielka, Ezekiel Fryers; Tom Ince, Ravel Morrison, Michael Tonge, Danny Pugh; Danny Welbeck, Ishmael Miller.
Based on these XIs, I would say Merseyside is streaks ahead. Please comment what you think, as well as who you believe should have been picked instead.
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