'Liverpool can replicate 2003 League Cup win'

Thirteen years ago, Gerard Houllier's team lifted the League Cup after a memorable 2-0 victory against Manchester United with assistant manager Phil Thompson noting: "The situations are similar. Liverpool's league form isn't fantastic but they still have players to win the final.

"I don't think this Manchester City is as good as the United side we came up against. They had Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Roy Keane, David Beckham and Ruud van Nistelrooy. It was some team."

Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen scored for Liverpool at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and Thompson recalls the secret behind their success was their attitude, regarding themselves as United's equals rather than underdogs.

"Gerard Houllier was very good in accentuating the positive. He didn't go in for trying to prove people wrong, he just told the players that our dressing-room had as much talent and as many match-winners as United.

"I think Jurgen Klopp is probably the same type of manager. He'll know with players like Daniel Sturridge, Liverpool can cause City problems, particularly with defence seeming to be their main weakness.

"I've seen our final back since and we played really well, we gave it a real go. We must have played well because even El-Hadj Diouf was outstanding! He terrorised Mikael Silvestre at left back."

Thompson, now 62, was Liverpool's captain when they won their first League Cup in 1981 against West Ham and worked alongside Houllier when they won a cup treble in 2001 followed by their win against United two years later.

"My job was to go round doing a bit of shouting in the dressing-room and geeing up the lads, making sure they were switched on from the first minute," he said.

"Beating United didn't surprise us. We'd won three trophies in 2001 and Steven (Gerrard) and Michael (Owen) had gone on to become better players.

"Liverpool won't feel they are inferior to City either. They've already beaten them 4-1 at their place. 

"It'll be a big match for Raheem Sterling against his old club. He's done alright this season, but no better than that. But he's a tough cookie. I don't think the spotlight will effect him."

Another ex-Reds legend, Jamie Redknapp, believes winning the Capital One Cup final can give Klopp lift-off following a mixed debut season with some extreme highs and lows.

"He's box office, I like him. How can you not?" said Redknapp, writing in today's Wembley programme.

"The players seem to respond to him. He’s new to the job but if he can get silverware that will be huge, not just for him but the club.

"When Liverpool scored four at City,they played without a recognised striker and I think we all labelled it genius tactics with the way they played.

"However, going through the City team there was no Fernandinho, no David Silva or Vincent Kompany, so they might say it wasn't a fair game because of the injuries they had."

Former Manchester City striker Niall Quinn believes the announcement that Pep Guardiola is to replace Manuel Pellegrini at the end of the season may have had an impact on their season.

"It's a difficult situation Pellegrini has found himself in because effectively you're playing for a guy but trying to impress somebody who isn't there. It's a strange situation and I was surprised it broke the way it did; Pellegrini obviously felt he had to tell people as he could no longer keep up the pretence.

"If you look at the form Liverpool are in I don't think they will be looking to go defensive, they will want to get forward and create chances. Manchester City will be like the experienced chess player who will knock it around slowly and attempt to find little gaps for Silva to try and pick out Aguero.

"He has his own ability to score goals out of very little, so I think there will be plenty happening."

Source: MailOnline

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