Liverpool are slight favourites at Man Utd, but Harry Maguire and Rasmus Hojlund could make all the difference
MONEY can’t buy me love, as The Beatles sang — but in football there’s another thing all the dough in the world will never guarantee either.
You can chuck as much of it around as you like, signing the biggest names and building a team of superstars.
But however many millions are spent, whatever stats these people who study laptops all day produce, there is one thing you can never put a price on — team spirit.
And believe me, at this stage of the season, when every game is like a cup final, that can make all the difference between memorable and misery.
You need decent players, for sure. That’s blindingly obvious and I always say no manager will ever win a thing without them.
But sometimes you get two teams who it’s virtually impossible to split — and the smallest thing has the biggest impact.
A time when it’s no longer just about skill and talent but spirit and togetherness. You really can’t underplay how important that is.
The best I had in my career was in 2002-03, when Portsmouth were promoted to the Premier League.
We had a fantastic team, but not just on the pitch. They were a real tight unit, such a great bunch of lads, and that was crucial.
But however important it is to have that sense of all being in it together, it’s nowhere near as common as you might think.
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I tell you what, though… I saw plenty of it at Wembley a couple of weeks ago, when Liverpool won the League Cup with that bunch of kids.
It was a great performance on the pitch, for sure, with so many injured and so many youngsters out there by the final whistle.
But what really impressed me was the reaction from everyone who wasn’t playing, when the Reds scored and at the end.
You had the likes of Darwin Nunez, Trent Alexander-Arnold, loads of them, jumping out of their seats and running down to celebrate. It was just an amazing show of team spirit.
That might sound obvious to people but believe me, it’s not. Usually the ones who aren’t picked, out injured or whatever are just sitting there and not really feeling it.
Well, they don’t have a problem with that at Anfield and that day at Wembley told me so much about what Jurgen Klopp’s got on his hands.
It’s also the reason why I think they will just about edge it at Old Trafford this afternoon when they try to keep that dream of a four-trophy clean sweep alive.
When they first started talking about how good it would be to win the lot in Klopp’s last season, I must admit I laughed it off at first.
Didn’t think they had a chance, to be honest.
But they just keep on getting results, fixture after fixture, and I have to say they were fantastic in the second half last week against Manchester City.
I know it was a 1-1 draw but the effort they put in to turn it around, the way they were fighting for each other, means you wouldn’t write them off in anything any more.
They’ll need that spirit this afternoon as well because as important as this FA Cup quarter-final is to Liverpool, you could argue that it’s even more so for Manchester United.
There’s no hiding that it has been a disastrous season for them and this is their last chance to get anything from it… against their most hated rivals, in front of their own supporters.
As ever with United, it depends which side turns up. On their day they can mix it with the best and if Rasmus Hojlund and Harry Maguire are fit, that makes a huge difference.
There will be a great atmosphere, they will love being the underdogs at home — that’s when they really are dangerous.
I can see this being very, very tight and to be honest it wouldn’t surprise me if it went all the way to penalties.
That’s when it all comes down to holding your nerve and togetherness… and no one has more of the second than Liverpool.