‘You’re mad’ - Gary Neville & Jamie Carragher clash on Man Utd treble & Sir Alex Ferguson claim

Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have engaged in a back-and-forth Twitter dispute on Wednesday on the influence of Manchester United’s treble-winning side, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s managerial impact.

In a tweet, ex-Liverpool defender Carragher failed to include Ferguson’s 1999 side in a list of teams that ‘changed the game’ and cited Arrigo Sacchi’s AC Milan and the Barcelona teams managed by Johan Cruyff and Pep Guardiola instead, while adding the current Manchester City team are on the verge of joining that list if they win the treble this season.

However, a bemused Neville tweeted, ”Errrrr? You missed a team out my friend,” in reference to his United side, which won the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in 1998/99.

“The Man Utd treble team did not influence European football!!! Those other teams/managers are still talked about today in terms of influencing the current generation of managers & tactics,” Carragher replied.

“You’re mad!,” Neville retorted. “SAF through that team pioneered squad rotation and having a pool of strikers. Changed the way managers look at doing it today and achieving success.”

However, Carragher wasn’t in agreement. “Cryuff: Total football. Sacchi: Compact high press. Pep: False 9, false fullback,” he tweeted in response. “SAF: Changed the team. You know the respect I have for SAF but he deserves a better argument than that!!”

The exchanged continued, with Neville typing: “You know how difficult it is to leave 6 players out for an FA Cup Semi v Arsenal ! No/one ever trusted their squad like he did . It was debated in parliament as a crime against football when he did it v Port Vale. This was pioneering! By the way the football was electric!”

United’s ‘99 side, of course, remain the only team in English football history to claim the treble, but City took a big step towards achieving that on Wednesday when they beat Arsenal 4-1 at the Etihad. The win inflicted a huge blow on Arsenal’s chances of winning the league, with City now two points behind with two games in hand.

City also face Real Madrid in the semi-final of the Champions League next month, with a potential final against AC Milan or Inter Milan to follow. As for the FA Cup, United could ultimately prevent City from winning the trophy, with the two teams set to meet in the final on 3 June.

Erik ten Hag said after last weekend’s semi-final win that the Red Devils would ‘do everything’ to stop City winning the FA Cup and potentially a treble, while Guardiola jokingly told United to not be ‘scared’ of that possibility.