Is Merseyside Derby biggest English football fixture?

[Tubey]

It's not even the biggest derby anymore. But who cares?

 

[BigDunc'sFod]

It is the only English league Derby to have only ever been played in the top division.

More wisdom from the GOT fount of knowledge

 

[peteblue]

Ings reckons it's as big as Burnley V Blackburn..........must be big then.......

 

[rbm]

Indeed.

What we are doing is discussing why it is perceived as being such a "massive rivalry".

It is nothing to do with football.......we have already established the two clubs have never had great teams at the same time nor have they ever been involved in head to head battles for the title on more than a handful of occasions.

A few Cup finals since 1977 is the most their football "rivalry" has been about.

It is nowt to do with the two cities......there was never this animosity between the fans of the clubs when I was growing up in the 60s and into the 70s.

Nor has there ever been owt more than normal football rivalry between EFC and the two Manc teams nor between the RS and City.

It is not political.....both cities are solid Union towns and we never had the spectacle of bussed in blackleg labour from one end of the East Lancs or the other breaking a docker's strike, the way it is on the South Coast (I can never remember whether the blacklegs came from Pompey to break the strike at Southampton docks or vice versa but to this day the bitterness is still there at South Coast derbies).

It seemed to start round about the end of the 70s when the RS were all conquering but were never given the same meejah attention as United and that really irked them.

Then Sky latched on and started making more of the game than it ever merited in that artificial way they have of bigging things up.

It suits me though.....like most on here I love the reaction from the Kopites when the team they love to hate for no apparent reason save envy give them a beating

Precisely.

The late 1970s Liverpool were winning all before them but the media populated by a generation of commentators broughtup on munich/Busby/Best/law/Charlton still gave top billing to United. This gnawed at the heart of the kopites and a rivalry was born.

Bizarre thing is they call us bitters. They're eaten by jealousy of United who are everything they are only more so.

 

[Yarmolenko]

Newcastle vs Sunderland, loser gets relegated.

 

[EFC Si]

it's subjective

 

[Stikapos]

Every game in the BPL is big this year.....of course, didn't expect 6-1 city v. Newcastle today. I just want to shut up Brennie and send them crying back to the other side....please, tomorrow, Man U and Arsenal.....